Imagine Dragons, Lorde, Justin Timberlake Lead Finalists

Imagine Dragons, Lorde, Justin Timberlake Lead 2014 Billboard Music Awards Finalists

Katy Perry, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Miley Cyrus and Pharrell will also contend in several major categories

The finalists for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards were announced today with Imagine Dragons and Lorde leading all artists followed by Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 18, on ABC from 8:00 PM–11:00 PM ET.

Jason Derulo, who will perform at the ceremony, broke the news this morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Imagine Dragons and Lorde were each named in 12 of the 40 award categories while Timberlake, Perry and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis followed with 11, 10 and eight categories, respectively.

Imagine Dragons are vying for their first Billboard Music Award this year. The quartet burned up the charts in 2013 with its album "Night Visions" (which is also a finalist for Top Rock Album) and its many hit singles, including "Radioactive," which broke the record for the most weeks ever on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Lorde also broke through in 2013 with her inescapable No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 single "Royals" and debut album "Pure Heroine." The two top finalists will go head-to-head in nine categories, including Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Digital Songs Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top Rock Artist, Top Rock Album, Top Hot 100 Song, Top Digital Song, Top Streaming Song (Audio), and Top Rock Song.

Timberlake could capture his first Billboard Music Award this year as a solo artist. Included in his 11 categories, are Top Artist and Top Billboard 200 Album. With his group 'N Sync, Timberlake earned five Billboard Music Awards, including the 2000 trophy for Album of the Year ("No Strings Attached").

Leading the song race with five title categories each are Lorde and Robin Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell Williams with their respective Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s "Royals" and "Blurred Lines." Imagine Dragons and Perry both come in second with four finalist notches for "Radioactive" and "Roar," respectively.

Tying with two title categories each are Daft Punk and Pharrell's "Get Lucky," Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton’s "Can’t Hold Us" and the duo’s hit with Wanz’s "Thrift Shop," in addition to Miley Cyrus’ "Wrecking Ball" and Avicii’s "Wake Me Up."

First time Billboard Music Award finalists include: Lorde (12 categories), Avicii (4 categories), Capital Cities (3 categories), Zedd (3 categories) and Sidewalk Prophets (1 category).

Rihanna, who is a finalist in five categories this year, has been a finalist at the Billboard Music Awards 49 times.

Timberlake has the most entries as a finalist for albums with three, including two entries for Top R&B Album with "The 20/20 Experience" and "The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2)."

Luke Bryan leads all country acts with seven entries in six categories, including an appearance as a finalist in the overall Top Male Artist grouping.

Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital singles sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, VEVO, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Entertainment and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of March 11, 2013 through March 9, 2014.

The "2014 Billboard Music Awards" is produced by Dick Clark Productions. Allen Shapiro and Mike Mahan are Executive Producers. Larry Klein and Barry Adelman are Producers.

The 2014 Milestone Award presented by Chevrolet, will be given to an innovative artist who has achieved a notable chart milestone over the past year. The six finalists for this special editorial award were announced earlier last week on Billboard.com – they are: Imagine Dragons, John Legend, Luke Bryan, OneRepublic, Ellie Goulding and Carrie Underwood. Fans can vote for their favorite Milestone artist online at Billboard.com/milestone and can enter a contest for a chance to win an opportunity to present the award live at this year’s event alongside global music superstar and Billboard Music Award winner Kelly Rowland.

The six finalists will be narrowed down to three finalists, who will be announced on the website on April 21. Voting will then continue through the first two hours of the live 2014 Billboard Music Awards broadcast, culminating with the announcement of the award winner during the last hour of the show.

Chevrolet is a sponsor of the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. For further BBMAs content, follow @officialBBMAs on Twitter and visit BillboardMusicAwards.com.

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