Taylor Swift Fans Slam Billboard Music Awards for Excluding 'Midnights' First Month of Release from Eligibility
The date for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards was just announced and Taylor Swift‘s fans are NOT happy with the news.
The show will air live on November 19, 2023 and more details about the ceremony, including the location, will be revealed at a later date.
Last year’s show took place in May 2022 and albums/songs released between April 10, 2021 to March 26, 2022 were eligible for awards. Because of the later air date for the 2023 show, the eligibility period has been changed.
Keep reading to find out more…
The 2023 BBMAs will be “based on music consumption reflected on Billboard’s charts dated Nov. 19, 2022 through Oct. 21, 2023, and take into account key fan interactions with music, including audio and video streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay and touring.”
Taylor‘s album Midnights was released on October 21, 2022, which means that nearly the entire first month of release has been excluded from consideration. In fact, all music consumption from March 27, 2022 through November 18, 2022 will not be eligible.
Midnights opened with 1.578 million units in its first week, which is one of the biggest opening weeks in history. Taylor also made history during the album’s first week by becoming the first artist to ever control the entire top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 concurrently.
By making the eligibility period start on November 19, 2022, Billboard is ignoring all of the history-making records that Taylor achieved with Midnights and fans are rightfully upset.
Read tweets below…
it's just so unfair bc taylor actually follows their rules and doesn't rely on billboard to make changes to accommodate her meanwhile billboard continues to change those rules to snub her
— vanilla???? (@taydaloo) March 16, 2023
Before this issue gets drowned out, can we talk about how SUSPICIOUS and IRREGULAR it is that Billboard is so conveniently EXCLUDING THE FIRST MONTH of “Midnights” from the #BBMAs tracking period?
Countless ALL-TIME records, down the drain.@gthot20 @billboardcharts @BBMAs @UMG pic.twitter.com/abHIkY5QAM
— Taylor Crave (@mainpopgirI) March 16, 2023
Billboard always hated Taylor Swift.
They stopped Alternative categories when folkmore were released. They made radio a weight more when Anti-Hero was competing with a radio song but the next week when it was competing with a song streaming they started to count streaming more.
— ???????????????????? (@NotFancy_) March 16, 2023
The way Billboard keeps on sabotaging Taylor. From snubbing Taylor for how many woman of the year, Removing top selling album after Rep won, Removing alt categories during folkmore era, changing rules midweek during Rihanna’s comeback, and now this… ☠️ https://t.co/D3CAcSht12
— Taylophile (@beautiefolk) March 16, 2023
people say that taylor is a grammy and billboard darling but the world will always hate successful women https://t.co/PhCVCAT9uI
— fio is TEMPTED ✢???????? (@bejeweledtxt) March 16, 2023
Taylor sold 1.5 MILLION in her debut week and you snubbed it? It was the most historic week so far this decade. Vile
— Monika (Taylor's version) ???????????? (@_Monika_14) March 16, 2023
funny how the new tracking period mostly affects the one artist who had the biggest first-week since 2017…this and then not acknowledging taylor at the women in music event at all lol billboard is not even trying to hide the fact they hate her https://t.co/yl69iVFMk3
— vanilla???? (@taydaloo) March 16, 2023
"Awards for the 2023 BBMAs are based on music consumption reflected on Billboard’s charts dated Nov. 19, 2022 through Oct. 21, 2023"
Half of the midnights points to the trash! They really hate Taylor so bad!!! FUUUUUKKKKK! https://t.co/0JJozpSgT4
— Lyrical Swlft is dead again (@CasualSwiftay) March 16, 2023