The band won the Top Group, Top New Artist and Top Pop Artist awards at the ceremony in Las Vegas last night (May 19).

The news seems to have sat well with Niall Horan, who gushed on Twitter today (May 20):

"Wow ! Wake up and find out that we've won 3 billboard awards! Can't believe it! Thank you so much best fans ever ! Love you soo much xxxxxxx."

He continued: "Top group, top new artist, top pop artist! You guys are the best! Thanks very much! Means so much!"

Other winners on the night included Taylor Swift, who bagged eight awards, and Justin Bieber, who won three.

The former meanwhile made headlines after being seen sticking her tongue out at an embrace between the Canadian and former girlfriend Selena Gomez.

The pair recently teamed up for the track 'Really Don't Care', which features on the X Factor USA judge's new album 'DEMI'.

Speaking to MTV, Lovato said that her family helped raise the idea of working with the British singer - and it was something she wholeheartedly agreed with. The star said:

"Well first of all, my mom loves Cher Lloyd and my little sister loves Cher Lloyd. And I love her too. She has so much sass and attitude. They were really wanting me to do a duet with her. And so I was thinking who else would be more fun to do a collaboration with than a powerful, sassy attitude-filled girl? And there's just nobody else out there. She fit perfectly on that song."

Lovato added that X Factor colleague LA Reid - whose label signed Lloyd in the US - helped sort out the collaboration.

The singer and Lloyd meanwhile recently performed 'Really Don't Care' live in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

As previously reported, the singer won three awards at the Las Vegas ceremony - Top Male Artist, Top Social Artist and Milestone.

When he collected the latter gong, he asked for people to concentrate on his music and not the other "bullsh*t". The 'Believe' star said:

"I'm 19 years old. I think I'm doing a pretty good job. From my heart, I really just want to say, it should really be about the music, it should be about the craft that I'm making. This is not a gimmick. I'm an artist, and I should be taken seriously, and all this other bullsh*t should not be spoken of."

However, it appears that the singer was booed by some sections of the crowd as he asked to be taken seriously.

Bieber seemed largely nonplussed after the event, tweeting: "Grateful to my #Beliebers. Our awards. Love u. I love music, my fans, my family, my friends..And I love The Lord."

The legendary rapper, who turned Rastafarian for his latest album, ‘Reincarnated,’ told the Daily Star that he believes the drug has the power to change people’s lives for the better:

“Marijuana is my girlfriend and I love her to death. To me it’s a herb that’s from the earth, for real. It’s put here for us to enjoy and I feel like the more people that indulge, the more peaceful it is.

“Marijuana tends to put everyone at ease. It connects people from a lot of different walks of life. It’s a positive movement of peace and unity so if you have one right now, blaze up.”

The 41-year-old also then went onto credit his 13-year-old daughter, Cori Broadus, for his new anti-gun stance:

“There has been so much gun violence in America, and all over the world, too, and we just want to see it end. So it’s awesome to have my daughter on my new record. The song is called No Guns Allowed. My daughter is changing me, my music and my way of life because she’s a lady.

“When you have a young lady to raise you want to be in the right way, so I thank her as she’s making me a better man. She believes in what I believe in and I support her.”

The Black Eyed Peas frontman, who is now the Girls Aloud star’s manager, told the Daily Star that he’s been busy bigging up his protégée to the 'Umbrella' hit-maker:

“Rihanna and Cheryl will be great when it happens.

“I first told Rihanna about Cheryl in 2009 when I said she’s like the princess of England. No disrespect to the real royals but Cheryl’s the pop princess and I’ve been telling Rihanna, so hopefully it will happen soon.”

Rihanna recently confessed she has a little crush on the former X-Factor judge in an interview with Esquire magazine, admitting:

“Cheryl Cole is hot. I would just like to watch her work. Preferably cleaning things on the floor. Picking up stuff on the floor. Bending over.

“She’s hot! I mean, literally — she’s so beautiful.”

Speaking to Vibe magazine, the 'Boom Boom Pow' sensation explained that critics are far too judgmental of Minaj's sound because it's often hard to classify and admitted he thinks it's great she can express herself without musical boundaries:

"I'm proud of Nicki. You can't listen to this stuff about not being real hip-hop. You gotta go and get it. Whatever the music is called that's what it's called whether it's hip-hop, pop, rock, gospel or a freaking musical, who cares? Nicki is an artist and she is expressing herself. Why limit yourself."

Will.i.Am, who collaborated with Minaj on 'Check It Out' back in 2010, added that he hopes she continues to bend the rules because it's where her talent is:

"I want Nicki to continue to show the world what hip-hop can be. It doesn't have to always be about fucking this stripper girl or getting money. I would rather be interested to hear what Chuck D thinks than some blogger or radio host."

Speaking to VEVO, the Black Eyed Peas man said that he feels the 1980s cartoon acted as a blueprint for future technology.

The singer and producer believes that the idea behind Transformers, which focuses on metamorphosis and multifunctionality, has now been applied to making music. He said:

"Transformers inspired me as a kid. The fantasy from cartoons in the past has now changed to computers today and how I can make a whole song on a computer...make it, play it and sing it from the same device. That is like a robot to me."

As previously reported, will.i.am has just scored his first ever UK No.1 single with the track 'This Is Love'.

The song hit the top of the UK chart on Sunday (July 2) as he beat off competition from Maroon 5's 'Payphone'.

The Voice judge, who has previously achieved five chart-toppers with Black Eyed Peas, beat his previous peak of No.3 for 'T.H.E.' to knock last week’s number one, Maroon 5’s 'Payphone,' off the top spot. 

Chris Brown’s 'Don’t Wake Me Up,' entered the chart at No.3, just ahead of Flo Rida’s 'Whistle' and Cheryl Cole’s 'Call My Name,' whilst Katy Perry’s 'Wide Awake' climbed into the Top 10 at No.10.

Elsewhere, Taio Cruz debuted at No.12 with 'There She Goes,' Muse's official Olympic anthem, 'Survival,' entered at No.25, while there were new entries for Nicki Minaj's 'Pound The Alarm' at No.34 and Jay-Z & Kanye West's 'No Church In The Wild' at No.37. 

The track, which features singer Eva Simons, entered the midweek chart update at No.1 and has the potential to give the 'Boom Boom Pow' superstar his first ever chart-topping single.

The Official Charts Company confirmed that the hit has opened up a sales lead of about 13,000 copies.

Chris Brown's new cut, 'Don't Wake Me Up', is this week's second highest new entry and has debuted at No.2, pushing Maroon 5's 'Payphone' down to No.3. Meanwhile, Cheryl Cole's 'Call My Name' has dropped 3 positions to No.5.

Elsewhere in the Top 40, Taio Cruz has made an appearance at No.16 with 'There She Goes', Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'No Church In The Wild' entered at No.32 and Katy Perry's 'Wide Awake' has climbed 2 to No.10.

The Black Eyed Peas star, who was speaking ahead of tonight’s final, said he is pleased that the BBC show has been more about the talent than any backstage drama:

“This show is different. I want to see every single person who walked off the stage proud, not battered and bruised. That is why I like this format.

“Maybe it doesn’t make great TV but it is going to make great artists. All around the world you are seeing the same ratings drop for The Voice live shows – in America, Australia.

“But which one do you want – great TV, or artists who are going to go and perform for people and make people forget about their problems?”

The 37-year-old, who this week unveiled the video for his new single, ‘This Is Love,’ went onto reveal that he still considers the show to be a success:

“If you were to compare this show to the music business, we had a big hit and the hit was 12million viewers. To sustain that, that is when things start getting scripted and fake. But this isn’t.”

The Black Eyed Peas man teamed up with Eva Simons for the track, which features on his upcoming album '#willpower'.

The video for the track sees a dapper looking will.i.am perform on a piano near London's Tower Bridge.

As previously reported, will.i.am recently took the Olympic torch for a run in Somerset as Olympic fever begins to spread across the UK.

He later took to Twitter to thank the crowd of Taunton, saying:

"I'm taking my torch home... A great memory in the town of tauton today."

The Voice UK coach, who recently revealed plans to launch his own car company in the tough Los Angeles neighbourhood where he grew up, told Now magazine that his focus on his music career saved him from a life of crime:

“There were a lot of gangs about. A lot of my friends are dead, in prison or have sold drugs. You joined a gang or you did arts or sports.”

The 37-year-old, who this week unveiled his new solo single, 'This Is Love,' also admitted that he used to stash the money he made from his early Black Eyed Peas days in his car because he liked to know how much was there:

“I had $400,0000 in my glove compartment. You don't know anything about financial literacy when you come from the ghetto.''

The Black Eyed Peas man debuted the track today (May 14) on Capital FM.

He tweeted about his escapades in the radio studios earlier today, suggesting that the decision to play the track was a spontaneous one. He said:

"Im in the lobby at capital one radio...trying to hang with Dave and Lisa @958capbreakfast...spontaneous behavior...I was thinking all night on whether I should just drop by capital radio unannounced to play Dave and Lisa my new song...hopefully I get to go on air...I feel like 1992 again trying to get in the bizz...I feel nervous and alive...#thisISlove"

The Voice UK coach meanwhile has been forced to defend himself on the show after some people suggested he hasn't been paying his acts enough attention.