As some of the industry’s top acts took to the stage to deliver on performances at this year’s 2018 Billboard Music Awards, the ceremony presented plenty of opportunities for fans to hear new favorites in a live setting for the first time.
Where Pharrell and Camilla Cabello came through with their recent “Sangria Wine” cut for the show, DJ Khaled and Jennifer Lopez popped out with the Cardi B-assisted “Dinero.” Naturally, Cardi B was absent as indicated by her announced hiatus due to her pregnancy, but Khaled and Jenny didn’t seem to miss a beat without her presence.
The set found the pair performing on two separate stages as DJ Khaled opened things up reclined in a chair, smoking a cigar while watching a clip from the film Wall Street (2010) in a set decorated with stacks of cash and gold before Jennifer Lopez would appear directly across him surrounded by an army of dancers.
Jennifer Lopez’s own theme was centered around the glamour of the 1940s with plenty of zoot suits in tow while the absent Cardi appeared in a black and white video on the screen behind J-Lo when it came time for her verse.
Of the three, Cardi was nominated for a total of eight Billboard awards, winning the sole title of Top Female Rap Artist. As for Khaled, his “Wild Thoughts” was nominated for Top R&B Song while “I’m The One” still finds itself as a contender, going up for Top Rap Song. It would lose to Post Malone’s “Rockstar,” while “Wild Thoughts” was beat by Bruno Mars’s “That’s What I Like.”