MIGUEL’S ERRANT LEAP, BIEBER’S BOOS, AND OTHER BILLBOARD AWARDS MOMENTS

"Look before you leap" — or at least "consider your insurance coverage before you include the crowd in an Evel Knievel stunt": These are lessons Miguel might be wishing he'd considered after he collided with some fans in the middle of his Billboard Music Awards performance Sunday night.



Up to the injurious-looking moment, Miguel was in full stride, singing live, doing the splits, and generally showing Justin Bieber what it takes to be an R&B man. But then he hovered expectantly over the front row, looking as if he were considering crowd-surfing, then jumped over spectators' heads and landed on a nearby stage ramp.
Except "over" is perhaps giving him too much credit, as he appeared to connect with at least one or two of the ladies in the pit as he made his landing? Luckily, the poor woman who bore most of the brunt was not injured. "Got caught up in the moment, thank goodness Khyati is okay," a relieved Miguel later tweeted.
But Miguel wasn't the only one to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at the Las Vegas kudocast. Apparently responding to some boos as he accepted the fan-voted Milestone Award, Bieber launched into a defensive and slightly bizarre acceptance speech, sounding like he'd just been voted off the show instead of elected a fan favorite.
Among the other performers, Prince got high marks, J.Lo got low ones, and Chris Brown earned a split decision. A few buzzy moments from the three-hour telecast:
* Justin Bieber made it clear that the Billboard Awards should not be a popularity contest, but about art and craft. Or at least that seemed to be the point, kind of, of his second acceptance speech.
"I’m 19 years old. I think I'm doing a pretty good job," Bieber said. "It should really be about the music — should be about the craft that I'm making. This is not a gimmick. I’m an artist, and I should be taken seriously, and all this other bull should not be spoken of."