The name might be familiar to some. In 2019, rapper Machine Gun Kelly impersonated Tommy Lee Mötley Crüe biopic , The Dirt .
MGK 's career has taken an unexpected turn: in 2020, the artist decided to leave rap behind and embrace pop rock, releasing his first album in this genre, called Tickets To My Downfall , which even spawned a companion film called Downfalls High . The gamble proved successful and earned Machine Gun Kelly his first VMA ( MTV Video Music Awards ) for best alternative song with the single "bloody valentine".
Last Sunday night, the album earned Gun Kelly another award: Best Rock Album at the Billboard Music Awards ( BBMA ), where it competed against AC/DC ( Power Up ), Miley Cyrus ( Plastic Hearts ), Glass Animals ( Dreamland ), and Bruce Springsteen ( Letter to You ). Check out the full list of winners here.
Overcome with emotion, Machine Gun Kelly sent a message to dreamers. “Show the Universe that it can’t take your dreams away from you,” the singer said. “I released my first mixtape 15 years ago and this is the first big stage I’ve ever been called to accept an award on. If five or ten or twelve years had been too long to wait for this moment, then I wouldn’t even be living this moment. And to the box that society wants to put me in: you need stronger material because you can’t keep me in it.”
