The 2020 Billboard Music Awards will be held tonight, October 14, but who will win? Hundreds of Gold Derby users have placed their bets in 15 top categories here in our predictions center. Their forecasts have been combined to generate our official racetrack odds. Scroll down to see who we’re betting on, listed in order of their odds with projected winners highlighted in gold.
Post Malone goes into this event with the most nominations (16), so it’s probably not surprising that we’re betting on him to take home plenty of hardware. Out of the categories we’re predicting, he’s tipped to win Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Rap Artist and Top Billboard 200 Album (“Hollywood’s Bleeding“). And that may just be scratching the surface of his ultimate haul given the chart success of “Bleeding” and its single “Circles.”
Billie Eilish is expected to take home a couple of top awards out of her 13 nominations: Top New Artist and Top Female Artist, and she may give Post Malone a run for his money for Top Billboard 200 Album thanks to her Grammy-winning chart-topper “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
Elsewhere, we expect Jonas Brothers to edge out K-pop sensations BTS for Top Duo or Group, but BTS are out front to win the fan-voted Top Social Artist category, which they’ve claimed for the last three years in a row. And Lil Nas X can expect to come away with Top Hot 100 Song for “Old Town Road,” which spent a record-breaking 19 weeks at number-one in 2019.
Apart from the awards decided directly by fans (Top Social Artist, Top Collaboration and the Chart Achievement Award), nominees and winners are determined using the same commercial metrics that determine Billboard’s charts, including record sales, radio airplay, online streams, social engagement and touring performance. Since these awards were delayed from the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they cover the chart period from March 2019 to March 2020, so achievements since then will have to wait until 2021.
Do you agree with our collective forecasts? Who else do you think will win when trophies are handed out?
TOP ARTIST
Post Malone — 82/25
Billie Eilish — 19/5
Taylor Swift — 4/1
Jonas Brothers — 9/2
Khalid — 9/2
TOP NEW ARTIST
Billie Eilish — 31/10
Lil Nas X — 39/10
Lizzo — 4/1
DaBaby — 9/2
Roddy Ricch — 9/2
TOP FEMALE ARTIST
Billie Eilish — 16/5
Taylor Swift — 39/10
Ariana Grande — 9/2
Lizzo — 9/2
Halsey — 9/2
TOP MALE ARTIST
Post Malone — 31/10
Khalid — 4/1
DaBaby — 9/2
Lil Nas X — 9/2
Ed Sheeran — 9/2
TOP DUO OR GROUP
Jonas Brothers — 82/25
BTS — 37/10
Panic! At the Disco — 9/2
Dan and Shay — 9/2
Marron 5 — 9/2
TOP R&B ARTIST
Khalid — 82/25
The Weeknd — 19/5
Lizzo — 4/1
Chris Brown — 9/2
Summer Walker — 9/2
TOP RAP ARTIST
Post Malone — 16/5
DaBaby — 4/1
Lil Nas X — 4/1
Roddy Ricch — 9/2
Juice WRLD — 9/2
TOP ROCK ARTIST
Panic! At the Disco — 16/5
Imagine Dragons — 39/10
Tame Impala — 9/2
Twenty One Pilots — 9/2
Tool — 9/2
TOP COUNTRY ARTIST
Luke Combs — 16/5
Dan and Shay — 39/10
Kane Brown — 9/2
Maren Morris — 9/2
Thomas Rhett — 9/2
TOP TOURING ARTIST
Ed Sheeran — 82/25
Elton John — 19/5
Rolling Stones — 9/2
Pink — 9/2
Metallica — 9/2
TOP SOCIAL ARTIST
BTS — 31/10
Ariana Grande — 39/10
Billie Eilish — 9/2
EXO — 9/2
GOT7 — 9/2
TOP BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM
“Hollywood’s Bleeding,” Post Malone — 10/3
“When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” Billie Eilish — 37/10
“Thank U, Next,” Ariana Grande — 9/2
“Lover,” Taylor Swift — 9/2
“Free Spirit,” Khalid — 9/2
TOP HOT 100 SONG
“Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus — 16/5
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish — 39/10
“Truth Hurts,” Lizzo — 9/2
“Someone You Loved,” Lewis Capaldi — 9/2
“Senorita,” Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello — 9/2
TOP COLLABORATION
“Senorita,” Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello — 10/3
“Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus — 37/10
“Sunflower,” Post Malone and Swae Lee — 4/1
“I Don’t Care,” Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber — 9/2
“No Guidance,” Chris Brown feat. Drake — 9/2
TOP SOUNDTRACK
“Frozen II” — 31/10
“Aladdin” — 39/10
“Descendants 3” — 9/2
“The Dirt,” Motley Crue — 9/2
“K-12,” Melanie Martinez — 9/2
Be sure to make your Billboard Music Award predictions so that Hollywood insiders can see this year’s contenders are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions until winners are announced. And join the discussion on this and more taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our music forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
