LEGENDARY MUSIC SUPERSTAR CELINE DION TO RECEIVE ICON AWARD AT THE “2016 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS”

SANTA MONICA, CA (May 4, 2016) – Billboard and dick clark productions announcedtoday that renowned musical performer Celine Dion will be honored with the prestigious Icon Award on the “2016 Billboard Music Awards.”  Dion will also take to the stage for a special rendition of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On.”  The “2016 Billboard Music Awards” will broadcast LIVE from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC, and for the first time, the show will air live on the West Coast at 5:00 p.m. PT. This year’s show, which will be hosted by hip-hop artist Ludacris and international music sensation Ciara, will showcase big performances, unexpected collaborations and much-discussed pop culture moments.  Celine joins previously announced performers Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, DNCE, The Go-Go’s, Shawn Mendes, P!nk and collaborations with Nick Jonas, Tove Lo and Demi Lovato.

The Icon Awards is a lifetime achievement award and the ultimate honor.  Celine is the 5th artist to receive this award for her remarkable and enduring contribution to popular music.  Past winners include Neil Diamond, Jennifer Lopez, Prince, and Stevie Wonder.

“Celine Dion has a huge repertoire of monster hits and she personally chose to perform ‘The Show Must Go On’ as her ICON performance on the Billboard Music Awards, stated 2016 Billboard Music Award executive producer Mark Bracco. “I think at this moment in her life the song has many meanings and it an amazing choice.”

One of the most immediately recognized, widely respected and successful performers in pop music history, Celine Dion has sold almost 250 million albums during her over 30-year career. She has earned five Grammy Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, two Academy Awards, six American Music Awards, 20 Juno Awards (Canada) and an astonishing 40 Felix Award (Quebec).  She’s placed 17 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, including a dozen top 10 efforts — four of which reached No. 1. Her most recent studio album, 2013’s Loved Me Back To Life, continued her hot streak in the top 10, as it debuted at No. 2 on the chart. Additionally, with 11 No. 1s on the Adult Contemporary chart, she holds the record for the most chart-toppers by a woman in the 55-year history of the list. In 2004, Celine received the Diamond award at the World Music Awards recognizing her status as the best-selling female artist of all time. In 2007 she was honored with the Legend Award at World Music Awards in recognition of her global success and outstanding contribution to the music industry. Celine continues to perform her critically-acclaimed Las Vegas residency, “Celine” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and will hit an epic 1,000 performances in the venue this fall.  

Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of tracking dates March 23, 2015 through March 17, 2016 and Billboard chart dates April 11, 2015 through April 2, 2016.  Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of songs and albums, and are the ultimate measure of a musician’s success.

The “2016 Billboard Music Awards” sponsors and partners include Kia Motors, Music Choice and WestwoodOne.

Tickets are now on sale for the “2016 Billboard Music Awards.” To purchase tickets online, fans should go to www.axs.com or www.t-mobilearena.com.

For additional information on the “2016 Billboard Music Awards” visit us at www.billboardmusicawards.com or the Billboard hub at www.billboard.com/bbma. 

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Cheat Tweet: .@celinedion to receive Icon Award and perform Queen's "The Show Must Go On" at the @BBMAs: bit.ly/CelineBBMAs

About Billboard

Billboard is the world’s most influential music brand, built on the most complete and well- respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts define success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com, the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry’s most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music – the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike. Billboard was named the leading U.S. brand on Twitter, surpassing the NFL, ESPN, BuzzFeed and MTV, with 7.5 million engaged actions in Q4 2015, and named an overall Top 10 U.S. Media Publisher in December 2015 with 11.8 million social actions. Billboard topped Shareablee’s list of U.S. publishers by engagement on Twitter in Q4, ahead of brands including Bleacher Report, BuzzFeed and The New York Times. Billboard magazine has scored major news-generating covers recently including Nicki Minaj, Lana Del Rey, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber.

About “2016 Billboard Music Awards”

The “2016 Billboard Music Awards” are set to return to ABC and will be broadcast live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 22 at 8:00pm ET/ 5:00pm PT. The show will showcase this year’s hottest and biggest music stars.  Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social engagement. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of March 23, 2015 through March 17, 2016. The “2016 Billboard Music Awards” is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman and Robert Deaton are Executive Producers.

About dick clark productions 

dick clark productions (dcp) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming, with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Country Countdown Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Hollywood Film Awards” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance,” from 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group and dcp. dcp also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries, with more than 55 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.