ABC and Billboard confirmed today that Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea will perform at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. They join a star-studded lineup of previously announced must-see performers including 5 Seconds of Summer, Florida Georgia Line, Imagine Dragons, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Lorde, Luke Bryan, Miley Cyrus, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, OneRepublic, Pitbull and Ricky Martin. The 2014 Billboard Music Awards will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on SUNDAY, MAY 18 on ABC at 8pm ET.
2014 Top New Artist finalist Ariana Grande has had a monumental year. Her single “Problem,” which she will perform at the awards show with Iggy Azalea, just earned the biggest debut of the year, selling 438,000 downloads in its first week. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Songs chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 – the highest debut of the year on both charts. At 20-years old, Grande also became the youngest woman to debut with more than 400,000 downloads. “Problem” is the first single off her upcoming second album, due out in the fall. Grande’s first album, “Yours Truly,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 2013 and spawned the No. 9 Billboard Hot 100 single “The Way.”
Iggy first exploded onto the underground scene in 2011 with her debut mix tape “Ignorant Art,” which brought her global attention. Since then, Iggy has delivered two top 20 singles on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart: the No. 1 hit “Fancy” and her killer underground smash “Work.” In addition to performing “Problem” with Grande, Azalea will be performing “Fancy,” which currently stands at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. As it joins “Problem” (No. 3) in the top five, Azalea is the first female rapper ever to have two songs concurrently in the top five of the Hot 100 chart. Her album, “The New Classic,” is No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop & Rap Album Charts—a first for a female rapper from outside the U.S.
