The first round of performers for the 2020 Billboard Music Awards was announced on Tuesday, with Luke Combs, Alicia Keys, Bad Bunny and Post Malone all set to take the stage in October. Garth Brooks will also perform during the show and is set to receive the prestigious ICON Award, which has so far been given to just eight artists.
The 2020 Billboard Music Awards will take place on Oct. 14 and will be hosted for the third consecutive year by Kelly Clarkson. Combs, Dan + Shay and Maren Morris lead the country nominees this year with four nods each, including the all-genre Top Duo/Group for Dan + Shay and the all-genre Billboard Chart Achievement Award, which is fan-voted, for Combs. Kane Brown and Thomas Rhett follow with three nominations each and Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Old Dominion and Morgan Wallen all have two. Several artists earned one nomination including Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Kacey Musgraves and George Strait.
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The 2020 Billboard Music Awards will air Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. The awards are based on the chart period of March 23, 2019 through March 14, 2020, which was set for an April 2020 show. While this year’s event was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the eligibility period will remain intact to honor the original winners and maintain consistent eligibility periods for future shows.
Shortly after the 2020 ceremony on Oct. 23, Combs will release What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, a deluxe reissue of his sophomore album, 2019’s What You See Is What You Get. The new album will feature all 18 songs from the original project as well as five new tracks that have not yet been announced. Combs recently announced that his latest single will be “Better Together,” a song inspired by his new wife, Nicole.
It was announced in February that Brooks would be receiving Billboard’s ICON Award, which has previously gone to Cher, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. The 58-year-old has been keeping busy during quarantine with his weekly Facebook Live show, Inside Studio G, and on Monday’s episode, he welcomed fans to the show’s new stage, which is 360 degrees and features screens to host a live virtual audience, which this week included Brooks’ wife, Trisha Yearwood.
