iHeartRadio is once again expanding its repertoire from radio stations around the globe to award shows, hosting their third music awards ceremony.
Many award shows that have made big names for themselves are the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards and the People’s Choice Awards. There is one awards show that, though fairly recent, still has people talking – the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
There are currently 36 categories including the usual ones (Best Song, Best Male/Female Artist, Best Group/Duo, etc.), but also Best Underground Alternative Band, Social Star Award and even Best Fan Army, which will be voted on by fans.
The top spot for most wins is held by Taylor Swift with seven, while most nominations is Rihanna with nineteen. This year, the artist with most number of nominations is Drake with 12 and the DJ duo, The Chainsmokers, in second with 11.
They will also be having eight new categories such as Best New Pop Artist and Producer of the Year. Some categories, such as Best Lyrics and Best Cover Song have ten nominations in them.
The Social Star Award has famous social media stars like Alex Aiono from YouTube, Jack and Jack from Snapchat and Jacob Satorius from musical.ly nominated.
Beyonce, Rihanna and The Weeknd will battle it out in R&B Artist of the Year while Drake, DJ Khaled and Desiigner will compete for Hip Hop Artist of the Year.
The event will feature live performances from many different artists, including Bruno Mars. At this point, there is no one scheduled to host the show.
Unlike the Grammys, a similar awards show that has been around since 1959, the IHR awards only started in 2014 but have already garnered fairly modest ratings and numbers. The show takes place in California, having been aired live from Los Angeles at either the Shrine Auditorium or the Forum Arena, which is where it will be this year.
For those who don’t know, iHeartRadio is an Internet radio platform that was started in 2008 by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeart Radio Inc. Originally starting out as a website, Clear Channel eventually made it as an app for numerous devices including iPhone, Kindle, Google and more.
Since it’s launch, it has been added to gaming systems like PlayStation and Xbox and even vehicles like Nissan, Ford and Toyota.
What iHeart mainly does is act as a “recommender system,” in which it recommends certain stations that a listener might enjoy based on previously listened ones. It also allows the user to create customized stations, which feature certain songs, artists and even live radio stations that the listener likes.
Who will win this year? You’ll have to tune in on Sunday, March 5, at 8 p.m. on TBS, TNT and truTV. The show will also simulcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio.
Jacob Kusnerik
Intern