Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999 | 9:58 a.m.
High schooler Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys were big winners Wednesday night at the Billboard Music Awards, each earning four awards.
The group Dixie Chicks picked up three awards during the ceremony at the MGM Grand Hotel, including country artist of the year.
Spears won female artist of the year, new artist of the year, female hot 100 singles artist, and female albums artist. The Backstreet Boys were recognized for artists of the year, artist duo/group, album of the year and album artists.
Mariah Carey was honored as artist of the decade. Confetti dropped from above as she walked on stage.
"I feel like I'm just getting started. I'm so happy to be finally free to be who I am," she said.
Performers included Spears, Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez.
The 1999 Billboard awards ceremony was broadcast on Fox. The awards were determined by the magazine's year-end charts, which are based on a combination of record sales and radio airplay.
The hosts were Adam Carolla from "Loveline" and Kathy Griffin from "Suddenly Susan."
The winners are
Artist: Backstreet Boys
Artist Duo/Group: Backstreet Boys
Album Artist: Backstreet Boys
Album: "Millennium," Backstreet Boys
New Artist: Britney Spears
Female Artist: Britney Spears
Female Hot 100 Singles Artist: Britney Spears
Female Album Artist: Britney Spears
Male Artist: Ricky Martin
Male Hot 100 Singles Artist: Ricky Martin
Artist of the Decade: Mariah Carey
R&B Artist: R. Kelly
R&B Album: "400 Degreez," Juvenile
R&B Single: "Fortunate," Maxwell
R&B Album Artist: DMX
Rap Artist: Jay-Z
Rap Single: "Who Dat," JT Money/Sole
Country Artist: Dixie Chicks
Country Album Artist: Dixie Chicks
Country Artist Duo/Group: Dixie Chicks
Modern Rrock Track: "My Own Worst Enemy," Lit
Modern Rock Artist: The Offspring
Rock Track: "One," Creed
Rock Artist: Creed.
Century Award: Emmylou Harris
Artist Achievement Award: Aerosmith
Adult Contemporary Track: "Angel," Sarah McLachlan
Catalog Artist and Catalog Album: "Metallica," Metallica
Special award for setting all-time Billboard record for spending most weeks at No. 1 on the modern rock track chart: "Scar Tissue," Red Hot Chili Peppers
archive
