Top Moments from the 2014 Billboard Music Awards

From MJ's hologram to Robin Thicke's plea to his estranged wife and more.

ByABC News
May 19, 2014, 9:32 AM

— -- Michael Jackson was brought back to life -- sort of -- at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

A hologram of the King of Pop, surrounded by real-life backup dancers, performed "Slave to the Rhythm" Sunday night off the recently-released posthumous album "Xscape."

Wearing red pants and a golden jacket, the hologram showed off many of MJ's patented moves -- the spins, the gyrations and trademark kicks into the air.

Also, Robin Thicke debuted a new song, "Get Her Back," during the ABC telecast -- a not-so-subtle reference to his estranged wife, actress Paula Patton. He mentioned Patton while accepting the award for top R&B song for "Blurred Lines," saying, "I'd like to thank my wife for her love and support and for putting up with me all these years."

Miley Cyrus did not appear in person, but she made her presence felt from England, where she delivered a pre-recorded performance of The Beatles' classic "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," with help from members of The Flaming Lips. She and the group recently recorded a version of that song for The Flaming Lips' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band tribute album.

Read: 2014 Billboard Music Awards -- Complete Winner's List

Miley also won multiple awards, including top streaming artist. She cursed during her taped acceptance speech, but the objectionable word was censored.

Katy Perry's performance, of her new single "Birthday," was taped in the U.K., too. She serenaded a little girl who was actually celebrating her birthday at the concert.

Kendall Jenner, a younger sister of Kim Kardashian, had the faux pas of the night, when she attempted to introduce the Australian pop group 5 Seconds of Summer. It seemed that she started to call them One Direction, before stopping herself and telling the audience, "I'm the worst reader," referring to the teleprompter.

Justin Timberlake had some funny moments, even though he didn't attend. He was the night's biggest winner, collecting seven awards, including top artist. During his taped speech for top artist, he joked, "It's not a competition, but if it was I won!"

He then added, "I want to thank everybody on Earth, everybody on Earth... except Donald Sterling."

Imagine Dragons received five awards, while Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I. scored four apiece for their work on "Blurred Lines."

The three-hour broadcast, which was hosted by Ludacris, concluded with Jennifer Lopez performing her new A.K.A. track "First Love," then accepting Billboard's Icon Award. She is the first women to receive that honor.

J-Lo helped open the show, too, teaming up with Pitbull for a performance of their World Cup song "We Are One (Ole Ola)."

The night's lineup also included:

-- OneRepublic, "Counting Stars"

-- Iggy Azalea, "Fancy"

-- Ariana Grande & Iggy Azalea, "Problem"

-- Florida Georgia Line & Luke Bryan, "This Is How We Roll"

-- Shakira, "Empire"

-- Imagine Dragons, "Tiptoe"

-- Ricky Martin, "Vida"

-- Luke Bryan, "Play It Again"

-- Lorde, "Tennis Court"

-- Miranda Lambert & Carrie Underwood, "Something Bad"

-- John Legend, "You and I"

-- Jason Derulo, "Talk Dirty to Me"