Metallica Competes for Billboard’s Top Rock Duo/Group Award

Metallica has snagged two Billboard Music Award nominations this year, a surprising nod from an awards scene that, let’s be honest, usually knows nothing about rock or metal. Sure, these nominations might not mean much to those of us who’ve watched real talent snubbed by clueless voting committees (yes, Grammys, we’re looking at you), but hey—news is news.

Metallica finds themselves in the Top Duo/Group and Top Rock Duo/Group categories. For Top Duo/Group, they’re up against acts like Eslabon Armado, Fifty Fifty, Fuerza Regida, and Grupo Frontera.

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Metallica’s Through the Never was a 3D concert film mixed with a bizarre fictional plot. Think giant stage setups with a side of post-apocalyptic chaos. Art house fans? Meh. But metalheads went for it.

Then, in Top Rock Duo/Group, they’re battling it out with the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Foo Fighters.

The Billboard awards ceremony, in a true commercial flourish, will be presented by Marriott Bonvoy and is set to go down on Sunday, November 19 (2023). After that, we can file away “music awards” until the Grammys circle back with their infamous knack for oddball picks in rock and metal.

As for Metallica? They’re busy with more relevant pursuits—like touring to packed venues and releasing albums that, as Lars Ulrich put it, have aged “really, really well.” The band’s M72 World Tour wraps up a few dates next month, with the rest of the tour rolling out next year. Whether they win or not, Metallica will keep doing what they do best: playing to fans who actually care.