Mother's Day is in a couple weeks, but Drake gave his mom an early gift with a heartfelt speech at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, where the rap star also broke Taylor Swift's record for most wins. Drake turned up the love for his mom when he picked up top artist, besting Cardi B, Ariana Grande, Post Malone, and Travis Scott. He won 12 awards Wednesday in Las Vegas, making his career total 27. Swift has 23 wins. As he held the trophy, Drake said: "I just want to thank my mom for her relentless effort in my life. I want to thank my mom for all the times you drove me to piano. All the times you drove me to basketball and hockey ... No matter how long it took me to figure out what I wanted to do, you were always there to give me a ride, and now we're on one hell of ride." He also gave Game of Thrones character Arya Stark a shout-out for "putting in that work last week."
Family bonding was a theme at the three-hour show, which aired live on NBC and was hosted by Kelly Clarkson, the AP reports. Mariah Carey's twins cheered her on as she sang a medley of her hits and accepted the Icon award. Cardi B, the night's top nominee with 21, locked lips with husband Offset on the red carpet. She won six awards, including top Hot 100 song for "Girls Like You" with Maroon 5. Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco looked to his parents as he accepted top rock song, quoting the name of his current hit: "Hey look Ma, I made it!" Swift kicked off the show with a colorful, eye-popping performance of her song "ME!", though Grammy-winning Christian artist Lauren Daigle had the night's most-praised performance with "You Say." Click for a full list of winners. (More Billboard Music awards stories.)