Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie.Kevin Winter/Getty
But who didn’t exactly have a front row seat forSwift’s performance? HostKelly Clarksonand Florida Georgia Line, both of whom watched from near the back of the arena floor (as they prepped for their funny bit to open the show). However, all three got caught in the traffic of Swift’s drummers who were lining the aisles. Swift seemed to be the woman of the hour, as many in the audience clamored for selfies. The pop star obliged, using the fan’s own cell phones to snap pics.
Just call BTS camera hogs. Nary was there a time when a camera wasn’t on the K-Pop group (perhaps because the crowd erupted every time a member was shown on the screens). Maybe there needed to be cameras on the group for all the BTS chants happening during commercial breaks. And, before BTS performed withHalsey, young female fans kept ushers busy as they had the tough job of keeping those fans from running down the aisles to get close.
Halsey and BTS.Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock
Khalid’s performance was cool, butZeddwas the main attraction for many of the fans in the audience. The DJ was making his way to his seat during Khalid’s rendition of “Talk” when fans spotted him, which meant selfie time. Yep, Zedd stopped for multiple selfies with fans on his way to his seat.
Khaild.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Be sure to check out PEOPLE’sBillboard Music Awards coverageto get the latest news on music’s big night.
No surprise here, butCiara’s biggest fan is NFL studRussell Wilson… who happens to be her husband. After her performance, Wilson — trying to stay incognito in an oversized coat, baseball hat and sunglasses — left his seat to go backstage to see his wife. With him? Ciara’s son Future. The trio returned and were later seen rocking to Panic! at the Disco and Clarkson’s performances.
Russell Wilson/Ciara Instagram
Future and Ciara.Frazer Harrison/Getty
Kane and Katelyn Brown.Kevin Mazur/Getty
Tori KellyknowsDan + Shayhave got pipes to rival her own. While Clarkson introduced the award-winning county duo (who performedagainlater that night atJoe JonasandSophie Turner‘ssurprise Vegas wedding), she said, “Trust me, these boys can sing!” Kelly was off camera nodding. By the way, the celebrities got quick nourishment after three sang “Speechless” — a gang of servers carrying potato chips descended on the celebrities in front.
Dan Smyers, Tori Kelly and Shay Mooney.Kevin Winter/Getty
Madonna’sperformance of “Medellín” with Malumahad everyone talking, but Madonna and Maluma only had eyes for their duet partner. Each bowed to the other in awe after finishing their song and as the cameras cut to break — Maluma even mimed the classicWayne’s World“We’re not worthy” move. “She’s super disciplined and she loves everything on point so I would say that her advice is incredible,” Maluma told PEOPLE on the red carpet before the show. “She’s taken care of me, too, so I love the way she thinks and the way she works.”
Maluma & Madonna.Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock
While some award winners had pre-loaded speeches logged into a teleprompter in the event that they won,Brendon Uriewasn’t one of them. He noted that he didn’t think his band, Panic! at the Disco, would win, so he was winging up there. When Urie gave a shoutout to his parents, his mom and dad starting enthusiastically fist-pumping. Urie’s parents didn’t have far to go to see their son win: the Uries are from Vegas.
The 2019 Billboard Music Awards were broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
source: people.com
