2011 Billboard Music Awards

The 2011 Billboard Music Awards were held May 22, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and hosted by Ken Jeong. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from 2010.

Winners and nominees
Winners are listed in bold.

Critical reception and controversy
Overall, critics praised the performances in whole. Critics, however, noted Beyoncé as the standout performer of the night. However, some controversy was generated from the show. The Parents Television Council criticized Rihanna and Britney Spears' performance of "S&M", calling it "explicit", with PTC president saying "I cannot imagine what would possibly lead the ABC television network to air a profanity-laced, S&M sex show on primetime broadcast television", while criticizing the choice to air the performance first, on what they claim is a normally family targeted time slot (the show aired at 8:00 p.m.).