This year, Kelly Clarkson hosted the awards, as she did last year. Though I cannot stand some of her music, she is a remarkable host. I had a great time watching her act, sing, and introduce.
I definitely rushed that introduction, but I just could not wait to talk about some of the great performances I saw last night.
Taylor Swift/Panic! At the Disco - ME!
~This was one of two performances I was really excited to see before the show started. It was great that this was the opener because it got the show to a very lively start. The set was so colourful, so many people were involved. It was very fun to watch. You could see that both singers were having a blast. The performance was awesome. However, the song has problems, although I like it much more than I thought I would. The line 'Spelling is fun!' and almost everything after that is so unoriginal and make me cringe, big time. I was so happy, then, when these lyrics were replaced with 'Vegas is fun!'. That made me smile. Overall, this was an amazing opener to the show and it made me like the song more.
8/10
~The wonderful host gave a performance of 12 songs in a span of about four minutes, all of them being written by audience members. I hear many people saying how amazing her voice is. I say that her style of singing is not my favourite but it will definitely get the job done well, provided the song is good. A whole lot of clips she sang were better than the original, especially Boo'd Up, which I managed to listen to with pleasure, somehow. She sang well, but it reminded me a bit of Maroon 5's halftime show earlier this year, where the singing was perfect and the songs sounded great, but there was nothing memorable enough for me to think 'man, that show was amazing'. She came back for more later...
6/10
Halsey - Without Me
~I am not quite sure what went on here. This was one of those performances where my dead grandmother could have done better. The singing was atrocious. The dancing was very strange and some parts looked like an assault... I liked the song a while ago and it still does not disturb me - provided it remains in the dusty archives of 2018 music and resurfaces once in a while. I don't know why Halsey had to perform twice. She could have stuck with one performance and gone home on a high note. She knows this song is hated. She should have at least put some effort into performing for the audience, too. The whole thing was for the camera. I am glad I wasn't there because that would have made me mad. She is performing live, and the only was to get the 'best' out of the performance is to look at the screen... I understand Halsey can't quite make a set like Swift and Urie's, but, honestly, if she would have stood alone with a mic and sung the performance would have been ten times better.
1/10
Ciara - Thinkin Bout You
~This is what I call an elegant performance. It was simple, but effective. There's not much to say about it - Ciara got up, sang right on pitch, wandered through the audience, and danced a bit near the end. Nothing crazy, nothing psycho, and if I liked the song the performance would have been perfect. I do not, I find the high pitch very annoying and the song is repetitive. However, all fans of this song must have liked the performance because there was nothing wrong with it.
4/10
Dan + Shay/Tori Kelly - Speechless
~This was one of the humblest performances I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong - the song is solid and their voices were spot-on perfection. It was just too simple. I know I said this is what Halsey should have done, but she had such a hard song to perform. This performance could have had a background, some movement... This should have been the closer, the sort of song that brings you down from the climax of the night and saying 'alright everybody, time to go home to your friends and family whom you love and cherish'. I guess everybody wants to exit a concert feeling happy, not in love. Oh well. Anyways, props to Dan + Shay, who make some of the best country music right now, and to Tori Kelly who added a lot to this song while performing. By the way, if you want to see an epic performance have a look at this one from the AMC Awards whose background is unprecedented in beauty.
7/10
Jonas Brothers - Medley
~This, simple put, was amazing. This was my personal favourite performance of the night. It started off with Nick Jonas alone singing Jealous... Which I consider decent as a song. In the performance, it was good, mainly due to Joe Jonas taking over quickly with his great voice. Cake by the Ocean followed suit, and that was extremely fun to watch. I still enjoy the song because it is so catchy and I have not heard it in a while. It disturbed me at the beginning that Kevin Jonas was not anywhere considering that he does so much for the band, but all concerns disappeared with that epic entrance, those flames, that guitar riff, which transitioned perfectly into a performance of Sucker, which is one of my favourite songs of the year. The performance was amazing. You can't go wrong with fire, as The Weeknd knew very well, for example, when he performed The Hills a while ago. I have so much more respect for Jonas Brothers than for other pop bands out there, especially because their wives feature in the video instead of other women. It was so nice to see them cheer on their husbands... It's so nice to see the Jonas Brothers back together again. They know what they are doing. They can perform. They don't need any modernisation. Everything about Sucker and this performance goes completely against the musical timeline, but it works, because the Jonas Brothers show that the easiest way to make your audience have fun is to have fun yourself.
10/10
Khalid - Talk/Better
~This guy makes me laugh. This performance was just so bad it's funny. You just can't insult this guy. He's so happy when he performs his signature music that makes you depressed. He wasn't singing for much of Talk, which made the performance awkward. Better was better... I just don't see the appeal of hearing this kind of voice live. I hear him interviewed on the radio sometimes and he is just the most innocent guy. He reminds me of my cat who enjoys jumping inside the aquarium when we clean it, or inside the freezer. You want to tell him he's going places where he definitely should not be, but he ends up just making you smile. Congratulations on making it, Khalid, but, please, I don't want to ever see you live again.
3/10
Ariana Grande - 7 Rings
~Sorry, um... What? What did I just see? Billboard decided to show Ariana Grande pre-recorded from Vancouver. Why? I don't know. But what the viewers experienced instead was a performance of 7 Rings by the lively crowd of Rogers Arena. I'll bet they sang more often than Ariana Grande. It is very annoying when people point the mic to the crowd that much and play the recorded song at the same time. Either way, the song is good. I know many bloggers disagree with me and I'm going to have some job explaining why, but right now I'm writing about the performance. I don't know what happened. I guess I was spoiled seeing Panic! and OneRepublic live in concert, but Ariana Grande doesn't seem to have what it takes to be interesting live. There are a lot of people doing I don't know what around her as she
2/10
Madonna/Maluma - Medellin
~Next up we have the re-return of Madonna with Maluma. Two very big names... I expected more. The song is very basic, from the beat, to the melody, to the '1, 2, cha cha cha', everything has been seen before. The only thing I can praise is Madonna's voice which is still unique and pleasant to listen to. Maluma was great in Chantaje but it seems he isn't suited for anything else. The song is bad, but if you look at my rating, it's very high. Did you see that performance??? WOW! It was so interesting, so captivating, so magical... It left you in complete awe. It's one of those performances where your least favourite song of all time would still be interesting. The holograms were so cool. Who needs backup dancers on set when you can have magic figures that disappear in a flutter of gold dust? It's so original. I will probably remember this performance for the rest of my life. If only the song were interesting by itself...
9/10
Lauren Daigle - You Say
~Who needs a set, who needs dancers, live effects, extravagant costumes, who needs anything except for a piano and three rare background voices when you are Lauren Daigle? It is so, so, so hard to do what she did that night. Her voice is so good! She sings her soul into her songs. She is incredible. I admire anybody bold enough to perform to millions with that little support. The fact that Daigle is capable of doing it with grace and style is astounding. This artist has talent. Of all the sad performances at the Billboard Awards, this one was the best. The only thing is that this didn't help keep me awake, but who cares? This was one of the greatest performances ever. I respect Daigle so much for succeeding at such hard a task.
10/10
Mariah Carey - Medley
~I never was one to love Mariah Carey. Her Christmas song is so annoying and I hate that it keeps making millions every holiday season. Nevertheless, what she has accomplished in terms of success and popularity is undoubtedly worthy of the 'Billboard Icon Award'. I just do not like her music. So when she came up and did a simple performance of singing songs I did not like, I was not impressed. I acknowledge that her lifetime of achievements is admirable, but I just cannot stand her squeaking high notes. It sounds like problems with the mic or with puberty. Her songs are all laid back and old fashioned. If Mariah Carey would stop everything I would still have a bit of respect for her, but she is the last person who should be back for more from the music industry.
3/10
Panic! At the Disco - Hey Look Ma, I Made It
~I have grown on this song after hating it when I first heard it. It remains the worst song on the album, and the second-worst song by Panic! At the Disco I know, behind I Write Sins Not Tragedies. Whereas the latter is bad, this one is okay. I just expect more from Panic! after High Hopes, Victorious, Emperor's New Clothes, Let's Kill Tonight... The music in this song is depressing and the chorus gets old very fast. Anyways, the performance was great. I love Brendon Urie's stage style. His concert is the best I have ever seen and will ever see for the rest of my life, I have no doubt. This guy was just born to perform. He makes me so happy every time I listen to his music, every time I see him sing... The authenticity and talent of the instruments makes Panic! At the Disco the perfect band. If only they performed King of the Clouds, Roaring 20s, or something better than this song... Yeah, I don't appreciate Panic! enough. They are amazing. This performance was amazing. I am so glad he is getting truly famous because he deserves it more than anyone else.
7/10
Kelly Clarkson - Broken & Beautiful
~I have mentioned how I trivially dislike Kelly Clarkson and that hasn't changed since a couple of pictures ago. I struggle to find anything to say about this performance - it is nice that there were kids, it's for UglyDolls, which makes sense, and the lyrics have a ring to them that is very clever but that I have heard in many songs before. Kelly Clarkson sings much better than in other songs that make me cringe just by typing the title. If the song would have underwent a few more weeks of production the beat would have been fixed, the bridge would have been more powerful, the music would have felt less like a 4$ keyboard and more like a professional song. But that is just my opinion. Otherwise, Kelly Clarkson is very similar live compared to recordings.
5/10
BTS/Halsey - Boy With Luv
~This was supposed to be the high point of the night, and, boy, did it live up to its hype. It always astounds me how BTS can survive all the popularity and anticipation created by all of the fans. There is no way I would be able to sing in front of all those screaming people. To add to this pressure, they dance! And, you bet, they can dance. They are seriously amazing dancers. Halsey somehow managed to keep up with the amazing performers she accompanied, without seeming too much out of place. The song is above average. I will gladly listen to it and the chorus gets stuck in your head, and when that happens, I don't want to get it out. The performance was just amazing. I felt like I was watching the finals of a dance show (with a guest host way past her time). I consider myself a fan of BTS, not as crazy as the real fans, but a fan nonetheless. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these guys and I did not regret staying up sick until 10:30 just to watch them along with everyone else. I am glad they are finally getting recognised in North America.
9/10
Paula Abdul - Medley
~The last performance of the night was worthy of closing things off. It was good. The first performer who sung with backup dancers (I think?) stole the spotlight and showed everyone how it's done. It was simply good - I don't see anything wrong with it. It was fun, the songs were good and the dancing was better than all the other performances, except of course BTS. It was fun to watch, but it was long, and the auto tune got annoying, especially when she said 'thank you'... That was a bit sad.
8/10
Top 3:
1. Jonas Brothers
2. Lauren Daigle
3. BTS/Halsey
Bottom 3:
1. Halsey
2. Ariana Grande
3. Khalid
Well that's it for now! Thanks for checking in. I might do a weekend countdown post in the next month or two, so keep an eye out for that. Until later, thank you for viewing!!!!
I agree with most of these reviews. Good post for the most part. This is Gelography from god knows how long back by the way, I actually exist now.
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