The lights at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas were a bit brighter as stars arrived for one of the biggest nights in the music industry.
Swift also won top Billboard 200 album for "Red." Gotye and Rihanna had the second-most wins with four awards each.
Justin Bieber performed twice and was also a multiple winner with three awards, including top male artist, social artist and the fan-voted milestone award, beating out Swift and Bruno Mars.
Nicki Minaj won for top rap artist, beating out Drake, Flo Rida, Pitbull and Psy.
Prince received the Billboard "Icon" award and also performed. Madonna was honored for her career achievements as the top touring artist.
Other performances included Jennifer Lopez, The Band Perry, Pitbull, Christina Aguilera, Ed Sheeran, David Guetta and Kacey Musgraves.
Comedian Tracy Morgan hosted the Billboard Music Awards, which took a five-year hiatus, but celebrated its third year back this year.
The Billboard awards are given out to music's most popular artists. The finalists and winners are determined by their rank on the Billboard charts and their "social and streaming activity."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
