The Billboard Music Awards aired Sunday night on ABC with a bevy of top performances from music’s luminaries.

Rihanna. Taylor Swift. Lady Antebellum. Justin Bieber. All the big names won awards. But as it goes with awards shows, it was the performances that made the show.

Keith Urban turned in a spirited performance of "Long Hot Summer." Mary J Blige and Lil Wayne performed "Someone to Love." The Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj all took turns on the stage.

Beyonce, who took home the Billboard Millennium Award, rocked the place into a frenzy. The singer delighted fans with a fiery performance of her new single, “Who Run the World (Girls)" before receiving the award from her mother, Tina Knowles.

On Twitter Sunday night, the event’s goings-on were heavily and hilariously tweeted, with Lady Antebellum, Billboards, Black Eyed Peas and Fergie all being top Twitter topics.

In February the social networking site was posited by Twitter CEO Dick Costolo as a “second screen” alongside live TV shows, turning television broadcasts into interactive social networking affairs.

And Sunday night was no exception. The hilarious tweets were coming rapidly.

BobbyJamess tweeted, "That awkward moment when Tina Knowles is trending & Beyoncé isn't."

It was that kind of night.

Beyonce's performance Sunday capped an impressive week in which she debuted the long-form version of the lead single from her forthcoming album, "4," and released the cover art for the project.

“I first want to start off by thanking my foundation, my family," she said. "I like to thank my father for teaching me so much about the music industry ... I like to thank (former Destiny's Child members) Kelly and Michelle," she said.

Rihanna won top female artist, screaming “Rihanna Naveeeey," an endearing term for her legion of fans, into the mic in what passed for a short acceptance speech.