Nicki Minaj Will Open the 2017 Billboard Music Awards

Lil Wayne, Jason Derulo and David Guetta will join the rapper for a nine-minute performance

By Zach Johnson May 18, 2017 2:10 PMTags
Nicki Minaj, Billboard Music Awards 2015Ethan Miller/Getty Images

All eyes will be on Nicki Minaj at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards.

The rapper will open the ceremony with a nine-minute performance, featuring appearances by Jason Derulo, David Guetta and Lil Wayne. Minaj is nominated in the fan-voted Billboard Chart Achievement category (presented by Xfinity). A four-time winner and 23-time nominee, the rapper is going up against Luke Bryan, The Chainsmokers, Twenty One Pilots and The Weeknd.

Voting will remain open until one hour into the live ceremony. ABC will broadcast the award show live on both coasts from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Minaj joins previously announced performers Camila Cabello, The Chainsmokers, Miley Cyrus, Céline Dion, Drake, Florida Georgia Line, Halsey, Sam Hunt, Imagine Dragons, John Legend, Lorde, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran—and 2017 Billboard Music Awards ICON Award recipient Cher.

Ludacris and Vanessa Hudgens will co-host the show. The rapper, who previously co-hosted with Ciara and Chrissy Teigen, has yet to meet the "Reminding Me" singer. "It's always good to have different dynamics, just to keep the show exciting and keep people on their toes by having different women, because you have that ying and that yang," he told E! News Wednesday. "Every time it's going to be different, so it's not like you're doing the same thing every time."

Hudgens is excited to meet Ludacris. "He's great," she told E! News. "I love his music."

"He seems like a really cool guy," Hudgens added. "I think I might give him a little more energy than what he's used to, but we'll just have to wait and see! I think it's going to be a lot of fun."