Rihanna, Swift Lead 2013 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS

Billboard announced today the highly anticipated 2013 Billboard Music Awards finalists, following the year-long tracking period of March 12, 2012 to March 10, 2013, including such names as Taylor Swift, fun., Maroon 5 and One Direction. Winners will be revealed on "The 2013 Billboard Music Awards" airing live from Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena SUNDAY, MAY 19 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network, sponsored by Chevrolet, Las Vegas and Samsung GALAXY S 4. The star-studded broadcast will be hosted by actor/comedian Tracy Morgan and executive-produced by Don Mischer. Visit www.billboard.com for information and updates.

Taylor Swift, fun. and Maroon 5 tie for the lead with nods in 11 award categories, followed by Rihanna and Carly Rae Jepsen as finalists in 10 and 9 categories, respectively. One Direction is the finalist with the next-highest count, with spots in an impressive 8 categories. Out of their 11 categories, the three leaders will all compete for Top Hot 100 Artist and Top Digital Songs Artist. Maroon 5 and fun. will also vie for Top Duo/Group, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top Hot 100 Song and Top Digital Song. Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift will compete for Top Artist, while fun. and Taylor Swift are both finalists for Top Streaming Song (Video).

Rihanna is a strong contender as a finalist in 10 categories, including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top Streaming Artist, Top R&B Artist, Album and Song, as well as Top Dance Song. Carly Rae Jepsen's breakout hit, "Call Me Maybe," earned her a finalist position in 6 separate song categories, including Top Hot 100 Song, Top Digital Song, Top Radio Song, Top Streaming Song (Video) and Top Pop Song.

Debuting for the first time this year, the Billboard Music Awards will also feature new EDM categories due to the overwhelming popularity of this genre, which will spotlight top electronic dance music artists, albums and songs.

Billboard Music Awards finalists were based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital singles sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, VEVO, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements were tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Entertainment and Next Big Sound.

Additionally during the broadcast, Billboard will honor Prince with the coveted Billboard Icon Award, and the ingenuity of this year's hitmakers will be celebrated with the new Milestone Award, presented by Chevrolet. Fans can vote for their favorite finalist now at Billboard.com/milestone.

Billboard Music Awards tickets are on sale now, priced beginning at $75 for Upper Level and not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets are available at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith's Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to four (4) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The full list of nominations follow:

Top Artist
Justin Bieber
Maroon 5
One Direction
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Top Hot100 Song
Some Nights
Somebody That I Used To Know
Call Me Maybe
One More Night
Payphone

Top Billboard 200 Albums
21
Babel
Red
Up All Night
Take Me Home

Top Duo/Group
Coldplay
One Direction
Fun.
Maroon 5
Mumford & Sons

Top New Artist
Carly Rae Jepsen
Gotye
PSY
One Direction
The Lumineers

Top Touring Artist
Lady GaGa
Coldplay
Madonna
Roger Waters
Bruce Springsteen

Top Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Bruno Mars
Drake
Flo Rida
Jason Aldean

Top Female Artist
Nicki Minaj
Rihanna
ADELE
Taylor Swift
Carly Rae Jepsen

Top Hot100 Artist
Maroon 5
Taylor Swift
Rihanna
Fun.
Flo Rida

Top Billboard200 Albums
Justin Bieber
One Direction
Taylor Swift
ADELE
Mumford & Sons

Top Digital Songs Artist
Carly Rae Jepsen
Taylor Swift
Flo Rida
Fun.
Maroon 5

Top Radio Songs Artist
Nicki Minaj
Rihanna
Maroon 5
Fun.
Flo Rida

Top Social Artist
One Direction
Rihanna
Katy Perry
Taylor Swift
Justin Bieber

Top Streaming Artist
PSY
Rihanna
Nicki Minaj
Baauer
Drake

Top Pop Artist
One Direction
Bruno Mars
Maroon 5
ADELE
Justin Bieber

Top R&B Artist
Ne-Yo
Rihanna
Chris Brown
Alicia Keys
Usher

Top Rap Artist
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Pitbull
Flo Rida
PSY

Top Country
Carrie Underwood
Taylor Swift
Hunter Hayes
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan

Top Latin Artist
Shakira
Jenni Rivera
Romeo Santos
Prince Royce
Don Omar

Top Rock Artist
Fun.
Coldplay
Gotye
Bruce Springsteen
Mumford & Sons

Top Dance Artist
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Skrillex
Madonna
Swedish House Mafia

Top EDM Artist
Calvin Harris
Skrillex
Deadmau5
Swedish House Mafia
David Guetta

Top Christian Artist
Casting Crowns
MercyMe
Matt Redman
tobyMac
Chris Tomlin

Top Pop Album
ADELE - 21
Maroon 5 - Overexposed
One Direction - Take Me Home
One Direction - Up All Night
Justin Bieber - Believe

Top R&B Album
Rihanna - Unapologetic
Usher - Looking 4 Myself
Chris Brown - Fortune
Alicia Keys - Girl On Fire
Frank Ocean - Challell Orange

Top Rap Album
Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday:Roman Reloaded
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist
Rick Ross - God Forgives, I Don't
2 Chainz - Based On A T.R.U. Story
Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City

Top Country Album
Jason Aldean - Nigh Train
Taylor Swift - Red
Carrie Underwood - Blown Away
Luke Bryan - Tailgates & Tanlines
Lionel Richie - Tuskegee

Top Rock Album
Fun. - Some Nights
The Lumineers - The Lumineers
Mumford & Sons - Babel
Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
Phillip Phillips - The World From The Side Of The Moon

Top Latin Album
Prince Royce - Phase II
Jenni Rivera - Joyas Prestadas: Banda
Jenni Rivera - Joyas Prestadas: Pop
Jenni Rivera - La Misma Gran Señora
Romeo Santos - Formula, Vol. 1

Top Dance Album
David Guetta - Nothing But the Beat
Deadmau5 - >Album Title Goes Here<
LMFAO - Sorry for Party Rocking
Madonna - MDNA
Skrillex - Bangarang

Top EDM Album
David Guetta - Nothing But the Beat
Deadmau5 - >Album Title Goes Here<
Skrillex - Bangarang
Skrillex - Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites
Swedish House Mafia - Until Now

Top Christian Album
Casting Crowns - Come to the Well
Lecrae - Gravity
MercyMe - The Hurt & the Healer
tobyMac - Eye on It
Various Artists - Wow Hits 2013: 30 of Today's Top Christian Artists & Hits

Top Digital Song
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae - We Are Young
Gotye feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know
Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz - Thrift Shop
Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa - Payphone

Top Radio Song
Gotye feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know
Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
Maroon 5 - One More Night
Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa - Payphone
Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven

Top Streaming Song (Audio)
Fun. - Some Nights
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae - We Are Young
Gotye feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know
Ellie Goulding - Lights
Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

Top Streaming Song (Video)
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae - We Are Young
Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz - Thrift Shop
PSY - Gangnam Style
Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Source: Billboard