Billboard Awards Nominations Led by the Weeknd, Doja Cat, Kanye West, Olivia Rodrigo and Justin Bieber

variety.com:

Chris Willman Music WriterThe Weeknd may have kept his music out of contention for the recent Grammys, but there’s no shortage of him being name-checked on the just-released list of candidates for the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, where he leads with 17 nominations — three more than the nearest runner-up, Doja Cat, who has 14.There’s a three-way tie for third place among contenders, with Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber and Kanye West all having 13 as a possibly lucky number.Another top artist who recused himself from Grammy consideration, Drake, has 11 nominations going into the ceremony, followed by Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa with nine, the Kid Laroi with eight, and BTS, Taylor Swift and Giveon with seven each.

If 13 for any reason should seem like a high number for West, there’s a peculiar reason for that. Ye’s “Donda” album and the songs therein were considered “gospel” for Billboard chart purposes in 2021, even though, unlike the albums that preceded it, religious material accounted for only a sliver of the album.

As a result, 12 out of 13 of West’s nominations come in Christian or gospel categories, with the lone secular outlier for Ye being a nod for top rap album.

West even holds four out of five spots in two of the Christian music categories.The Billboard Music Awards show will have some strong commonality with the Grammys in at least one regard: It will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.