This page lists the winners and nominees for the Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Artist. This category was one of the first created and has been given out since the award's conception in 1990. R. Kelly holds the record for most wins in this category with four.
Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
1990s Year Artist 1990 Janet Jackson 1991 Whitney Houston 1992 Jodeci R. Kelly and Public Announcement LeVert Michael Jackson 1993 Dr. Dre Janet Jackson Silk SWV 1994 R. Kelly Babyface Toni Braxton Tevin Campbell 1995 TLC Boyz II Men Brandy The Notorious B.I.G. 1996 R. Kelly Mariah Carey LL Cool J Monica 1997 Dru Hill 112 Toni Braxton Tupac Shakur 1998 Usher Jon B. Mase Next 1999 R. Kelly Faith Evans Lauryn Hill Jay Z
2000s Year Artist 2000 Sisqó 2001 R. Kelly Ja Rule Jay Z Musiq 2002 Ashanti B2K Clipse Tweet 2003 50 Cent Aaliyah Jay Z R. Kelly 2004 Usher R. Kelly Alicia Keys Kanye West 2005 50 Cent Mariah Carey Destiny's Child Fantasia 2006 Mary J. Blige Jamie Foxx Ne-Yo T.I. 2007–09 colspan="2"
2010s Year Artist 2010 colspan="2" 2011 Usher Alicia Keys Monica Rihanna Trey Songz 2012 Chris Brown Beyoncé CeeLo Green Miguel Rihanna 2013 Rihanna Chris Brown Alicia Keys Ne-Yo Usher 2014 Justin Timberlake Beyoncé Rihanna Robin Thicke Pharrell Williams 2015 Pharrell Williams Beyoncé Chris Brown John Legend Trey Songz 2016 The Weeknd Chris Brown Jeremih Rihanna Bryson Tiller 2017 Beyoncé Bruno Mars Frank Ocean Rihanna The Weeknd 2018 Bruno Mars Chris Brown Khalid SZA The Weeknd 2019 Ella Mai H.E.R. Khalid The Weeknd XXXTentacion
2020s Year Artist 2020 Khalid Chris Brown Lizzo Summer Walker The Weeknd 2021 The Weeknd Jhené Aiko Justin Bieber Chris Brown Doja Cat 2022 Doja Cat Giveon Silk Sonic Summer Walker The Weeknd 2023 SZA Beyoncé Chris Brown Rihanna The Weeknd 2024 SZA Brent Faiyaz Tommy Richman Tyla The Weeknd
Multiple wins and nominations Wins
4 wins R. Kelly
3 wins Usher
2 wins 50 Cent SZA The Weeknd
Nominations
9 nominations The Weeknd
8 nominations Chris Brown
7 nominations Rihanna
6 nominations R. Kelly
5 nominations Beyoncé
4 nominations Usher
3 nominations Jay Z Alicia Keys Khalid SZA
2 nominations 50 Cent Toni Braxton Mariah Carey Doja Cat Janet Jackson Bruno Mars Monica Ne-Yo Trey Songz Summer Walker Pharrell Williams
References