Madonna, Kesha, Dion rule the stage at emotional Billboard Awards

Madonna paid tribute to Prince, Kesha earned a standing ovation for her stirring rendition of "It Ain't Me, Babe" honoring Bob Dylan, and Celine Dion dedicated her Icon award to her late husband at Sunday night's emotion-packed Billboard Music Awards.

The three-hour live telecast from Las Vegas stuck to its tradition of a performance-heavy annual show featuring top recording stars in spectacular production numbers.

Britney Spears kicked things off, dazzling in a daring red outfit for a medley of her hits.

Canadian singer The Weeknd dedicated the first award to Prince, the Grammy-winning pop superstar best known for such hits as "Purple Rain" and "Let's Go Crazy," who died at his Minnesota home in April aged 57.

"I want to dedicate this award to the late great Prince," The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), said in accepting the Top Hot 100 Artist award.

Madonna ended the show with a Prince tribute that included "Nothing Compares 2 U," before she was joined by Stevie Wonder for "Purple Rain" as the audience rose to its feet, arms gently swaying above their heads and singing along.

Earlier, Kesha delivered an emotional rendition of Dylan's classic in a much-anticipated performance that was nearly canceled by her label in a legal dispute.

Kemosabe Records relented, saying Kesha had assured them she would not use her time as a platform to address her failed legal bid against Sony Corp's (6758.T) Sony Music and producer Dr. Luke. Kemosabe, founded by Dr. Luke, is a unit of Sony Music. The singer stood by her word.

Millennium Award recipient Britney Spears performs a medley of songs at the 2016 Billboard Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., May 22, 2016.        Stevie Wonder and Madonna perform 'Purple Rain' during the tribute to Prince at the 2016 Billboard Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., May 22, 2016.

While several awards were handed out during the show, including to British singer Adele who won the big prize, top artist and accepted via a video segment, it was performances by the likes of Ariana Grande, Dion, and Rihanna that ruled.

Dion, making her first televised singing performance since the death of her husband, Rene Angelil, tearfully accepted the Icon Award for lifetime achievement, which in a surprise was presented by her son, Rene-Charles.

"I'm so sorry, I don't want to cry in front of you," Dion told the audience. She ended by holding her award aloft and declaring, "Rene, this one's for you, the show must go on," echoing the title of the Queen song she had just performed.

Other top prizes went to Rihanna in the fan-voted chart achievement award, Justin Bieber for top male artist, Adele for both top female artist and Billboard 200 album, and The Weeknd for R & B song "The Hills."

Drake holds off Beyonce for top spot on Billboard album chart

R&B artist Drake held his spot atop the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 album chart on Monday, keeping Beyonce from the coveted No. 1 position.

Feb 12, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Canada celebrity head coach Drake during the All-Star celebrity basketball game at Ricoh Coliseum.

"Views," Drake's fourth studio record, sold another 234,000 units from album and song sales and was streamed more than 186 million times, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan.

The Billboard 200 album chart tallies units from album sales, song sales (10 songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams equal one album).

"Views" debuted at the top of the chart with more than 1 million units in sales after its April 28 release, the biggest opening week so far in 2016.

Drake has managed to keep the top spot from Beyonce's hit "Lemonade" album, which remained steady at No. 2 with 128,000 units sold in the week ended on May 19.

Beyonce has not made "Lemonade" available for streaming except on premium platform Tidal, limiting its consumption.

Drake, on the other hand, made "Views" available on streaming platforms such as Spotify, which has made up a major portion of weekly sales.

Pop singer Meghan Trainor led the new entries on the Billboard 200 album chart's top 10 this week with her "Thank You" album debuting at No. 3 with 107,000 units.

Punk band Pierce the Veil entered the chart at No. 4 with "Misadventures." Chance the Rapper's "Coloring Book" came in at No. 8, and country singer Jennifer Nettles' "Playing with Fire" debuted at No. 10.

On the Digital Songs Chart, Justin Timberlake's upbeat "Can't Stop The Feeling!" held onto the top spot, keeping Drake's "One Dance" at No. 2.

Source: Reuters