₦airaland Forum

The Weeknd cleaned up at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards, taking home 10 trophies.

Nominated for a leading 16 awards, The Weeknd's wins – including top artist and top hot 100 artist – brings his career total to 19, placing him in the top five winners of all time behind Drake, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Garth Brooks.

The Weeknd followed up his sweep with a wild performance of "Save Your Tears," as he swapped backup dancers for automobiles.

Nick Jonas hosted the live awards show held at Los Angeles' Microsoft Theater and closed the night with a Jonas Brothers performance of their new Marshmello collab "Leave Before You Love Me."

Drake, who came into the night as the winningest artist with 27 trophies, added another for top streaming songs artist, by night’s end. The rapper was honored as the artist of the decade, and brought his son Adonis onstage to celebrate the milestone.


Gabby Barrett won bigat Billboard Awards with three wins, but that gold dress stole the show

Stunning:Pink, 9-year-old daughter Willow's emotional aerial performance at Billboard Music Awards

Morgan Wallenwins top Billboard Music Awards country honors, despite being banned from ceremony

The Weeknd accepts the top artist award.
The Weeknd accepts the top artist award.
NBC VIA AP
Pink was the recipient of tonight's Icon Award. The "Raise Your Glass" singer is the 10th person to receive the award, joining the ranks of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Cher. She was joined onstage by 9-year-old daughter, Willow Sage Hart, for a stunning aerial performance.

Other notable performances of the night included BTS' debut of their second English-language single, "Butter," Colombian artist Karol G made her BBMAs performance debut, Doja Cat and SZA opened up the show with their hit song "Kiss Me More," and the legendary Alicia Keys celebrated the 20th anniversary of her debut album "Songs in A Minor" with a medley performance, after a touching tribute from Michelle Obama.

The Billboard Music Awards are based on the chart period of March 21, 2020 through April 3, 2021.

Here are the nominees and winners:

Top Artist
Drake

Juice WRLD

Pop Smoke

Taylor Swift

WINNER: The Weeknd

Top New Artist
Gabby Barrett

Doja Cat

Jack Harlow

WINNER: Pop Smoke

Rod Wave

Top Male Artist
Drake

Juice WRLD

Lil Baby

Pop Smoke

WINNER: The Weeknd

Top Female Artist
Billie Eilish

Ariana Grande

Dua Lipa

Megan Thee Stallion

WINNER: Taylor Swift

Top Duo/Group
AC/DC

AJR

WINNER: BTS

Dan + Shay

Maroon 5

Top Billboard 200 Artist
Drake

Juice WRLD

Pop Smoke

Post Malone

WINNER: Taylor Swift

Top Streaming Songs Artist
DaBaby

WINNER: Drake

Lil Baby

Pop Smoke

The Weeknd


Top Song Sales Artist
Justin Bieber

WINNER: BTS

Megan Thee Stallion

Morgan Wallen

The Weeknd

Top Radio Songs Artist
Justin Bieber

Lewis Capaldi

Dua Lipa

Harry Styles

WINNER: The Weeknd

Top Social Artist (Fan Voted)
BLACKPINK

WINNER: BTS

Ariana Grande

SB19

Seventeen

Top R&B Artist
Jhené Aiko

Justin Bieber

Chris Brown

Doja Cat

WINNER: The Weeknd

Top Rap Artist
WINNER: DaBaby

Drake

Juice WRLD

Lil Baby

Pop Smoke

Top Country Artist
WINNER: Gabby Barrett

Kane Brown

Luke Combs

Chris Stapleton

Morgan Wallen

Top Rock Artist
AC/DC

AJR

Five Finger Death Punch

WINNER: Machine Gun Kelly

twenty one pilots

Top Latin Artist
Anuel AA

WINNER: Bad Bunny

J Balvin

Maluma

Ozuna

Top Dance/Electronic Artist
The Chainsmokers

Kygo

WINNER: Lady Gaga

Marshmello

Surf Mesa

Top Christian Artist
Casting Crowns

WINNER: Elevation Worship

for KING & COUNTRY

Carrie Underwood

Zach Williams

Top Gospel Artist
Kirk Franklin

Koryn Hawthorne

Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Maverick City Music

WINNER: Kanye West

Top Billboard 200 Album
Juice WRLD “Legends Never Die”

Lil Baby “My Turn”

WINNER: Pop Smoke "Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon"

Taylor Swift “folklore”

The Weeknd “After Hours”

Top Hot 100 Song
24kGoldn ft. iann dior “Mood”

Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth “I Hope”

Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy”

DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch “ROCKSTAR”

WINNER: The Weeknd “Blinding Lights”

Top Streaming Song
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion “WAP”

WINNER: DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch “ROCKSTAR”

Future ft. Drake “Life Is Good”

Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez, & Lil Wayne “WHATS POPPIN”

The Weeknd “Blinding Lights”

Top Collaboration
24kGoldn ft. iann dior “Mood”

WINNER: Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth “I Hope”

Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy”

DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch “ROCKSTAR”

Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez, & Lil Wayne “WHATS POPPIN”

Billboard Award 2021

‌
Popular American actor, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, who was known for his bullying Deebo character in the “Friday” films, has died at 62.


Lister’s manager, Cindy Cowan, said the former professional wrestler was found unconscious in his home in Marina Del Rey, California, on Thursday afternoon. He was pronounced dead at the scene, apnews.com reports.

Cowan said Lister was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this year. She said the actor overcame the virus, but he became sick about a week ago and recently had trouble breathing.

The cause of death has not been released, and the coroner’s office is investigating.


“He was a gentle giant. He had a smile as broad as you could imagine. He’s going to be missed by so many. We’re all devastated,” Cowan said.

Lister started his career as a pro wrestler, standing 6-foot-5 with broad shoulders at about 275 pounds. His early roles included HBO football series “1st & Ten” along with movie appearances in “Beverly Hills Cop II,” which starred Eddie Murphy, and “No Holds Barred,” the 1989 film where his character Zeus challenged Hulk Hogan in a wrestling match.


The actor, who was blind in his right eye since birth, wrestled Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation in an actual match after the “No Holds Barred” film release. He also had a short stint in the World Championship Wrestling under the name Z-Gangsta.

However, Lister’s most notable role came in the Ice Cube’s 1995 film “Friday” and its sequel five years later. He portrayed the role of Deebo, a felon who was known as the neighbourhood bully who terrorized his neighbours with intimidation and fear. His character was known for his infamous line “Get knocked out like your father used to.”


“RIP Tiny “Deebo” Lister. America’s favourite bully was a born entertainer who would pop into character at the drop of a hat terrifying people on and off-camera. Followed by a big smile and laugh. Thank you for being a good dude at heart. I miss you already,” Ice Cube said on Thursday night via Instagram.

Lister also appeared in “The Fifth Element,” “The Dark Knight” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”

“WWE is saddened to learn that Tom “Tiny” Lister, known as Zeus to the WWE Universe, passed away today,” the WWE said in a tweet.


The Compton, California, native was a track and field star who became the 1982 NCAA Division II shotput champion while he attended California State University, Los Angeles. He briefly played football with the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League.

Socialite and nightclub owner, Mike Nwogu, aka Pretty Mike, has got the eyes and ears of the media after he attended the wedding of an actor, Williams Uchemba, with six pregnant ladies last weekend.

Although that was not the first time the socialite would cause a stir on social media, his latest stunt went viral on the Internet and attracted the attention of the international media.

In an interview with Saturday Beats, Pretty Mike, claimed that his motive was to bring attention to the plight of pregnant women. He said, “I came up with the concept because I am surrounded by ladies. Because of the publicity this incident has garnered, I am about to start a foundation for pregnant women. We are in a country that stereotypes women. No woman can get a job when she is pregnant. So, the question is, how would they survive, especially in this period when COVID-19 has sacked some husbands or partners from their jobs? Even if a woman is qualified, once the employer finds out she is pregnant, she would not be considered for the job.

“Who speaks up for them or the single ladies that are pregnant? Society, government, parents and even the church have pushed them out. To some people, this is all a joke but there are many pregnant women that do not have people to speak out for them. They have been stigmatised and many of them are depressed. Now that I have brought them out, some people are celebrating me while some are castigating me, saying it’s an abomination. Since that incident, many pregnant women have reached out to me, asking for financial assistance or jobs. I was inspired to do that when a friend got pregnant and her boyfriend and family members abandoned her. When she came to see me, she disclosed how much she had struggled and I felt pained.

“As a matter of fact, one of the ladies is happily married. Her spouse has not been working since the pandemic started and she is also not working. So when I called her to follow me to the event, even her husband was happy. This act has given other pregnant ladies the confidence to reach out to me. The pregnant ladies are all my friends. They all gave their consent. However, some of them have faced backlashes.”

Mike also stressed that he did not intend to take the shine off the newly wedded couple with his action. “People make a mistake when they say I took the shine off the couple. My friends that invite me to their weddings do not see it that way. They see it like I added flair to their events. For example, when you invite big artistes to perform at a wedding, it does not mean they have stolen the spotlight. I just come to give a different vibe to the event and it is not something I do for everybody. I have friends that get upset that I didn’t attend or make a statement at their events. It is not easy to be creative. It takes a lot of time to get ready. Even Uchemba was not aware of the stunt I was about to pull,” he said.

A new coalition of 36 militant groups under the aegis of Continuous Emancipation of Niger Delta, which recently attacked gas and crude oil pipelines in Bayelsa State, on Friday reeled out six demands for the Federal Government which they said should be quickly handled to avert continued “destructive attacks” on oil and gas facilities in the country.

The demands, contained in an electronic mail by CEND’s General Officer Commanding, ‘General’ River Lord (aka Adaka Bor), and obtained by journalists in Warri, had virtually all the seven-point demands of South-South governors and leaders as presented to the Federal Government’s delegation on Tuesday in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

The only addition is the demand by CEND that the Federal Government should henceforth pay the 13 per cent derivation directly to oil and gas producing communities.

CEND in its demands called for the relocation of the headquarters of all oil and gas companies operating in the Niger Delta to the region, as well as the demilitarisation of the entire Niger Delta. It also called for fiscal and true federalism.

Other demands of CEND are “the repositioning of the Niger Delta Development Commission, and the Presidential Amnesty Programme, in line with its core mandate and community participation.”

Among those in the coalition spread across the region are Supreme Egbesu Resource Fighters, Niger Delta Resource Control Force, Emancipation of Niger Delta, Reformed Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Niger Delta Adaka Boro Force for Resource Control, and Niger Delta Joint Task Force.

The group said, “The new coalition of 36 militant groups, Continuous Emancipation for the Niger Delta, has made bold its threat to carry out destructive attacks on oil and gas facilities across the Niger Delta region,” even as the group has claimed responsibility for the bombing of gas and crude oil pipelines in Ikarama community in Yenagoa Council Area of Bayelsa State.”


CEND said, “The pipelines which were completely destroyed by the attacks is operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company, and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company in Ikarama community, Bayelsa State.

“We are prepared to carry out our threats to the letter without any iota of fear as we have the capacity to bring the oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta to rubbles if our demands are not met.

“In the coming days, there will be series of attacks on major oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta simultaneously because they are well prepared to push the pawn to the other side of the board without fear and harassment from security agencies and the federal government.



“We want to warn all foreign nationals that this is the time to leave the Niger Delta region, as the attacks which will be total in the coming days, will not spare them. All foreign embassies should as a matter of urgency evacuate their citizens.

“All our field commanders have been briefed not to show mercy on any oil and gas installations no matter its location until the federal government meets our demands which are critical to the emancipation of the long-neglected region.


“If we do not act now, our children will ask us questions that we will not have answers to, our communities will go into extinction because of underdevelopment, environment degradation, and pollution.

It added, “The struggle will not end until we see genuine efforts to develop the region, imagine the East-West road that connects the six states of the Niger Delta is in a deplorable state even worse than a death trap and if crude oil was being transported by road, probably our roads would have been better.



“The Federal Government and international oil companies are only bothered about how to lift crude oil without any present or future plan to develop the region. The blood of Isaac Adaka Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa will not be in vain.”

Tory Lanez pleaded not guilty to charges related to the shooting of rapper Megan Thee Stallion, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced in a statement via Twitter.

Lanez, 28, was arraigned Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The Canadian rapper and singer is alleged to have shot his former friend during an incident in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, CNN reports.

Megan Thee Stallion publicly accused him in August of shooting at her feet after she exited the vehicle they had been riding in following an argument.


Lanez was arrested and charged at the time of the shooting with possession of a concealed weapon.

In October he was charged with various felony counts including assault with a semiautomatic firearm, personal use of a firearm, and carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle, according to the District Attorney’s office.

Lanez is due back in court on January 20, 2021. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department, Hollywood Division.


CNN has contacted Lanez’s attorney, Shawn Holley, for comment.

The Lagos State Government has warned religious leaders in the state against a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, urging them to intensify safety protocols to avert the spread of the virus.

The state Commissioner for Home Affairs, Anofiu Elegushi, spoke on Monday in Lagos at the 2020 International Day for Tolerance.

While appealing to operators of worship centres to comply with the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre of Disease Control, Elegushi said the state government might be forced to sanction any religious house that failed to comply with regulations.


The commissioner stressed that this was no time to play with the safety of worshipers and residents.

“At this juncture, let me admonish our beloved people not to relent in supporting and understanding the efforts of the Lagos State Government. We should not let down our guards; it is not yet Uhuru. The battle against this dreaded virus is not over. All guidelines and safety protocols of mitigating COVlD-19 should still be stringently adhered to.

“We are all aware that some countries, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, are currently experiencing the second wave of the virus. We cannot afford to allow this to happen. I beseech us to continue to use our face masks, wash our hands frequently and maintain social distance in public places, while also using alcohol-based hand sanitisers from time to time to combat the transmission,” he added.

"Temptation" is a song� by Nigerian promising and upcoming artiste "Hollet" which is his third official single
It's a jam you listen and you get tempted to continue listening to it
Kindly listen and feel the vibe �
Download at ��https://audiomack.com/Rythmsofhollet/song/temptation

"Jeje" is song by Nigerian promising artiste "Hollet"
It's a mind blowing jam
Kindly download and feel the vibe
Download here���https://audiomack.com/Rythmsofhollet/song/jeje

"Addicted" is a song� by Nigerian promising artiste "Hollet" which is he's first official single
It's an addicted jam
Kindly listen and feel the vibe �
[b][/b] Download here��[color=#000099][/color]https://audiomack.com/Rythmsofhollet/song/addicted