1999 Billboard Music Awards

Jennifer Lopez opened the show with a sexy performance of her hit Waiting for Tonight. The first winners of the evening were the Backstreet Boys, who won Album of the Year for Millennium.

The next live performers of the evening were the Red Hot Chili Peppers. R. Kelly won the award for R&B artist of the year. He brought his cellphone up to the podium so his daughter could here his acceptance. This was quickly followed by Ricky Martin's win for Male Artist of the Year. After a pretty awful Britney spears performance, Jay-Z won the Rap Artist of the Year. The Dixie Chicks then walked away with Country Artists of the Year.

Boston lover Ben Affleck then presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Boston's Aerosmith. This was followed by a performance by LeAnn Rimes.

After Metallica performed complete with symphonic backing, 'N Sync presented Britney Spears with the Female Artist of the Year.

Ten years make a decade and the winner of the Artist of the Decade was Mariah Carey.

After a performance by Juvenile, ZZ Top presented the R&B Album Artist of the Year Award to DMX.

Emmylou Harris won a special Century Artist Award.

We can all give a sigh of relief now, as Celine Dion performed That's the Way It Is instead of that darn Titanic song.

The Backstreet Boys then won Artist of the Year.

The Billboard Music Awards honor the chart toppers of the year from December 1998 to December 1999. The last big awards show of the millennium, the Billboard Music Awards aired on FOX on December 8th. Below are the nominees. The winners are in bold.

The nominees are below. Winners are marked with "**".

Male Artist

• DMX
• Jay-Z
• R. Kelly
• Ricky Martin**

Female Artist

• Cher
• Whitney Houston
• Britney Spears**
• Shania Twain

Duo/Group

• Backstreet Boys**
• 98 Degrees
• Sugar Ray
• TLC

New Pop Artist

• Christina Aguilera
• Lou Bega
• Jennifer Lopez
• Britney Spears**

Hot 100 Singles Artist

• Backstreet Boys
• Ricky Martin**
• Britney Spears
• TLC

Album Artist

• Backstreet Boys**
• Garth Brooks
• 'N Sync
• Britney Spears

Rap Singles Artist

• Jay-Z**
• JT Money
• Busta Rhymes
• Sole

R&B Artist

• Faith Evans
• Lauryn Hill
• Jay-Z
• R. Kelly**

R&B Album Artist

• DMX**
• Lauryn Hill
• Juvenile
• R. Kelly

Country Artist

• Dixie Chicks**
• Martina McBride
• Tim McGraw
• George Strait

R&B Single

• "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" - Deborah Cox
• "Heartbreak Hotel" - Whitney Houston featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price
• "Fortunate" - Maxwell**
• "No Scrubs" - TLC

Album of the Year

• Millennium - Backstreet Boys**
• 'N Sync - 'N Sync
• ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
• Come On Over - Shania Twain