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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW UPDATED: Trump, Sanders victorious in New Hampshire primaries ... Man jailed after allegedly groping jogger on Bear Creek Greenway ... Oregon man who killed officer had long criminal record ... UPDATED: Trump, Sanders victorious in New Hampshire primaries ... Man jailed after allegedly groping jogger on Bear Creek Greenway ... Oregon man who killed officer had long criminal record ... The Farr Side: Swift dominates Billboard Music Awards Comment By David T. Farr More Content Now MailTribune.com By David T. Farr More Content Now Posted May. 21, 2015 at 7:33 AM By David T. Farr More Content Now Posted May. 21, 2015 at 7:33 AM » Social News If you’re fortunate enough to have a hit song, you might find yourself at the Billboard Music Awards. I’ve followed the Billboard charts for as long as I’ve listened to music. Billboard is supreme when it comes to ranking music, so the awards show should be reflective of what the charts have revealed over the past 12 months. That being said, perhaps the 2015 Billboard Music Awards should have been called the Taylor Swift Awards. Swift came into the show as a heavy favorite, with 14 nominations. Her “1989” album is colossal masterpiece worthy of the accolades it’s receiving. Swift didn’t perform any of the nominated tracks from “1989,” but she did open the show with the world premiere of the latest video for her new single, “Bad Blood.” The video looked more like a trailer for a new Marvel movie, complete with a slew of Hollywood’s A-listers. It’s quite different from anything Swift has done. It’s a long way from her “Tears On My Guitar” days. Many of the entourage from Swift’s “Bad Blood” video accompanied her, making for a lovefest every time Swift’s name was called. Somehow, I feel as if the artists knew beforehand who would win. That “surprised” look began to look staged, even from other artists who happened to win an award. Swift scored multiple wins, as expected, including the coveted Top Billboard Hot 200 Album, Top Female Artist, Artist Achievement Award and the iconic Artist Of The Year. Other notable wins included “All About The Bass” (Meghan Trainor) for Top Hot 100 Song, “All Of Me” (John Legend) for Top Radio Song, and Sam Smith for Top Male Artist. As with most shows, it’s more of who is performing than the actual awards anymore. The Billboard Awards is no exception to the social media hype of live performances. Some were much better than others, I must say. Van Halen, featuring David Lee Roth, performed first on the telecast. Roth still managed to pull off the demanding vocals of “Panama” 31 years after its heyday. While Van Halen rocked out, Fallout Boy fell flat with “Uma Thurman.” Nick Jonas’ performance was boring, as was Hozier’s lackluster job on his hit “Take Me To Church.” It was encouraging to see Mariah Carey back where she belongs. She’s a Billboard legend who scored 18 No. 1 singles, more than any other solo artist in history. She performed a bit of her first No. 1, “Vision Of Love,” before singing her latest, “Infinity.” Little Big Town was joined by Faith Hill on their current country smash, “Girl Crush.” Hill and LBT did a superb job. Kelly Clarkson also pleased with her latest, “Invincible,” while Jussie Smollett, Yaz, and Estelle dazzled tracks from the “Empire” TV Soundtrack. Thank God for Jim Kerr and the guys of Simple Minds. They made what was a so-so night worth staying up for, with a performance of “Don’t You Forget About Me.” Molly Ringwald introduced the song from the soundtrack of the iconic John Hughes 1985 movie “The Breakfast Club,” and it got the crowd to its feet. The Simple Minds performance was a welcome surprise. David T. Farr is a Sturgis, Michigan, Journal correspondent. Email him at [email protected]. By David T. Farr More Content Now MailTribune.com By David T. Farr More Content Now Posted May. 21, 2015 at 7:33 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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