Fans Call Out Billboard Music Awards' New Show Format: 'Dumbest Idea Ever'

The 2022 Billboard Music Awards stage.

For the first time, the Billboard Music Awards went totally digital, and fans aren't loving the new format at all.

Instead of streaming a cohesive live event this year, organizers elected to film performances and acceptances separately, dropping them at random on their social media channels and bbmas.watch throughout the evening of Sunday, Nov. 19, dubbing the prerecorded clips as "live updates" despite having been created ahead of time.

Fans had to constantly refresh the page, waiting on social media managers to get around to uploading the segments they were waiting for, and it also took away some of the electric anticipation that comes with waiting for your favorite performer to hit the stage on a live stream.

As Bebe Rexha accepted the award for Top Dance/Electronic Song before a small crowd of people, one fan replied, "we wanted a livestream not whatever this is."

Others struggled to access the content uploaded to the dedicated website, replying to a preview of Rexha's performance with David Guetta that was teased with the caption "We're already having the best freakin' night of our lives," which is a play on the song's lyrics, with, "Would be even better if we can watch it."

"I bet we'd be having the best freakin' night of our lives too... If the link worked," another replied.

Others flooded their Instagram comments with similar messages of dissatisfaction.

“Wish ya’ll would have put it on TV instead of whatever ya’ll decided to do never watched the BBMAS like this ever I’m sad lol,” one comment on their page read.

“Whoever’s idea it was to put the BBMA on social media (which no one can fine) and not broadcast the show should be fired. The dumbest idea ever,” said another, including a rolling eyes emoji at the end.

Someone else agreed that it was “the worst decision.”

“Stop posting commercials and post the stream. This format is not it,” one complaint read on a sponsored post sprinkled between performances.

“i’m tired of refreshing,” someone else said.

“This is so embarrassing ???? L bbma this year,” another comment read, while someone else demanded, “Y’all need to stop playing ??.”

We're certainly open to trying anything once, but it's safe to say that this style of awards show isn't meant for a reprise.

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