The 20 best moments from Billboard Music Awards history

In 2012, we lost a legend in Whitney Houston. And though the loss hurt, there was a bit of comfort to be found -- as there always is -- in remembrance. After a moving monologue by Whoopi Goldberg, Jordin Sparks and John Legend took the stage to perform heartfelt renditions of two Houston tracks: "Greatest Love Of All" and "I Will Always Love You." You can check out the video here.

Though T-Boz couldn't make it to the 1995 Billboard Music Awards, bandmates Chilli and Left Eye made sure that she'd be represented one way or another. Hilariously, they brought along a life-size cardboard cutout of T-Boz (in a matching outfit, no less) and brought her along when they accepted the award for artist of the year.

This was great. At the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, Dave Grohl took the stage with Triumph The Insult Comic Dog for a hilarious mini-roasting session. You can watch for yourself here.

In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, R. Kelly decided to turn his appearance at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards into a tribute and call to action. His moving rendition of "Let Your Light Shine" can be seen here.

"All of us live in the land of music, and his departure from it was an earthquake." This stirring quote comes from a relatively short but incredibly moving tribute Questlove delivered at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. He urged us all to be "fierce, uncompromising, experimental" in honor of the late Prince. You can watch the tribute here.

Celine Dion's tribute to Freddie Mercury at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards is even more special and heart-wrenching when you realize the context -- only four months prior, she had lost her husband. After she received the Icon Award, she thanked him, saying she knows that he's still watching over her from heaven. You can watch her performance here.

There are few artists more divisive than Justin Bieber, so it should come as no surprise that when he was invited onstage to accept the Milestone Award at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, he was greeted by a chorus of boos -- boos that lasted almost a full minute before Bieber said anything. To his credit, however, he responded honestly, saying "I'm 19 years old... I'm 19 years old, I think I'm doing a pretty good job" with his hand on his heart. 

If you're not up on all of the #Jelena history, Fashion Magazine has a handy history right here. Regardless, Bieber and Gomez's appearance together at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards was, for many fans, the first time the relationship was confirmed. Plus, they kissed on camera. It's stunning to think that that kiss was the one that launched about a thousand Selena/Justin breakups and makeups.

This was just awesome. The 2002 Billboard Music Awards featured plenty of tributes to Run DMC, but this was probably the best one. Steven Tyler was joined by Nelly and Busta Rhymes (both of whom were in full Run DMC cosplay, right down to the Adidas jacket and hat) to perform "Walk This Way." You can watch the performance here.

One of the most oddball and unexpected moments of the 2013 Billboard Music Awards came when PSY was joined onstage by Tracy Morgan for an impromptu dance-off to his hit song "Gentleman". You can watch a video of the performance for yourself right here.

Back in 2004, Diana Ross (and that ruffly dress) stole the show with a fantastic tribute to the legendary Stevie Wonder. You can watch the performance for yourself here -- you'll thank us later.

Though Paul Walker was an actor and not a musician, his death was a huge loss to everybody -- especially friends Ludacris and Tyrese. In tribute, at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, they introduced Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth, and violinist Lindsey Stirling, who performed a touching rendition of "See You Again." You can see video of the performance here.

Before he ascended to a higher plane of existence, Prince graced the 2013 Billboard Music Awards with his presence and gifted us with one of the most legendary live performances the show had ever seen. His medley of "Let's Go Crazy" and "FixUrLifeUp" can be seen here -- and it's a must-watch.

*NSync's performance at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards was crazy in most senses of the word. Not only did they bust out of a gigantic fairy-tale book, not only did they wear what can generously be described as eye-meltingly bright suits, but they had a giant cardboard car prop that they strutted around in. It was bright, it was poppy, it was fun, and you can relive it here.

When Lauryn Hill took home R&B Album of the Year back at the 1998 Billboard Music Awards, she found it within her heart to give back to us -- in the form of an amazing performance of "Doo Wop (That Thing)." You can watch for yourself here.

This was hilarious. After breaking his foot, Justin Timberlake was forced to attend the 2002 Billboard Music Awards in a wheelchair. He then chose to make the best of it, enlisting two models to accompany him to the awards show dressed as nurses. 

The fallout between Zayn Malik and the rest of One Direction was all over the news prior to the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. But in a poignant moment as One Direction accepted the award for Top Group/Duo, Liam Payne let fans know that relations between the band and Zayn were still good, saying that there was "one more person to share this with, and that's our brother Zayn." 

No, Blink-182 weren't just baring it all just for the heck of it. The stunt at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards where they introduced hosts Kathy Griffin and Adam Carolla was a reference to their video for their hit song "What's My Age Again?"

Beyonce pulled this stunt not once, but twice. First, at the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, she was joined by a squadron of look-alikes. Then, during a performance at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards, she was joined by a bunch of video clones of herself. You can watch the stunning performance for yourself right here.

Though it wasn't the first posthumous performance of its kind (the famous Tupac hologram show happened at Coachella in 2012), that doesn't make the 2014 Billboard Music Awards' show-stopping performance of "Slave to the Rhythm" any less impressive. You can watch the video here, and take in every lifelike detail yourself -- it's absolutely astounding.