Chris Cornell in 2013 (Picture: Rex)

Chris Cornell will be honoured at the Billboard Music Awards following his shock death aged 52 last week.

Rock band Imagine Dragons are set to take to the stage at the Las Vegas ceremony to perform a tribute to the Soundgarden and Audioslave singer.

In a statement to the Associated Press, agent Brian Bumbery confirmed Cornell died on Wednesday night in Detroit. Bumbery labelled the death ‘sudden and unexpected’.

Cornell was found dead in his hotel room at the MGM Grand in the city following his final show.

Chris Cornell and his wife Vicky Karayiannis and their daughters in August 2010 (Picture: Barry King/FilmMagic)

His death was officially registered as a suicide by hanging following an autopsy, however his family have since questioned this, saying that his actions may have been influenced by drugs or other substances.

Close friend Kevin Morris, who was once a roadie for the band, claims there were signs he was not himself.

Chris Cornell performs during a Soundgarden show in 2014 (Picture: Levi Bianco/Brazil Photo Press/LatinContent/Getty Images)

Speaking to People he said: ‘The whole performance you could tell something wasn’t right. Into the second song he started getting disoriented or something. I just figured he wasn’t feeling well.

‘Everybody felt there was something going on. Like he wasn’t with us. Like he was on a cloud. It was like he was really fighting to get through the show.’

And Kevin admitted he had no idea why Cornell might have taken his own life.

‘He’s been clean for years. He talked to his wife right before and right after the show,’ he explained. ‘He was working very hard to make everyone happy. He loved Detroit. What was troubling him I don’t think we’ll ever know.

‘I think he was a little nervous about playing in Detroit, the music capital of the world, and he took a little too much of the Ativan.’

Chris Cornell was currently touring with Soundgarden (Picture: AP Photo/Jeff Christensen, File)

It’s set to be war between Adele and Beyonce, who are up against each other for the top prize of best artist, with other British nominees joining Adele including Coldplay, Radiohead and Calvin Harris.

The winners are decided by song sales over the past year, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social media interactions as tracked by Billboard.

Cher, who will pick up an icon accolade, will perform on the night as will Ed Sheeran, Drake and Miley Cyrus.

The ceremony, being held at the T-Mobile Arena, will be aired live on television in the US.

Cornell is best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for Seattle-based band Soundgarden, who achieved worldwide notoriety with their 1994 album Superunknown.

After splitting in 1997, they reunited in 2010 for their sixth studio album King Animal, with the band having sold more than 10.5 million records in the US as of 2012 and winning two Grammy awards.

During this 13-year hiatus, Chris went through a dark period and was admitted to rehab for alcohol addiction.

In an interview in 2012, Chris however admitted it would have happened despite the split, saying: ‘It’s something that would have happened even if Soundgarden had stayed together.

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‘It was a long slow slide and then a long slow recovery, but there was self-discovery too. For me it was mostly alcohol – from my late teens until my late thirties.’

Chris was currently touring with the band and had six dates left, including gigs in Columbus, Ohio on May 19 and in Dallas on May 26.

The singer even recently tweeted ahead of their show in Detroit, writing: ‘#Detroit finally back to Rock City!!!! @soundgarden #nomorebullshit.’

Chris went onto even more success as frontman of supergroup Audioslave with members of Rage Against The Machine, before also going solo and recording the theme for 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale.

As a solo artist he’s made four albums, including a spot working with R&B producer Timbaland.

He was married to Vicky Karayiannis and is survived by three children Lillian, Toni and son Christopher.

The 2017 Billboard nominees

Top Female Artist:
Adele
Beyonce
Ariana Grande
Rihanna
Sia

Adele (Picture: Getty)
Adele (Picture: Getty)

Top Male Artist:
Justin Bieber
Drake
Future
Shawn Mendes
The Weeknd

Top Hot 100 Song:
The Chainsmokers & Halsey – ‘Closer’
The Chainsmokers & Daya – ‘Don’t Let Me Down’
Drake & Wizkid & Kyla – ‘One Dance’
Justin Timberlake – ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’
Twenty One Pilots – ‘Heathens’

Top Billboard 200 Album:
Beyonce – ‘Lemonade’
Drake – ‘Views’
Rihanna – ‘Anti’
Twenty One Pilots – ‘Blurryface’
The Weeknd – ‘Starboy’

The Weeknd (Picture: Getty)
The Weeknd (Picture: Getty)

Top Artist:
Adele
Beyonce
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd

Top New Artist: 
Alessia Cara
Desiigner
Uzi London
Lukas Graham
Zayn Malik

Billboard Chart Achievement Award:
Luke Bryan
The Chainsmokers
Nicki Minaj
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd

Top Duo/Group:
The Chainsmokers
Coldplay
Florida Georgia Line
Guns N’ Roses
Twenty One Pilots

Top Song Sales Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Prince
Justin Timberlake
Twenty One Pilots

Prince (Picture: Getty)
Prince (Picture: Getty)

Top Radio Songs Artist: 
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots

Top Streaming Songs Artist: 
The Chainsmokers
Desiigner
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots

Top Social Artist: 
Justin Bieber
BTS
Selena Gomez
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes

Top Touring Artist: 
Justin Bieber
Beyonce
Coldplay
Guns N’ Roses
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Beyonce (Picture: Getty)
Beyonce (Picture: Getty)

Top R&B Artist: 

Beyonce
Bruno Mars
Frank Ocean
Rihanna
The Weeknd

Top R&B Tour:
Beyonce
Lionel Richie
Rihanna

Top Rap Artist: 
J Cole
Desiigner
Drake
Future
Rae Sremmurd

Top Rap Tour: 
Drake
Future
Kanye West

Kanye West (Picture: FilmMagic)
Kanye West (Picture: FilmMagic)

Top Country Artist: 
Florida Georgia Line
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Chris Stapleton
Jason Aldean

Top Country Tour: 
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Dixie Chicks

Top Rock Artist: 
Coldplay
The Lumineers
Metallica
Twenty One Pilots
X Ambassadors

Top Rock Tour: 
Coldplay
Guns n Roses
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Guns n Roses (Picture: Getty)
Guns n Roses (Picture: Getty)

Top Latin Artist: 
J Balvin
Juan Gabriel
Los Plebes Del Rancho De Ariel Camacho
Maluma
Nicky Jam

Top Dance/Electronic Artist: 
The Chainsmokers
Calvin Harris
Major Lazer
DJ Snake
Lindsey Stirling

Top R&B Album: 
Beyonce – ‘Lemonade’
Bruno Mars – ’24k Magic’
Frank Ocean – ‘Blonde’
Rihanna – ‘Anti’
The Weeknd – ‘Starboy’

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Frank Micelotta/REX/Shutterstock (8345036dl) Bruno Mars 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Show, Los Angeles, USA - 12 Feb 2017
Bruno Mars (Frank Micelotta/REX/Shutterstock)

Top Rap Album: 
J Cole – ‘4 Your Eyez Only’
Drake – ‘Views’
Kevin Gates – ‘Islah’
DJ Khaled – ‘Major Key’
A Tribe Called Quest – ‘We Got It From Here, Thanks 4 Your Service’

Top Country Album: 
Jason Aldean – ‘They Don’t Know’
Florida Georgia Line – ‘Dig Your Roots’
Blake Shelton – ‘If I’m Honest’
Chris Stapleton – ‘Traveller’
Keith Urban – ‘Ripcord’

Top Rock Album: 
The Lumineers – ‘Cleopatra’
Metallica – ‘Hardwired… To Self-Destruct’
Radiohead – ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’
Red Hot Chilli Peppers – ‘The Getaway’
Twenty One Pilots – ‘Blurryface’

Top Dance/Electronic Album: 
The Chainsmokers – ‘Bouquet/Collage’
Flume – ‘Skin’
Kygo – ‘Cloud Nine’
Lindsey Stirling – ‘Brave Enough’

Top Selling Song:
The Chainsmokers & Halsey – ‘Closer’
The Chainsmokers & Daya – ‘Don’t Let Me Down’
Drake & Wizkid & Kyla – ‘One Dance’
Justin Timberlake – ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’
Twenty One Pilots – ‘Heathens’

Justin Timberlake (Picture: Getty)

Top Radio Song: 
The Chainsmokers & Halsey – ‘Closer’
The Chainsmokers & Daya – ‘Don’t Let Me Down’
Drake & Wizkid & Kyla – ‘One Dance’
Sia and Sean Paul – ‘Cheap Thrills’
Justin Timberlake – ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’

Top Streaming Song (Audio): 
The Chainsmokers & Halsey – ‘Closer’
Drake & Wizkid & Kyla – ‘One Dance’
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty – ‘Broccoli’
Rihanna – ‘Needed Me’
The Weeknd & Daft Punk – ‘Starboy’

Top Streaming Song (Video): 
The Chainsmokers & Halsey – ‘Closer’
Desiigner – ‘Panda’
Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall – ‘JuJu On That Beat’
Rae Sremmurd & Gucci Mane – ‘Black Beatles’
Twenty One Pilots – ‘Heathens’

Top Collaboration: 
The Chainsmokers & Halsey – ‘Closer’
The Chainsmokers & Daya – ‘Don’t Let Me Down’
Drake & Wizkid & Kyla – ‘One Dance’
Sia and Sean Paul – ‘Cheap Thrills’
The Weeknd & Daft Punk – ‘Starboy’

Top R&B Collab: 
Drake & Wizkid & Kyla – ‘One Dance’
The Weeknd & Daft Punk – ‘Starboy’, ‘I Feel It Coming’
Rihanna & Drake – ‘Work’
PartyNextDoor & Drake – ‘Come And See Me’

Rihanna and Drake (Picture: Redferns)

Top Rap Song: 
Desiigner – ‘Panda’
Drake – ‘Fake Love’
D.R.A.M & Lil Yachty – ‘Broccoli’
Migos & Lil Uzi Vert – ‘Bad And Boujee’
RaeSremmurd & Gucci Mane – ‘Black Beatles’

Top Rap Collaboration:
D.R.A.M & Lil Yachty – ‘Broccoli’
Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall – ‘JuJu On That Beat’
D.R.A.M & Lil Yachty – ‘Broccoli’
Migos & Lil Uzi Vert – ‘Bad And Boujee’
Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello – ‘Bad Things’

Top Country Song: 
Kenny Chesney & Pink – ‘Setting The World On Fire’
Florida Georgia Line – ‘H.O.L.Y’
Florida Georgia Line & Tim McGraw – ‘May We All’
Little Big Town – ‘Better Man’
Keith Urban – ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’

Top Country Collab: 
Dierks Bentley & Elle King – “Different For Girls”
Kenny Chesney & Pink – ‘Setting The World On Fire’
Eric Church & Rhiannon Middens – ‘Kill A Word’
Florida Georgia Line & Tim McGraw – ‘May We All’
Chris Young & Vince Gill – ‘Sober Saturday Night’

Top Latin Song: 
Daddy Yankee – ‘Shaky Shaky’
Enrique Iglesias & Wisin – ‘Duele El Corazon’
Nicky Jam – ‘Hasta El Amanecer’
Shakira & Maluma – ‘Chantaje’
Carlos Vives & Shakira – ‘La Bicicleta’

Top Dance/Electronic Song: 
The Chainsmokers & Halsey – ‘Closer’
The Chainsmokers & Daya – ‘Don’t Let Me Down’
Calvin Harris & Rihanna – ‘This Is What You Came For’
Major Lazer & Justin Bieber & MO – ‘Cold Water’
DJ Snake and Justin Bieber – ‘Let Me Love You’ 

MORE : Chris Cornell’s friend Kevin Morris ‘knew something was wrong’ at final show

MORE : Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello pens heartfelt poem to Chris Cornell