GALLERY: Glitz and glam at the Billboard Music Awards 2014

The Billboard Music Awards - which measures honors by sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and other metrics - is a top venue for artists to unveil new songs in time for the summer.

Justin Timberlake, hometown rockers Imagine Dragons and Robin Thicke were big winners at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday in Las Vegas where a computer-generated Michael Jackson danced and sang a newly released song.

The annual televised awards show, a main showcase for the music industry, honored Timberlake seven times, including top artist, top male artist and top Billboard 200 album for last year's "The 20/20 Experience."

Hologram performance

The late King of Pop Michael Jackson made an appearance as a hologram, performing his posthumously released song "Slave to the Rhythm" with a slew of dancers moving around his computer-generated image.

The performance prompted an emotional standing ovation with some audience members shown wiping away tears.

Imagine Dragons won five awards, including top Hot 100 artist for songs' chart performance, top rock artist and top duo/group among others. The Grammy-winning Las Vegas band also performed their song "Tiptoe" on the show.

Jennifer Lopez was honored with Icon Award for lifetime achievement - the first woman to be bestowed the honour - and country singer Carrie Underwood won the fan-voted Milestone Award.

The show featured numerous performances, including from pop stars Shakira, Lopez, country duo Florida Georgia Line with country singer Luke Bryan, and Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.

Rapper Pitbull kicked off the show alongside Lopez and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte from the MGM Grand Garden Arena with a performance of "We Are One (Ole Ola)," the theme to next month's soccer World Cup in Brazil.

Source: Reuters

Singer-songwriter Shakira and professional soccer player Gerard Pique arrive at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Rapper Iggy Azalea and boyfriend Nick Young arrive for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, May 18, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Jackie Jackson arrives for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, May 18, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Musicians Jordan Sparks (L) and Natasha Bedingfield pose at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Singer Kelly Rowland arrives at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Model Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner arrive at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Choreographer Casper Smart and singer Jennifer Lopez arrive at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, May 18, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Recording artist Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic performs onstage during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Recording artist Shakira performs onstage during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Justin Timberlake accepts the award for the Billboard Top 200 Album via satellite for "The 20/20 Experience" at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Singer Claudia Leitte (R) performs "We Are One" with Jennifer Lopez (L) and Pitbull at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Recording artist Ariana Grande performs onstage during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Dan Reynolds (R) of Imagine Dragons performs "Tiptoe" at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Singer Lorde accepts the top new artist award onstage at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Recording artists Miranda Lambert (L) and Carrie Underwood perform onstage during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Ricky Martin reacts after performing "Vida" at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Singer Robin Thicke accepts the award for top R&B song for "Blurred Lines" onstage at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS

Singer/actress Jennifer Lopez speaks onstage during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Recording artist John Legend performs onstage during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Singer Jason Derulo performs onstage during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP