P!nk receives the 2021 Billboard Icon Award, marking her the tenth person to earn the award.
Awarded to P!nk by rockstar Jon Bon Jovi, the pop superstar has become the youngest person to be honored with the Icon Award.
When accepting she told Bon Jovi about her love and admiration for him when she was a little girl.
“Thank you, this is ridiculous. Hi mom, Hi Dad, Hi Jason. Hi Jon Bon Jovi,” P!nk began her acceptance speech. “Okay, so I have to tell you and I think you might already know this but I did not come out of my room for a week when you married Dorothea. I was eight, I ripped your poster off my wall. I replaced you with Sebastian Bach and I’m very glad that you found lasting love, Jon, but you broke my heart. I take this as an apology. I accept.”
The pop superstar gushed over her children Willow and Jameson for nailing it and then went on to thank the fans.
“Billboard, thank you. Willow, you nailed it. Jameson nailing it. I love what I do and I love the people that I get to do it with and we’re pretty good at what we do but it wouldn’t matter if no one came to see us and play with us so all you guys out there and around the world, thank you for coming out, thank you for letting us all heal together,” she continued. “I cannot wait until we can do it again, ’til we can sweat all over each other.”
Watch her full speech below.
P!NK joins previous honorees Cher, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Prince, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Neil Diamond and Garth Brooks.
“As a little girl, I always dreamed about being a singer and sharing my love of music with the world,” P!nk previously told Billboard. “Years later, to receive the Billboard Music Awards Icon Award is hard to fathom! I feel so honored to join the ranks of music idols like Cher, Garth Brooks, Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder. It’s a true ‘pinch me’ moment and I feel humbled and blessed.”
Following her acceptance speech the singer perform a medley of hits, which you can see below.
The 2021 Billboard Music Awards also featured performances from BTS, The Weeknd, Jonas Brothers, Marshmello, P!nk, Twenty One Pilots, Bad Bunny, Karol G, Alicia Keys, DJ Khaled with H.E.R. and Migos, Doja Cat & SZA, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with Sounds of Blackness, AJR, Glass Animals and Duran Duran.
In addition to the performers, the BBMAs included a star-studded list of presenters: Kelsea Ballerini, Chelsea Handler, Gabrielle Union, Lena Waithe, Swizz Beatz, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Leslie Odom Jr., Cynthia Erivo, Kathryn Hahn, Henry Golding, Dixie D’Amelio, Lil Rel Howery and Padma Lakshmi. Beyonce’s mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, presented the Change Maker Award to Trae Tha Truth.
Hosted by Nick Jonas, 2021 Billboard Music Awards aired live on Sunday, May 23 at 8 p.m. EST on NBC and NBC live streaming website.
