adminJust a few days ago One Direction finally admitted that they were ‘a little bit angry’ when Zayn Malik dramatically quit the group in March. And with Louis Tomlinson’s recent Twitter spat with their former bandmate, it appeared as if the formerly close quintet’s relationship had irretrievably broken down. However, fans were delighted on Sunday night when Liam Payne gave a shout out to their ‘brother’ Zayn as the group picked up the Top Group/Duo gong at the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, saying: ‘There’s one more person to share this with and that’s our brother Zayn, so thank you very much.’
During the speech Niall Horan praised their loyal fans, saying: ‘This is absolutely incredible. It’s an incredible honour to be here and to be in that category. It’s unbelievable to come out as the winner, so we just want to say a big thank you to all of you who voted for it, we want to say a massive thank you to Billboard and again to our super, super fans.
‘You’ve been absolutely amazing to us, we love you so much and we’ll see you soon.’
One Direction were also named Top Touring Artist, making it a successful night for the group in one of their first public appearances since Zayn walked away from the chart-toppers, which are rounded out by Harry Styles.
Earlier the four remaining members of One Direction were anxious to reassure their millions of fans that ‘we’re not breaking up’ as they chatted with Fashion Police host Giuliana Rancic on the red carpet.
Zayn announced that he was leaving via the boy band’s official Facebook on March 25, breaking the hearts of millions who feared for the future of his heartthrob mates.
‘My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined,’ the singer said at the time.
‘But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart.
‘I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight,’ he added.
However, it wasn’t all serious as Styles, 21, lightened the mood when at one stage he grabbed 21-year-old Horan’s privates.
The hitmakers were all dressed in rock star black jackets and black jeans with Louis in a black T-shirt, Niall in a white shirt, Liam in a white T-shirt with a scarf draped around his neck and Harry in a black shirt and loosened black tie.
Aside from Top Duo/Group and Top Touring Act, they were nominated in two other of the 41 categories including Top Artist, pitting them up against Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Sam Smith and Taylor Swift.
Billboard is a chart that tracks music popularity and also a publication that covers the music business. It has been hosting an annual awards ceremony since 1989 before going dormant in 2007. The event returned in 2011.
Below are the BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS 2015 WINNERS
TOP ARTIST
Taylor Swift
TOP NEW ARTIST
Sam Smith
TOP MALE ARTIST
Sam Smith
TOP FEMALE ARTIST
Taylor Swift
TOP DUO/GROUP
One Direction
TOP BILLBOARD 200 ARTIST
Taylor Swift
TOP HOT 100 ARTIST
Meghan Trainor
TOP DIGITAL SONGS ARTIST
Taylor Swift
TOP RADIO SONGS ARTIST
John Legend
TOP TOURING ARTIST
One Direction
TOP SOCIAL ARTIST
Justin Bieber
TOP STREAMING ARTIST
Iggy Azalea
TOP R&B ARTIST
Pharrell Williams
TOP RAP ARTIST
Iggy Azalea
TOP COUNTRY ARTIST
Florida Georgia Line
TOP ROCK ARTIST
Hozier
TOP LATIN ARTIST
Romeo Santos
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST
Calvin Harris
TOP CHRISTIAN ARTIST
Hillsong United
TOP BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM
Taylor Swift, 1989
TOP SOUNDTRACK
Frozen
TOP R&B ALBUM
Pharrell Williams, G I R L
TOP RAP ALBUM
J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive
TOP COUNTRY ALBUM
Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt
TOP ROCK ALBUM
Coldplay, Ghost Stories
TOP LATIN ALBUM
Enrique Iglesias, Sex and Love
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM
Lindsey Stirling, Shatter Me
TOP CHRISTIAN ALBUM
Lecrae, Anomaly
TOP HOT 100 SONG
Meghan Trainor, All About That Bass
TOP DIGITAL SONG
Meghan Trainor, All About That Bass
TOP RADIO SONG
Sam Smith, Stay With Me
TOP STREAMING SONG (AUDIO)
John Legend, All of Me
TOP STREAMING SONG (VIDEO)
Taylor Swift, Shake It Off
TOP R&B SONG
Pharrell Williams, Happy
TOP RAP SONG
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX, Fancy
TOP COUNTRY SONG
Jason Aldean, Burnin’ It Down
TOP ROCK SONG
Hozier, Take Me to Church
TOP LATIN SONG
Enrique Iglesias feat. Descemer Bueno & Gente de Zona, Bailando
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC SONG
DJ Snake & Lil Jon, Turn Down For What
TOP CHRISTIAN SONG
Carrie Underwood, Something in the Water
BILLBOARD CHART ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PRESENTED BY SAMSUNG GALAXY (FAN-VOTED)
Taylor Swift. – DAILYMAIL
Online Reporter