Ed Sheeran leads the first wave of nominations for the 2018 Billboard Music Awards.
The ‘Shape of You’ singer have received four nods so far for Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Song for ‘Shape of You’ and Top Selling Album for ‘Divide’.
‘Delicate’ hitmaker Taylor Swift follows shortly behind with four nominations for Top Artist, Top Female Artist and Top Selling Album for ‘Reputation’.
Taylor and Ed will battle it out with Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Bruno Mars to be crowned Top Artist, one of the highest honours of the night.
Bebe Rexha and Khalid unveiled the seven major categories on the ‘Today’ show on Tuesday (17.04.18), where they also announced each others’ nominations.
Bebe, 28, is up for Top Country Song for her Florida Georgia Line, ‘Meant to Be’.
She said: "I’m a New York city girl, I didn’t think I was going to be nominated for a country award!"
Khalid will go against 21 Savage, Camila Cabello, Cardi B and Kodak Black to be crowned the winner of Top New Artist.
According to the publication, "Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social engagement, determined using data in a 12-month tracking period."
The 2018 Billboard Music Awards will air on NBC for the first time ever, broadcast live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 20.
This year is a special year for the BBMA’s as it marks 60 years of Billboard charts.
Further nominations will be announced as the categories are unveiled live on Billboard’s Facebook page.
The nominations in the seven main categories are as follows:
Top Artist:
Drake
Kendrick Lamar
Bruno Mars
Ed Sheeran
Taylor Swift
Top Female Artist:
Camila Cabello
Cardi B
Halsey
Demi Lovato
Taylor Swift
Top Male Artist:
Drake
Kendrick Lamar
Bruno Mars
Post Malone
Ed Sheeran
Top Hot 100 Song:
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber, ‘Despacito’
Kendrick Lamar, ‘Humble’
Bruno Mars, ‘That’s What I Like’
Post Malone ft. 21 Savage, ‘Rockstar’
Ed Sheeran, ‘Shape Of You’
Top Selling Album:
Kendrick Lamar – ‘DAMN’
P!nk – ‘Beautiful Trauma’
Ed Sheeran, ‘÷’ (Divide)
Chris Stapleton – ‘From A Room: Volume 1’
Taylor Swift – ‘Reputation’
Top New Artist
21 Savage
Camila Cabello
Cardi B
Khalid
Kodak Black
Top Country Song
Kane Brown, ‘What Ifs (feat. Lauren Alaina)’
Sam Hunt, ‘Body Like a Back Road’
Dustin Lynch, ‘Small Town Boy’
Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line, ‘Meant to Be’
Brett Young, ‘In Case You Didn’t Know’