The competition at this year’s Billboard Music Awards is fierce, with artists from around the globe competing for the coveted golden mic. Predicting what artists will take home marquee awards like Top New Artist and Top Group takes a combination of skill, knowledge, and a little bit of luck, three ingredients that can win you bragging rights as the ultimate arbiter of the music scene. VersusGame wants to reward you with something even better if you can guess the winners on May 23rd: Money.
VersusGame is a mobile gaming app that rewards you for your knowledge of everything from pop culture to sports to entertainment and food. Playing is simple: You download the app to your phone, buy some credits, find a game, and start predicting to win. There are categories to fit anyone’s interest, from guessing who a celebrity’s favorite rapper is to guessing when a surprise album will drop. Calling something correctly will net you VersusGame coins that you can cash out for real money. The mobile gaming company has already given away $16M to players over the last two years, and are giving one lucky fan $1M during the Billboard Music Awards on May 23rd.
To do that, VersusGame is partnering with influencers and artists like Cameron Dallas, Josh Richards, Taylor Caniff, Jack J (JVCK), and Ktlyn. Each of them will be posting their own game for fans in the days leading up to the BMAs, and include questions like “Who will be the Top Male Artist?” and “Who will be the Top Rap Artist?” On Sunday morning, Josh Richards will randomly pick three finalists from the pool of VersusGame players who will be given a set of 10 award predictions. Guess all of them right, and one winner will have a shot at $1M in cash.
It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to put your music and pop culture knowledge to the test. Predicting the artists walking home with a trophy from the Billboard Music Awards has always been about bragging rights. Now those bragging rights come with cash.
NEWS
Lola Young has joined forces with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to release a new T shirt for the charity’s Lifelines collection.
The shirt supports CALM’s suicide prevention work, with proceeds helping to fund vital resources such as its helpline and CALMzone mental health app.
CALM introduced the Lifelines range last year, with Fontaines D.C., Blossoms and Inhaler also contributing their own designs to the collection.
Young’s design includes the words, “There’s a flicker of light. There’s always morning after the night”, taken from her track ‘Flicker Of Light’.
“I wrote this song about realising there is hope. I have often felt like there isn’t, but there is always a reason to keep going,” Young said. “That’s even when you don’t want to get out of bed, you do, and that is amazing, and you’re still here, and you’re still alive, and if anything, that’s something to be proud of.”
CALM CEO Simon Gunning also shared his appreciation for the collaboration, saying: “We couldn’t be more grateful to Lola for supporting ‘Lifelines’ and showing just how powerful music can be as a force for good.”
Priced at £30, the T shirts come in both standard and boxy fits and are available to purchase here.
Young has regularly spoken about her experiences with mental health. She returned to performing earlier this year after calling off her 2025 tour because of exhaustion. The decision followed her collapse during a performance in New York City. During her time away, she later discussed receiving support for addiction and attending AA meetings as part of her recovery.
In an interview with NME in May, Young explained that she believes “all healing journeys are never ending”, although she is now “definitely in a much better place”. She also said she feels “excited and ready to perform and to release music”.
Reflecting on the encouragement she received after publicly discussing those challenges, Young said: “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.”
“I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Several musicians have also applauded the ‘Messy’ singer for honestly addressing the pressure placed on touring performers. Lily Allen said she was “in awe” of the BRIT and Grammy winner, while Victoria Canal credited Young with bringing greater attention to the damaging impact demanding tour schedules can have on artists’ mental wellbeing.
When NME asked whether musicians were beginning to establish firmer boundaries around their health, Young replied: “I never intended it to start a movement, but I hope that it does in some way.”
