Zach Bryan, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter are among the artists leading the 2024 Billboard Music Awards nominees, with Swift facing off against Drake to compete for the most all-time wins. The eligibility dates for this year’s awards are aligned with Billboard’s Year-End Charts tracking period, which measures music consumption from the charts dated October 28, 2023 through October 19, 2024.
2024 BBMA finalist highlights include:
● Zach Bryan leads the 2024 BBMA finalists, up for 18 awards with 21 total entries. A first-time finalist in 2023, Bryan took home awards for Top New Artist, Top Rock Artist, Top Rock Album for American Heartbreak, and Top Rock Song for “Something in the Orange.” The hit song crested inside the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent six weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart. Bryan scored his first No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 with “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves (also her first No. 1). The song concurrently hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs surveys — the first hit to top all three charts.
● Taylor Swift, the most decorated female BBMAs artist of all time, is a finalist in 16 categories with 17 total entries. With 39 previous wins, including a personal best of 10 last year, Swift could surpass Drake for most wins of all-time. Swift is up for Top Artist, which she has won 3 times, tying Drake for the most wins in this category. She could also extend her record with a seventh win for top Billboard 200 artist. Swift’s 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department, a 2024 finalist for Top Billboard 200, became her 14th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, tying Jay-Z for the most leaders among soloists in history and second only to The Beatles with 19. Her 11th studio album also broke several all-time Billboard 200 records, including becoming the first album by a female artist to spend its first 12 weeks at the chart’s number-one spot. The album’s song also held entire top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time, a feat only Swift herself had achieved, when her Midnights album was released. She is also the only solo artist to have new number one albums on the Billboard 200 in six consecutive calendar years.
● Morgan Wallen won the most BBMAs in 2023 (11) and this year celebrates 15 finalist entries in 13 categories, including 5 for “I Had Some Help” with Post Malone. His second No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 held the spot for 6 weeks and was the 2024 Songs of the Summer chart-topper after leading the weekly chart all 14 weeks of the season, making him the first artist in 46 years to win the competition in consecutive years. Wallen marks a second straight year with the seasonal No. 1, joining Drake, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey and Usher with two summer triumphs. Earlier this year, Wallen’s album ONE THING AT A TIME broke the record for the most weeks at No. 1 on the
Billboard 200 for a country album.
● Sabrina Carpenter is a first-time finalist in 9 categories including the coveted Top Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Streaming Songs Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top Billboard Global 200 Artist, Top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) Artist, and twice for her chart-topper “Espresso” for Top Billboard Global 200 Song and Top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) Song. Carpenter earned her career first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with “Please Please Please,” and along with “Espresso,” from her Short ‘n Sweet album, made her the first soloist and first act in 60 years since The Beatles – to have two initial top three hits land in the top three Billboard Hot 100 while the album became her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. “Espresso” was named Billboard’s top global song of the summer this year, and was her career-first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit.
● First-time BBMA finalists include: Teddy Swims (8), Tyla (8), Benson Boone (6), Shaboozey (6), Tommy Richman (4), Falling in Reverse (3), Forest Frank (3), Junior H (3), Chappell Roan (2), ENHYPEN (2), Muni Long (2), and The Red Clay Strays (2).
● Three new awards were added this year including Top Hard Rock Album, Top Hard Rock Artists, and Top Hard Rock Song. HARDY is a finalist with one entry in each of the 3 categories; Falling in Reverse is a three-time finalist in the categories with Top Hard Rock Artists and twice for Top Hard Rock Song; and Linkin Park is a two-time finalist for Top Hard Rock Artist and Top Hard Rock Song.
● Artists receiving cross-genre recognition include Beyoncé with 2 of her 3 categories including Top Country Female Artist and Top Country Album, Dolly Parton for Top Rock Album, and Post Malone with 2 of his 8 categories including Top Country Artist and Top Country Song.
Last year, Taylor Swift won Top Artist and tied Drake for the most BBMA wins of all time, each with a career total of 39 awards. Morgan Wallen took home the most awards of the night with 11 wins. The show featured superstar performances by Mariah Carey, David Guetta and Bebe Rexha, KAROL G, Tate McRae, NewJeans, Peso Pluma, Stray Kids and Morgan Wallen.
The BBMAs also announced that that FOX, Paramount+, and Amazon’s Fire TV Channels will all air the 2024 show in a multi-distribution broadcast.
Hosted by actress and comedian Michelle Buteau, the 2024 BBMAs presented by Marriott Bonvoy airs on Thursday, December 12 at 8:00pm ET/PT on FOX and Fire TV Channels, and on-demand on Paramount+, with performances also rolling out across Billboard.com, and via BBMAs and Billboard social channels.
The BBMAs honors the year’s biggest artists, albums, songs, producers and songwriters across multiple genres, as determined by year-end performance metrics on the Billboard charts, the music industry’s ultimate authority and data-driven measure of success.
“We are thrilled to bring the 2024 Billboard Music Awards to multiple platforms, ensuring fans have more options to watch the very artists they helped propel to the top of the charts,” said Jay Penske, CEO, Dick Clark Productions. “By partnering with FOX, Paramount+ and Fire TV Channels, we are able to reach music enthusiasts where they are, whether they’re tuning in on TV, streaming on-demand, or watching from their mobile devices.”
“Music is just one of those magical devices that can bring people together no matter what walk of life they’re from,” said Buteau. “And that’s what makes the Billboard Music Awards so special. These amazing, chart topping artists deserve to be celebrated and that’s exactly what we’re going to do! With me hosting, you can expect a fun party, a cute celebration and a whole moment in a plus size sequin suit!”
