2011 Billboard Music Awards Nominations Announced

The Billboard Music Awards are returning for the first time since 2006, and superstars Rihanna, Eminem and Lady Gaga are the top award finalists.

Billboard announced the nominees today for the 2011 ceremony, to be held at the MGM in Las Vegas on May 22. Rihanna tops the list as a finalist in 18 categories, including Top Artist, where she'll compete with Eminem, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.

Eminem is a contender for 16 awards, while Gaga is up for 12, including three in one category, Top Dance/Electronic Album. Bieber and Bruno Mars follow with 11 nominations each.

For Top New Artist, Bieber and Mars face off with Kesha, Nicki Minaj and Taio Cruz. For Best Pop Song, Cruz's 'Dynamite' and Mars' 'Just the Way You Are' goes up against three hits from Katy Perry: 'California Gurls,' 'Firework' and 'Teenage Dream.'

The Billboard Music Awards are fan-voted, in the sense that listeners vote every time they download a song or stream a music video. The site notes that the awards are determined by "key fan interactions with music" that include "chart performance and social and streaming activity."

The full list of finalists can be found here. The key categories are below.

Top Billboard 200 Artist
Justin Bieber
Susan Boyle
Eminem
Lady Antebellum
Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Artist
Kesha
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Usher

Top Artist
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Top New Artist
Justin Bieber
Taio Cruz
Ke$ha
Bruno Mars
Nicki Minaj

Top Touring Artist
Bon Jovi
Michael Buble
Lady Gaga
U2
Roger Waters