Lisa will be Presenter at Billboard Awards May 20th 2012

Singer, songwriter, musician and producer Stevie Wonder will receive the 2012 Billboard Icon Award. An all-star tribute to him, along with the award, will be presented at the “2012 Billboard Music Awards,” hosted by Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell, which airs live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on SUNDAY, MAY 20 (8:00–11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Lisa Marie Presley, Wiz Khalifa, Luke Bryan, Robin Thicke, Brandy, Monica and Miley Cyrus have been announced as presenters. They join previously announced presenters Taio Cruz, Gavin DeGraw, Gladys Knight, Julianne Hough, Natasha Bedingfield and Jeremy Sisto, along with musical acts Kelly Clarkson, Linkin Park, Nelly Furtado, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Justin Bieber, LMFAO and The Wanted.

Stevie Wonder is one of the most celebrated and prominent figures in popular music who, at the age of 13, was the youngest recording artist to achieve a No. 1 single with “Fingertips, Part 2,” and subsequently was also the first to simultaneously reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, R&B Singles and Album Charts. To date he has amassed 49 Top 40 singles, 32 No. 1 singles, and worldwide sales of over 100 million units. He has won 25 Grammy Awards, the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award.

While Stevie Wonder’s songs are unequivocally classic and his influence timeless, equally laudable are his humanitarian efforts, philanthropic leadership and generosity of spirit. He has received awards from the President’s Committee on Employment of Handicapped People, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation and the American Association of People with Disabilities.


In 1983 Wonder spearheaded the realization of “Martin Luther King Day” as a national holiday. His participation in the 1985 “We Are the World” fundraiser for hunger in Africa was a music industry milestone, while his involvement to put an end to apartheid in South Africa is legendary. In 1999 he became the youngest recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. He is also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame.

In 2009 Wonder was awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and performed his commission, “Sketches of a Life,” which placed him in a very select group of eminent composers who have received library commissions, ranging from Aaron Copeland and Leonard Bernstein to Paquito D’Rivera. Wonder is a Commander of France’s National Order of Arts and Letters and is a designated United Nations Messenger of Peace with a special focus on persons with disabilities.

Finalists for the Billboard Music Awards are based on key fan interactions with music, including album, single and digital sales, airplay, touring, streaming and social interactions on MySpace, Facebook and many of the other most popular online destinations for music. The awards will be based on the reporting period of February 28, 2011 through March 1, 2012.


The “2012 Billboard Music Awards” is co-executive produced by Richard D. Beckman, CEO Prometheus Global Media and Don Mischer Productions. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HD format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Lisa Marie Presley to Perform at 2012 Billboard Music Awards

Lisa Marie Presley, who recently released her first album in seven years, is scheduled to perform Sunday night at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.


Lisa Marie Presley, who recently released her first album in seven years, is scheduled to perform Sunday night at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Presley, 44, the only daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla, performed Thursday on American Idol her new single "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet."

Her new album "Storm and Grace," is the third of her musical career.

It seems her music is different now. Presley told Reuters that in the past she did some pretty angry and defensive songs because she was afraid or feeling too vulnerable.


"Once I got that out of my system ... I just quieted and calmed down ... In this process of writing this record, I found a better bed for myself and my voice and my writing to lie in," she said according to Reuters.

"I went through a huge transition in my life where everything and everyone I knew and trusted didn't turn out to be that way," the singer told Fox411's Pop Tarts.

"People that were in my life for a long time turned sinister and tried to control me and all kinds of weird stuff happened. But there was no conscience involved, that threw me more than anything."

"After that experience I had a really bad view of humans and I didn't want to feel that way so I moved to the middle of nowhere, to the countryside in England."

The 2012 Billboard Music Awards will be broadcast Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC

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2012 Billboard Music Awards: Lisa Marie Presley honors Katy Perry

Lisa Marie Presley doesn't make a habit of showing up at music awards show ceremonies these days, so it was a pleasant surprise to see her on hand at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. Presley was on hand to present the Spotlight Award to Katy Perry.

Which makes sense since Presley was once married to Michael Jackson, the only other artist to ever receive the award. It's handed out to musicians who achieve five no. 1 hits in one year. Perry did that with her songs "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", "California Gurls," "Firework" and "E.T."

"I'm incredibly honored to be chosen for this award, although I don't compare at all [to Michael Jackson]," said Perry as she accepted the award.

Jackson won the award in 1987 for five chart-topping songs from his "Bad" album.

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