Zach Bryan leads the pack in the 2024 Billboard Music Awards, with 21 nominations, followed by Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen, indicating a country music takeover.
“I just feel like this is kind of what we need, because music is music at the end of the day, and it can transcend neighborhood, religion, gender, so many things,” said comedian and Billboard Music Awards host Michelle Buteau to Fox News Digital.
Bryan and Wallen have been nominated for top artist, top streaming songs artist, top Billboard 100 and 200, top country artist, and country male artist, among other categories.
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Buteau went on, “I believe it’s about time. Music, like comedy, has the power to unite individuals. I love it when a song comes on that people don’t expect me to know the lyrics to, but I do. Then we sing it together. That’s like a full moment. And, honestly, for me, it’s always about art and culture.
Buteau, a longstanding comic who has hosted shows like “The Circle” on Netflix and acted in films like “Marry Me” and “Babes,” expressed her delight at being selected to host the evening.
“It’s wild to be able to watch anything all the time. And then to actually participate in it, have a nice time, and say, “I want to do this all the time.” It’s great. I’m wondering, “How do I get my Ryan Seacrest on in a plus-size dress?” She said.
Though Swift does not lead the nominees for this year’s presentation, she is the most awarded female BBMA artist of all time, an honor that complements her phenomenal two-year run on “The Eras Tour.”
“Can we just take a moment and give Taylor a round of applause?” All her hard work, and those good knees. “I mean, it’s not easy,” Buteau joked. “When I walk my dogs, I have to bend down to pick up their situations. And I’m like, “Wow, you can really stretch more frequently.” Taylor is out here doing it for everyone, wherever in the world.”
“She fills the room with love. So it isn’t among the nominations. “It’s in the feeling,” she explained.
As host, Buteau said it’s simple to remain neutral on who she’s cheering for, and she believes “the audiences will tell you who they respond to.”
“But, at the end of the day, they’re just wonderful artists that make us want to shake our booties, you know? In either case, you can’t lose. Also, we never lose. “We only learn,” she said.
Many of the candidates will perform at the BBMAs, including country performers Shaboozey, Jelly Roll, and Megan Moroney, as well as Coldplay, Linkin Park, Tyla, Teddy Swims, and Korean pop stars SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids.
Buteau, who has 5-year-old twins with husband Gijs van der Most, is looking forward to seeing the show despite the fact that she works.
“My husband is going to ‘babysit’ so I can go to work and watch all these fantastic performers that I only listen to in my minivan when picking up the kids. So, you know, even the fact that someone is going to bring me water. And a supper. And wine? Are you kidding? “I want,” she remarked.
Buteau attended Beyoncé’s “Renaissance Tour” in Amsterdam with her husband on Father’s Day, but not “The Eras Tour.”
Like many others, she experienced it through social media “because I can live vicariously through everybody’s Insta stories.”
“I love how people cover these little cute moments of Taylor bringing her boyfriend out on stage and stuff in London; it makes me feel like I’m a part of it as well.” And so, I actually enjoy a very long tour because I feel like I know a lot about it,” Buteau explained.
She said, “I have all the bracelets, and I’m doing all the things. My daughter and I still sing ‘Cruel Summer’ on our walk to school.
The 2024 Billboard Music Awards will air Thursday night on FOX.
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