With the 2012 Billboard Music Awards getting ready to air live, this Sunday May 20 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET from the MGM Grand Arena, I decided to take a look back at a few of my favorite Billboard Music Awards performances. It has been several months since my last two discussion posts, so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to get you all talking and take a look back at some great performances.

Check my Top 10 Billboard Music Award Performances below:

10. Ciara – “Goodies” / “1, 2 Step” | Coming in at No.10 is none other than the Princess of Crunk&B herself, Ciara. After making her way into the industry in 2004 with her hit single “Goodies,” Cara quickly became the go-to-girl for high energy dancing. During her performance at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, Ciara put those dance moves to work as she lyp-sang for her life. Watch her performance above.

9. Lauryn Hill – “Doo Wop (That Thing)” | During the height of her success in 1998, Lauryn Hill took to the stage of the Billboard Music Awards to deliver a riveting performance of her hit single “Doo Wop (That Thing).” Lauryn managed to mix in Faith Evans’ “Love Like This” to add a freshness to the record. Great vocals and presence, watch her performance above.

8. Celine Dion – “All By Myself” | Coming in at No.8 is easily one of the most successful stars of the past 30 years. Celine Dion and her moving “All By Myself” performance at the 1997 Billboard Music Awards is easily one of the more memorable in the award shows history. Watch her performance above.

7. Britney Spears – “…Baby One More Time” / “(You Drive Me) Crazy ” | During the height of the “Bubblegum Pop” reign, none other than Britney Spears was the reigning queen. With her angelic smile, gymnastic-like dance moves, and midriff bearing costumes; Britney was it! During her performance at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards, Britney combined all the qualities I listed above for a pretty dope performance. She even managed to pre-record live vocals and throw in a back flip as well as some tap dancing. Nice! Watch her performance above..

6. Nsync – “Just Got Paid” | During their performance at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards, Nsync decided to perform their remake of the 80′s hit single “Just Got Paid.” The super talented foursome put on a comedic, yet exciting performance in the theme of a pop-up book. My favorite portion of the performance was the last two minutes in which they delivered a nice acapella vocal and a dope dance break. Check out their performance above.

5. Toni Braxton – “Un-Break My Heart” | One of the biggest and most influential R&B artist of the 90s, Toni Braxton, rocked the house at the 1997 Billboard Music Awards with a performance of her classic hit single “Un-Break My Heart.” After delivering three minutes of flawless vocals, Toni turned things out with a high-energy dance mix of her hit single stripping down into a sheer once-piece jumper. The highlight of the performance for me was without a doubt her ferocious belting from the 3:50 – 4:05 mark. Whew! Enjoy her performance above.

4. Janet Jackson – “Control” / “Feedback” | No.4 on my list is Janet, Ms. Jackson if you nasty! During her comeback of sorts in 2006, Janet Jackson hit the Billboard Music Awards stage with a high energy, dance-filled performance of her classic record “Control” and her hit single “Feedback.” Janet showed that even at the age of 40, not only is she in better shape than most of the young girls out here, but that she could body them on the dance floor. Watch Janet’s performance above.

3. Whitney Houston – “I Have Nothing” | The No.3 performance on my list is probably one of Whitney Houston’s most memorable televised performances. During the 1993 Billboard Music Awards, with nothing more than a mic and a light, Whitney Houston brought the crowd to their feet with a riveting performance of her classic ballad “I Have Nothing.” Enjoy Whitney’s performance above.

2. Whitney Houston – “Lover Man”/”All The Man I Need” | For most, Whitney’s best performance at the Billboard Awards is her “I Have Nothing” performance, which I posted above, but for me her performance of “All The Man I Need” at the 1991 award show is my favorite. Why? Well, on top of “All The Man I Need” being my favorite Whitney Houston song, Nippy sang it beautifully. I’ve been obsessed with this performance since discovering it late last year; watch it above.

1. Beyonce – “Run The World (Girls)” | My No.1 favorite Billboard Music Awards performance of all time is Beyonce’s spectacular “Run The World (Girls)” performance at the 2011 ceremony. After taking some time off from the industry to do “normal” things, Beyonce was back with her new album ’4′ and was hoping to make a statement with the albums lead single “Run The World (Girls)”. The Diplo-produced single had received bad reviews from some fans and a plethora of bloggers, but Beyonce shut all that up with the songs debut live performance. Between Beyonce’s energy, dancing, the use of backing screen, her confidence and presence on stage, I was slayed. Hell, everyone was slayed. Although Beyonce/Her team stole the performance idea from Italian singer Lorella Cuccarini, Beyonce made it her own and leaving everyone quite speechless.

Okay, now that you know my top 10 favorite performances, tell me what are some of your favorite Billboard performances. Is there a performance that should’ve made my list, but didn’t?

Also, with Jennifer Lopez, Usher, Chris Brown, and more taking the stage at the Billboard Awards this Sunday, who do you think will have the best performance of the night? Let me know below.

Thoughts?!

Seemingly out of nowhere, it has been confirmed that Disco legend, Donna Summer passed away this morning at the age of 63 due to Cancer. The big-haired Soprano songstress has influenced everyone from Kelly Rowland and Beyonce, to Kylie Minogue and won five Grammy awards during her illustrious career.

Watch Donna perform some of her classic records below:

May she rest in peace, her music & spirit shall live on forever!

Sultry songstress, Rihanna is well known for being one of, if not thee sexiest artist in the industry. Actually, she was named the sexiest woman alive by U.S. Esquire magazine in 2011. The Bajan star surely isn’t toning things down in her upcoming Esquire UK magazine spread. In the behind the scenes pictures, which hit the web just hours ago, Rihanna strikes a few sexy poses for the shoot.

The pictures above come courtesy of Rihanna’s BFF, Melissa Forde who snapped the pics from the shoot back in February in Dalston, East London. The full issue hits stands on June 4th, will you be picking up a copy?

Thoughts?!

Rap Queen, Lil Kim showed that she’s not backing down from no one or their slander when she held true to her word and sat down for an interview with Power 105.1′s The Breakfast Club. During the lengthy interview, Lil Kim discussed pretty much everything including; label issues and why she hasn’t released any music, dating Ray-J, Scott Storch, and Biggie, what caused her beef with Nicki Minaj, and much more. Kim also briefly touched on her recent “beef” with Azealia Banks.

Watch Kim’s interview below:

Thoughts?!

Nicki Minaj teams up with Chris Brown for the latest single off of her sophomore album ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’.

Watch Nicki & Chris’ new video below:

Thoughts?!

Nicki Minaj had the pleasure of kicking off her first-ever headlining tour titled ‘The Pink Friday Tour’ live in Sydney, Australia earlier today. The “Starships” starlet played for a packed house of over 5,000 fans at the Horden Pavillion.

Nicki took to twitter late last night to give fans a sneak peak at the tour stage, which is posted above, with the caption: “Aahhhhh!!!!!!!!! Who wants to come over?!???!!! The tour begins!!!!!!!!!”. Nicki’s tour stage and costumes were a collaboration between her and famed designer Jeremy Scott, who she also worked with on her Adidas campaign.

Some footage from Nicki’s opening night below:

I’ll be sure to update the post when longer/better quality video becomes available.

Pictures from Nicki’s opening night below:

Nicki’s stage and setting is pretty much what I expected, minimal yet still eye-catching. I honestly can’t judge her performances yet from the videos available, but I’m sure she was her standard self. Unfortunately.

Will you be attending Nicki’s ‘The Pink Friday Tour’ when stops in your city? Dates here.

Thoughts?!

With her albums lead single “Big Hoops” failing to impress critics and on the charts, I’m not surprised to hear that the “Promiscuous” songstress has decided to push her album back. According to Amazon and Universal Music ItalyNelly has pushed ‘The Spirit Indestructible’ from June 19th, to September 2012. Check the new dates below:

September 10th (United Kingdom)
September 11th (United States, Canada)
September 18th (Europe)

Although I personally like Nelly’s new single “Big Hoops,” I think it’s smart to delay her album until September. I mean, her album currently has no buzz, so  she wouldn’t have been able to compete with Justin Bieber’s first week sales, as she was previously scheduled to do.

Nelly is scheduled to perform at the Billboard Music Awards this Sunday, so hopefully she’ll be able to revive “Big Hoops” and at least allow it to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Thoughts?!

TW

R&B singer, Chris Brown took to his instagram to give fans a sneak peek at his upcoming “Don’t Wake Me Up” music video. “Don’t Wake Me Up” serves as the fourth single from Chris’ forthcoming fifth studio album ‘Fortune’ due out July 3rd.

The Colin Tilley directed music video was shot in some desert in California yesterday and sees Chris doing his thing while accompanied by a model. I wonder if Chris will be performing “Don’t Wake Me Up” at the Billboard Music Awards this Sunday?

More pictures below:

Thoughts?!

Roc Nation starlet, Rita Ora teamed up with VEVO to give fans a behind the scenes look at her life as she tours around the UK promoting her newly released debut single “R.I.P.” at numerous different events. In her latest VEVO installment, Rita takes fans back home to her humble beginnings in London.

In the videos, Rita gives fans a tour of her home and discusses her life before signing with Jay-Z in 2009, runs into her Grandmother in the park, and takes fans back to the first place she started working as a teen.

Watch Rita’s journey home below:

Great footage! Oh, and congrats are in order for Rita since her debut single “R.I.P.” shot to the #1 spot on the UK top 40 charts last week.

Thoughts?!

A true Queen sitting upon her throne! Last night “Where Have You Been” songstress, Rihanna brought down the house at the 2012 Robin Hood Foundation benefit concert in New York City. The event, which takes place annually, is an exclusive event which raises money to help clothe and feed the destitute in the New York area.

Last night celebrities such as Tyra Banks and Chelsea Clinton had the honor of watching Rihanna, who as you can tell by her costume, went for an Egyptian feline theme, while performing a full set of her biggest hits for just over an hour.

The 24-year old starlet helped the foundation raise just under $60 million dollars last night, as tickets started at $3,000. Surrounded by a gaggle of her dancers, the Grammy Award winning songstress, whose costumes were designed by Jeremy Scott, performed some of her biggest hits including “Only Girl,” “Disturbia,” and “Run This Town.”

More pictures below:

Video from the event below:

Thoughts?!

DM