It’s about to get percolatin’ in this dancery! Per a press release provided to The Root, Mary J. Blige will receive the Billboard Icon Award at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, taking place Sunday, May 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and airing live on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
This is normally where I would tell you all about Mary J.’s career and how amazing she is, but if you don’t know about My Life or have “No More Drama” as a regular part of your karaoke lineup, what are you doing with your life? Tell me you didn’t watch that Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show and wish you had more Mary J. and less everyone else.
“My career has been such an incredible and unexpected journey that has included many turns into avenues I never could have imagined like acting, producing, launching businesses and now even my own music festival,” Blige said in a statement. “Through it all, I always one way or another gravitated back to my first love, music. To be recognized in this way at this moment, with the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards, is an incredible honor and one that I am truly humbled by.”
Mary is the tenth person to receive the award. Previous recipients include Stevie Wonder, Prince, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. The really good news is that the Icon Award usually comes with a big performance featuring a medley of the honoree’s greatest hits, so get ready for Mary to tear up the stage. They should close the show with this, because no one else is following it.
The Weeknd leads nominees with 17, followed by Doja Cat with 14, Ye with 13 and Drake with 11. Doja Cat, Drake and The Weeknd are up for Top Artist, with Silk Sonic, Givēon and Lil Nas X recognized in several categories.
The Billboard Music Awards airs live Sunday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.