The Weeknd leads Billboard Music Award nominations

R&B star The Weeknd looks set to dominate the 2016 Billboard Music Awards after earning 19 nominations in 16 categories.

The Canadian singer lands mentions in categories including Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top R&B Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album and Top R&B Album for Beauty Behind the Madness.

He is also a triple nominee in the Top R&B song shortlist for Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey), The Hills and Can't Feel My Face, and double nominee for Top Hot 100 Song for the latter two.

Justin Bieber follows behind with eleven mentions, then Drake and Fetty Wap with ten each. Justin and Drake are also Top Artist contenders, alongside Adele and Taylor Swift.

The Sorry singer also lands a mention for Top Male Artist, and will be competing against Drake, Ed Sheeran, and Fetty Wap, while Taylor will go up against her best friend Selena Gomez, Adele, Rihanna and Ariana Grande for Top Female Artist.

Other nominees in the Top Hot 100 Song category include Adele, for her smash hit Hello, Fetty Wap's Trap Queen and See You Again by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth.

The Weeknd will face competition from Adele (25), Justin (Purpose), Ed Sheeran (X) and Taylor (1989) for Top Billboard 200 Album, and Justin, Taylor, Fetty Wap, and Drake for Top Hot 100 Artist.

The Top Duo/Group prize will be a fight between Maroon 5, One Direction, Twenty One Pilots, Rolling Stones and U2.

One Direction, who are currently on hiatus, also land a nomination for Top Touring Artist, but will have to fend off the likes of Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift and U2 for the trophy.

The first wave of nominations were announced by show hosts Ludacris and Ciara on TV programme Good Morning America on Monday (11Apr16), while others were revealed on a special livestream and on social media.

The winners will be announced at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on 22 May (16).