The iHeartRadio Awards saw the best of musical talent receive their flowers for an incredible year of music. Artists in attendance included Billie Eilish, celebrity couple Ashanti and Nelly and rising star Doechii. Hosted by LL Cool J, the awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 17.
Kickstarting the night with a historic win was singer SZA, real name Solana Rowe, who took home the Best R&B Artist award, becoming the first artist in iHeartRadio history to receive the award three times. She was nominated alongside Chris Brown, Muni Long, Usher and Victoria Monet.
Accepting her award, SZA thanked her team and fans who “helped us break out of any genre every single time”. She concluded: “I’m incredibly grateful. Thank you for recognizing me, thank you for playing my music. Have a blessed evening.”
Superstar and vocal powerhouse Mariah Carey was awarded the Icon Award and proved her status when she asked a very relatable question at the start of her acceptance speech: “I just want to ask you a question—is the lighting OK? Because I don’t like bad lighting.”
Mariah ended her speech with a special shout out to her mother, telling the crowd: “I want to honour my mother, Patricia Carey, for giving me the gift of music.”
Lady Gaga was presented with the Innovator Award by Doechii, who thanked Gaga for helping her to embrace her “weird” side, saying: “Gaga was and always is new, fresh and different. Not only is that OK, but it’s ideal.”
Gaga took to the stage in an red silk gown with a dramatic ruffled neckline, rocking her new black bob hairstyle and a bright red lip to match. She thanked the LGBTQ+ community for “changing the world for the better” and pushed back on ageism as she reflected on the huge career win.
“Winning an award honouring my entire career at 38 years old is a hard thing to get my head around,” she said. “On the one hand, I feel like I’ve been doing this forever. On the other hand, I know I’m just getting started. Even though the world might consider a woman in her late 30s old for a pop star — which is insane — I promise that I’m just getting warmed up.”
And finally, Taylor Swift seemingly snubbed the award show, despite being honoured with the Favourite Tour Style Award and the Favourite Tour Tradition Award, among many more, for what has been described as the tour of the century. Taylor kicked off her Eras tour in 2023 before it eventually came to an end in December last year. The songstress performed almost 150 shows across America and the rest of the world, with an eye-watering 10.1 million Swifities heading out to see the 35-year-old perform some of her biggest hits.
Revenue from the tour is said to have hit over $2billion after the last show. But skipping the iHeartRadio Awards on Monday, Taylor instead appeared via video link to accept her award on behalf of her band and crew. The pop megastar said she thinks “about that tour constantly,” adding: “It’s a three-and-a-half-hour show, more shows than I’ve ever done on a tour and it really was the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done. I think about that tour constantly. I’m so proud of it.
“And the only reason I was able to take on those challenges, among others, the ambition of the production, the length of the show, the amount of shows in all the different countries we played in, that’s all because of the fans.”
Thanking her fans, she concluded: “You had the passion and the generosity to care about travelling to see us on tour in all these places all over the world. It blows my mind. I’m never gonna stop being grateful for it and I appreciate it more than you know.”
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