Hot from his recent Billboard cover, Burna Boy took the stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday night (May 15) to close out the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.

Dressed in a smartly cut-away black suit jacket and shorts, the Nigerian singer delivered his new single, the Toni Braxton-sampling “Last Last,” and dub-flavored single “Kilometer” of 2021. The winner du Grammy confidently strutted and danced around the stage, giving the BBMAs an energetic and upbeat finish.

Two days before his BBMA performance, Burna Boy sat down with Billboard‘s Heran Mamo at the first-ever Billboard MusicCon in Las Vegas for a panel titled “The Explosion of Afro-Fusion.” Among other things, he talked about when he first fell in love with the idea of ​​performing while watching *NSYNC perform with Nelly at the 2002 Grammy Awards. Now he is a touring juggernaut, becoming the first Nigerian artist to make headlines ( and to sell out) at Madison Square Garden in April. “It’s like I’m better at [performing] than making music. And that says a lot because I’m really good at making music,” Burna Boy said in his Billboard cover story. “You see how with Christ there is BC and AD? I feel like that’s how it is for me with performance. There will be a “Before Burna Came” and “After Burna Died” period in the performing arts world. It’s my legacy.

Burna’s forthcoming sixth album, Love, Damini, is slated for release on July 2 — no coincidence, it’s the same day he turns 31. “I think about everything — what I’m doing and what’s going on where I’m from. Where I’m from is part of where I’m going,” he said. Billboard from the album.

Watch Burna Boy’s performance below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm3FbCH5iw0

The Billboard Music Awards are produced by MRC Live & Alternative, a division of MRC. MRC and Penske Media are co-parent companies of Billboard.