Janet Jackson is set to receive the Icon Award at this year’s Billboard Music Awards.
The 51-year-old singer will be this year’s recipient of the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 20, where she will also perform her first televised performing in nine years.
Janet will join the likes of Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder, Price, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion, and Cher as previous recipients of the honor. From 1990 to 2001, the ‘Rhythm Nation’ hitmaker earned 18 Billboard Music Award nominations, having won 10 of them.
Janet’s performance at the awards will see her join previously announced acts Camila Cabello, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, Shawn Mendes, and Korean pop group BTS.
Kelly Clarkson will be hosting the event, which will be broadcast live at 8 pm EST, and 5 pm PST on May 20. The ‘Together Again’ hitmaker – who has 13-month-old son Eissa with her estranged husband Wissam Al Mana – will have a busy summer ahead of her after she recently announced she would be extending her ‘State of the World’ tour by adding 11 dates in North America.
Recently, it was explained that Janet’s gigs were set to celebrate her life, by making sure the staging doesn’t overshadow the singer’s powerful vocals. Her creative director Gil Duldulao said: “I could have easily been like ‘Hey, listen, I want to do this type of tour, which is let’s go so creative or let’s go so over the top,’ which tours are doing or is a big thing, which is creating the visuals, LED screens, lighting. I was involved all of that content and visuals but I wanted the audience to remember who she is and to celebrate her. She’s such a legend. And I think I did well.
“I think that was the main point is for the group and mass of people to come together and try to be positive in such a world we live in now.”
