KELLY CLARKSON, LINKIN PARK, NELLY FURTADO AND USHER TO PERFORM AT "2012 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS"

Kelly Clarkson, Linkin Park, Nelly Furtado and Usher have been announced as the second round of artists to perform at the "2012 Billboard Music Awards," airing live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on SUNDAY, MAY 20 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

Since bursting onto the music scene 10 years ago, Kelly Clarkson has released 5 studio albums ("Thankful," "Breakaway," "My December," "All I Ever Wanted," "Stronger"), sold over 21 million albums worldwide, 10 million albums in the U.S., and had 10 singles in the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. She is the recipient of 2 Grammy Awards, 4 American Music Awards, 3 MTV Video Music Awards, 1 Country Music Association Award and 12 Billboard Music Awards. Her most recent effort, "Stronger," debuted at #2 on both the Billboard Top 200 and Digital Albums Chart. The album is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A. and produced the smash singles "Mr. Know It All" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," which mark Clarkson's 9th and 10th Top 10 hits. "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" was #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart for two consecutive weeks, marking her 3rd #1 on the Hot 100 Chart after 2002's "A Moment Like This" and 2009's "My Life Would Suck Without You."

Linkin Park has sold over 50 million albums to date and has reached platinum album sales in 34 countries and 5 continents. Their debut album, "Hybrid Theory" is certified Diamond (10 million copies in US). They have won 2 Grammy Awards, 5 American Music Awards, 4 MTV Video Awards, 6 MTV Europe Music Awards and four #1 albums on Billboard Top 200. In 2005 Linkin Park established Music for Relief, a non-profit charity organization that has raised over $ 5 million for victims of natural disasters. Recently Music for Relief was recognized by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for their Download to Donate program to raise funds and awareness in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. In 2011 Linkin Park challenged their fans to raise money for Music for Relief / Japan Relief through a unique and groundbreaking social media fundraiser, resulting in over $350,000 raised for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Linkin Park has used the power of social media since day one, and are always trying new, innovative ways to present their music and connect with their fans worldwide. They are the biggest band on Facebook - more fans than any other band in the world -- 40 million and counting and over 850,000,000 YouTube views. The band's YouTube channel (LPTV) has over 1.2 million subscribers. Linkin Park is always willing to try new technologies and platforms; they were among the early adopters of apps like Instagram and Viddy. Their upcoming album, "Living Things" (physical and digital) will be available June 26, 2012 (Machine Shop Recordings / Warner Bros). The first single, "Burn it down," is available on iTunes. "Living Things" is informed by and built upon all previous Linkin Park albums, while still pushing the band's sound into new territory. It's spirited, energetic, daring and unafraid to hybridize the past, present and future, and is proof to a radical theory six musicians have devoted their lives to testing.

Multi-platinum global superstar Nelly Furtado's upcoming fifth album, "The Spirit Indestructible," will be released on June 19th, 2012. The album's first single, "Big Hoops (Bigger is Better)" (Interscope Records), which Furtado co-wrote with Rodney Jerkins, was released on April 17th. "The Spirit Indestructible" is Furtado's first English-language studio album since 2006's double-platinum "Loose," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, was certified multi-platinum in 32 countries, and sold 10 million copies worldwide. "Loose" also spawned three hit singles, including the #1's "Promiscuous" and "Say It Right," both of which earned Furtado Grammy Award nominations. The multi-lingual superstar's 2000's double-platinum "Whoa, Nelly!" spawned "I'm Like a Bird," and was followed by 2003's gold "Folklore," whose "Forca" became the official anthem of the 2004 European Cup Football Championship. In 2009 Furtado released her first Spanish-language album, the Latin Grammy Award-winning "Mi Plan," which reached #1 on the U.S. Latin Billboard chart and swept Canada's Juno Awards with five wins, including Album of the Year. In all Furtado has sold more than 16 million albums and 18 million singles worldwide, and has racked up international honors including a Grammy Award, a BRIT Award, a Latin Grammy Award, World Music Award and 10 Juno awards.

Seven-time Grammy Award winner Usher will release his eagerly anticipated new album, "Looking for Myself," on June 12th (RCA Records). Usher is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on "Looking for Myself," working with a host of top-notch collaborators including Salaam Remi, Diplo, Rico Love, Jim Jonsin and Max Martin, among others. Usher has been ranked by the RIAA as one of the best-selling artists in American music history, having sold over 43 million albums worldwide. He has won numerous awards, including 7 Grammy Awards, and was recently named the number one Hot 100 artist of the 2000s decade. Billboard named him the second most successful artist of the 2000s decade, with his career-propelling 2004 album "Confessions" was ranked as the top solo album of the 2000s decade. Usher has attained 9 Hot 100 Number-One hits (all as a lead artist) and has attained 17 Hot 100 Top-Ten singles.

Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album, single and digital sales, airplay, touring, streaming and social interactions on MySpace, Facebook and many of the other most popular online destinations for music. The awards will be based on the reporting period of February 28, 2011 through March 1, 2012.

"The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" is co-executive produced by Richard D. Beckman, CEO Prometheus Global Media and Don Mischer Productions. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HD format, with 5.1 channel surround sound. Visit www.Billboard.com/BBMA for a complete list of finalists and to apply for media credentials. Music fans can also follow news about the show or related events on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Billboard or Facebook at www.facebook.com/billboard.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, Lady Gaga, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards, annual Billboard Music Awards and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game which features the Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche. www.mgmgrand.com

Tickets prices begin at $57.75 for Upper Level, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are now on sale and available at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith's Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.