Taylor Swift, Fun. & Maroon 5 Lead Billboard Music Awards Nominations

Carl Williott | April 22, 2013 9:45 am

The Billboard Music Awards are a few weeks away, and today (April 22) the nominees (er, finalists) have been revealed. Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and fun. lead the pack with nominations in 11 categories each. Rihanna is up for 10 awards, while Carly Rae Jepsen and One Direction follow with nine and eight, respectively. Although, the numbers are actually even higher as there’s some double dipping going on here: Maroon 5 is nominated twice  for Top Hot 100 Song (“One More Night” and “Payphone”), while 1D’s Take Me Home and Up All Night are both up for Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Pop Album.

There will be few surprises when the awards are handed out, as the field pretty much comprises the most recognizable names in pop (makes sense since it’s all based on chart performance and touring). For Top Artist, 1D, Maroon 5 and Swift will face off against Justin Bieber and RiRi. The only “underdog,” if you could even call it that, would have to be Gotye and Kimbra‘s “Somebody That I Used to Know” up for Top Hot 100 Song.

The Billboard Music Awards air live from Las Vegas on May 19 and are hosted by Tracy Morgan. Swift, Bieber, Miguel, Bruno Mars and Prince are confirmed to perform, and the Purple One will also be honored with Icon Award.

Check out the exhaustive (and exhausting) list of nominees here.