Winners will be announced on social channels Nov. 19.
Country music star Morgan Wallen and multi-genre phenomenon Taylor Swift loomed large among the finalists for Billboard Music Awards announced Thursday. Winners — determined by year-end performance metrics on the Billboard charts — will be announced Nov. 19 across BBMAs and Billboard social channels, as well as via BBMAs.watch. Artists set to perform during the awards presentation will be revealed daily on BBMA social channels starting Nov. 6.
Wallen, this year’s leading male finalist, is up for 16 awards with 17 entries, including Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, and Top Hot 100 Artist. His album One Thing At A Time is up for two awards, while his song “Last Night” is up for three awards, including Top Hot 100 Song. One Thing’s smash-hit single “Last Night” spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 — the longest No. 1 run for a non-collaboration, and tying for the second-longest reign in the chart’s 65-year history. His latest album One Thing At A Time spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — the most weeks atop the chart for any album since Adele’s “21” ruled for 24 nonconsecutive weeks in 2011-12.
Swift, the most decorated female BBMAs artist of all time with 29 wins, leads as a finalist in 20 categories, the most of any artist this year. Her chart-topping hit “Anti-Hero” is up for five awards, including Top Hot 100 Song. With 29 previous wins, Swift could surpass Drake for most BBMAs wins of all-time if she wins at least five this year. It should be noted, by the way, that even though she is most widely recognized as a pop artist (and concert movie superstar) these days, she’s among the finalists in Top Country Artist and Top Country Female Artist categories.

Zach Bryan makes his bow in the BBMAs honor roll as a finalist up for 13 awards with 14 entries, including Top New Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Songwriter, and Top Streaming Songs Artist. His song “Something in the Orange” is a finalist for three awards, including Top Streaming Song, Top Country Song, and twice in the Top Rock Song category. Bryan scored his first No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 with “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves (also her first Billboard No. 1).
Here are the finalists in country music categories:
Top Country Artist
Bailey Zimmerman
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Taylor Swift
Zach Bryan
Top Country Male Artist
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Zach Bryan
Top Country Female Artist
Megan Moroney
Taylor Swift
Top Country Duo/Group
Old Dominion
Parmalee
Zac Brown Band
Top Country Touring Artist
George Strait
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
You can find the complete list of BBMA finalists in all categories here.