Since their debut in 1990, the Billboard Music Awards have honored the musicians and albums that have made the biggest impressions on the Billboard charts. Billboard began giving the Artist of the Year or Top Artist honor to the musical act who ruled the year commercially in 1993 excluding 1994 and a gap from 2007–2010). The award has been given to musicians ranging from Whitney Houston to Ed Sheeran, and numerous singers, including Adele, Drake, and Taylor Swift, have received it more than once.
1. The Weeknd -2021
There at 2021 Billboard Music Awards, The Weeknd won 10 of the 16 prizes for which he was nominated, including Top Artist. His album After Hours debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and remained there for a total of four weeks.
2. Post Malone – 2020
Nine prizes, including Top Artist, were given to Post Malone at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards. Hollywood’s Bleeding, his third album, opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and held that position for five weeks.
3. Drake – 2019
In 2019, Drake made a comeback to the Billboard Music Awards stage, where he took up 11 other honors, including his second Top Artist award, Top Billboard 200 Album for Scorpion, and Top Streaming Song (Video) for “In My Feelings.”
4. Ed Sheeran – 2018
Ed Sheeran won the Top Artist prize just at 2018 Billboard Music Awards thanks to the popularity of “Shape of You” from his album.
5. Drake – 2017
Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, were all there when he collected the Top Artist award at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards. The victory followed a historic year for the rapper, in which “One Dance” with WizKid & Kyla became his first Hot 100 No. 1 hit as a lead artist.
6. Adele – 2016
At the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, Adele won her second Top Artist honor after her smash song “Hello” topped the Hot 100 for ten weeks.
7. Taylor Swift -2015
The year after releasing her pop anthem 1989, Taylor Swift accepted her second Top Artist award at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Three songs from the album, “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” and “Bad Blood,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, each spent many weeks at No. 1 in addition to the album’s arrival at the top of the Billboard 200.
8. Justin Timberlake – 2014
He is dressed in a “Suit & Tie”! Following the release of his album The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake took up the Top Artist prize at the 2014 Billboard Music Trophies, one of a total of seven awards. The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2), the album that came after this one, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
9. Taylor Swift – 2013
Just at 2013 Billboard Music Awards, Taylor Swift emerged as the main winner after winning eight prizes, including Top Artist. The previous year, she released Red, her fourth studio album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and lasted 187 weeks there.
10. Eminem – 2011
Tell a friend that Shady is back. The Artist of the Year award was renamed the Top Artist award when the Billboard Music Awards resumed in 2011 following a break from 2007 to 2010. Eminem received the inaugural award. Six other BBMAs were won by the rapper that year, including Album of the Year, Top Rap Song, and “Love The Way You Lie,” which included Rihanna.
