Energetic performances and heart-felt tributes took center stage at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, as Adele, LMFAO, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift came away top awards. British Grammy-winning singer Adele won 12 awards from 18 nominations for her juggernaut album ‘21’, including top artist, top female artist and top album. But LMFAO, the uncle-nephew duo Redfoo and SkyBlu picked up two awards, song of the year for ‘Party Rock Anthem’ and the top duo/group, along with four more honours. Katy Perry hung above the stage in a swing to sing her latest heartbreak single ‘Wide Awake’, while Justin Bieber, one of last year’s big winners at the Billboard show, sang ‘Boyfriend’ with dancers dressed as clowns and neon geisha girls. Taylor Swift was given the Billboard Woman of the Year honor for her success as a recording artist. Bieber picked up the award for the most social artist, thanking his 22 million Twitter followers and 43 million Facebook fans. Perry was given the Spotlight award for being the only female artist in history to see five No 1 singles from one album. Michael Jackson is the only artist to have received the award previously. The awards show featured numerous tributes to late Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, ‘Disco Queen’ Donna Summer, Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch and Whitney Houston, who was posthumously given the Millennium award.
