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2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards Viewing Guide: What You Need to Know

Kicking off tonight at 8 pm ET on FOX and iHeartRadio stations, here's what you need to know to check out the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards are set to air on FOX and iHeartRadio stations nationwide tonight, celebrating the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2025 and previewing the upcoming hits of 2026. Hosted by rapper and actor Ludacris, the awards ceremony will feature award presentations in a number of categories, live performances from some of the biggest artists in music, surprise guests and collaborations, and much more. To make sure you're able to jump in on the festivities, we have a rundown of everything you need to know, including when/where to watch, the red carpet pre-show, who's set to perform/appear, who's receiving special recognition, a complete list of categories & nominees (including videos from some early winners), and more.

When/Where Can I Watch 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards? The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards airs LIVE from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, TONIGHT (8:00-10:00 pm ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX and will also be heard on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and on the free iHeartRadio app.

2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards Red Carpet Live! The iHeartRadio Music Awards Red Carpet Live! kicks off today at 5:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm PT on the red carpet at The Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Hosts Tommy DiDario, EJ & Carter Gergory will speak with the biggest names in music about everything from receiving an iHeartRadio Music Award nomination to their red-carpet fashion and more.

2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards: Who's Set to Perform/Appear? This year's show includes performances from 2026 iHeartRadio Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award Alex Warren, Lainey Wilson, Ludacris, and RAYE, as well as TLC, Salt-N-Pepa & En Vogue — performing together for the very first time! Kehlani and John Mellencamp will also be taking over the stage. Also set to appear are Alysa Liu, Ne-Yo, Nicole Scherzinger, Nikki Glaser, sombr, Weezer, and more.

In addition…

2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards – Taylor Swift to Appear: Taylor Swift is set to make a special appearance, her first awards show appearance of the year. She is up for nine awards, including Song of the Year, Pop Song of the Year, Favorite TikTok Dance, Best Lyrics, Best Music Video for "The Fate of Ophelia," as well as Artist of the Year, Pop Artist of the Year, Favorite On Screen for "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour – The End of an Era," and Favorite Tour Style "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour."

2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards – iHeartRadio Innovator Award Winner Miley Cyrus: Each year, the iHeartRadio Innovator Award is presented to an artist who has impacted both music and global culture throughout their career, and this year's recipient is Miley Cyrus. From her groundbreaking role 20 years ago in Hannah Montana, a cultural phenomenon that continues to shape and inspire generations, to her evolution into one of the most fearless, dynamic, and influential voices in music today, Miley's impact on pop culture is undeniable. Beyond her artistry, Miley's humanitarian work has made a profound impact. Through the Miley Cyrus Foundation and the launch of Happy Hippie, she has been a powerful advocate for homeless and at‑risk youth, especially teens facing housing insecurity. Her efforts have helped amplify vulnerable voices, provide essential resources, and build community for young people who need it most.

2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards – iHeartRadio Icon Award Winner John Mellencamp: From defining an era with "Jack & Diane," "Pink Houses," and "Small Town," to continuing to influence generations of musicians with his unmistakable voice and point of view, Mellencamp's work is woven deeply into the cultural fabric of the United States. This summer, Mellencamp will embark on his highly anticipated "Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits," performing the songs that have defined his career — many of which he hasn't played live in decades. Equally important to Mellencamp's artistry is his longstanding dedication to activism and advocacy. Throughout his career, he has championed causes close to America's heartland, including co‑founding Farm Aid to support family farmers — a commitment that has spanned nearly 40 years. His voice has always stood for compassion, community, and integrity, reflecting the very values the Icon Award seeks to honor.

2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards Categories/Nominees

Artists receiving multiple nominations this year include Alex Warren, Bad Bunny, Benson Boone, BLACKPINK, Chris Brown, Ed Sheeran, Ella Langley, GloRilla, Grupo Frontera, HUNTR/X: EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI, Jelly Roll, JENNIE, j-hope, KATSEYE, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Leon Thomas, Linkin Park, LISA, Mariah the Scientist, MOLIY, Morgan Wallen, Myles Smith, RAYE, ROSÉ, Sabrina Carpenter, Shinedown, sombr, SZA, Tate McRae, Taylor Swift, Twenty One Pilots, and Zara Larsson.

Like in previous years, iHeartRadio is letting the fans choose the winners in several new and established categories. Fan voting will determine this year's Favorite Broadway Debut, Favorite TikTok Dance, Favorite Debut Album, Best Lyrics, Best Music Video, Favorite On-Screen, Favorite Tour Photographer, Favorite Soundtrack, Favorite Tour Style, Favorite Tour Tradition, and Favorite K-pop Collab.

Song of the Year:            

• "Anxiety" – Doechii
• "Good News" – Shaboozey
• "Love Somebody" – Morgan Wallen
• "luther" – Kendrick Lamar and SZA
• "Manchild" – Sabrina Carpenter
• "MUTT" – Leon Thomas
• "Ordinary" – Alex Warren
• "Sorry I'm Here For Someone Else" – Benson Boone
• "Stargazing" – Myles Smith
• "The Fate of Ophelia" – Taylor Swift

Artist of the Year:

• Bad Bunny
• Benson Boone
• Chris Brown
• Jelly Roll
• Kendrick Lamar
• Lady Gaga
• Morgan Wallen
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Tate McRae
• Taylor Swift

Pop Artist of the Year:

• Alex Warren
• Benson Boone
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Tate McRae
• Taylor Swift

Pop Song of the Year:

• "Golden" – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
• "Manchild" – Sabrina Carpenter
• "Ordinary" – Alex Warren
• "Pink Pony Club" – Chappell Roan
• "The Fate of Ophelia" – Taylor Swift

Best New Artist (Pop):

• Alex Warren
• Jessie Murph
• Myles Smith
• Ravyn Lenae
• sombr

Duo/Group of the Year:

• HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
• Linkin Park
• Maroon 5
• Shinedown
• Twenty One Pilots

Best Collaboration:

• "All The Way" – BigXthaPlug ft. Bailey Zimmerman
• "APT." – ROSÉ & Bruno Mars
• "luther" – Kendrick Lamar and SZA
• "Timeless" – The Weeknd ft. Playboi Carti
• "WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME" – GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red

Country Song of the Year:

• "After All The Bars Are Closed" – Thomas Rhett
• "Good News" – Shaboozey
• "Liar" – Jelly Roll
• "Love Somebody" – Morgan Wallen
• "Whiskey Drink" – Jason Aldean

Country Artist of the Year:

• Jason Aldean
• Jelly Roll
• Lainey Wilson
• Luke Combs
• Morgan Wallen

Best New Artist (Country):

• Chase Matthew
• Ella Langley
• Hudson Westbrook
• Josh Ross
• Zach Top

Hip-Hop Song of the Year:

• "luther" – Kendrick Lamar and SZA
• "NOKIA" – Drake
• "Outside" – Cardi B
• "The Largest" – BigXthaPlug
• "WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME" – GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red

Hip-Hop Artist of the Year:

• Cardi B
• GloRilla
• Kendrick Lamar
• Playboi Carti
• Tyler, The Creator

Best New Artist (Hip-Hop):

• MOLIY
• PLUTO
• Real Boston Richey
• YKNIECE
• ZEDDY WILL

R&B Song of the Year:

• "Burning Blue" – Mariah the Scientist
• "Folded" – Kehlani
• "MUTT" – Leon Thomas
• "Residuals" – Chris Brown
• "SOMEBODY LOVES ME" – PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake

R&B Artist of the Year:

• Chris Brown
• Kehlani
• Leon Thomas
• Mariah the Scientist
• SZA

Best New Artist (R&B):

• Jenevieve
• Kwn
• Leon Thomas
• Mariah the Scientist
• Sailorr

World Artist of the Year:

• Ayra Starr
• Jackson Wang
• JO1
• MOLIY
• Tyla

Alternative Song of the Year:

• "Back To Friends" – sombr
• "Ensenada" – Sublime
• "One Eyed Bastard" – Green Day
• "Stargazing" – Myles Smith
• "The Contract" – Twenty One Pilots

Alternative Artist of the Year:

• Cage the Elephant
• Green Day
• Linkin Park
• Sublime
• Twenty One Pilots

Best New Artist (Alternative):

·      almost monday

·      Gigi Perez

·      Lola Young

·      Role Model

·      sombr

Rock Song of the Year:

• "Afterlife" – Evanescence
• "Bad Guy" – Falling In Reverse ft. Saraya
• "Dance, Kid, Dance" – Shinedown
• "Even If It Kills Me" – Papa Roach
• "Heavy Is the Crown" – Linkin Park

Rock Artist of the Year:

• Linkin Park
• Papa Roach
• Shinedown
• Sleep Token
• Three Days Grace

Best New Artist (Rock):

• Architects
• Poppy
• Return to Dust
• Sleep Theory
• Spiritbox

Dance Song of the Year:

• "Blessings" – Calvin Harris feat. Clementine Douglas
• "In My Arms" – ILLENIUM & HAYLA
• "No Broke Boys" – Disco Lines & Tinashe
• "Save My Love" – Marshmello, Ellie Goulding and AVAION
• "Won't Be Possible" – Tiësto, Odd Mob & Goodboys

Dance Artist of the Year:

• Calvin Harris
• David Guetta
• John Summit
• Martin Garrix
• Tiësto

Latin Pop/Urban Song of the Year:

• "Angel" – Grupo Frontera & Romeo Santos
• "DEGENERE" – Myke Towers & benny blanco
• "DtMF" – Bad Bunny
• "Qué Pasaría…" – Rauw Alejandro and Bad Bunny
• "Soltera" – Shakira

Latin Pop/Urban Artist of the Year:

• Bad Bunny
• Feid
• J Balvin
• Karol G
• Shakira

Best New Artist (Latin Pop/Urban):

• Alleh
• Beéle
• De La Rose
• Dei V
• Louis BPM

Regional Mexican Song of the Year:

• "Amor Bonito" – Luis Angel "El Flaco"
• "El Amor De Mi Vida" – Calibre 50
• "Flores" – Xavi
• "Hecha Pa' Mi" – Grupo Frontera
• "Lejos Estamos Mejor" – Eden Muñoz

Regional Mexican Artist of the Year:

• Alejandro Fernández
• Carín León
• Fuerza Regida
• Grupo Frontera
• Luis Angel "El Flaco"

Best New Artist (Regional Mexican):

• Clave Especial
• Edgardo Nuñez
• Los Dos De Tamaulipas
• Óscar Maydon
• Oscar Ortiz

K-pop Artist of the Year:

• JENNIE
• j-hope
• Jin
• LISA
• ROSÉ

K-pop Group of the Year:

• ATEEZ
• BLACKPINK
• ENHYPEN
• Stray Kids
• TWICE

K-pop Song of the Year:

• "APT." – ROSÉ & Bruno Mars
• "Golden" – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
• "JUMP" – BLACKPINK
• "Killin' It Girl" – j-hope feat. GloRilla
• "like JENNIE" – JENNIE

Best New Artist (K-pop):

• 82Major
• AllDay Project
• Cortis
• Hearts2Hearts
• Meovv

Songwriter of the Year:

• Amy Allen
• Ashley Gorley
• Cal Shapiro
• Charlie Handsome
• Julia Michaels

Producer of the Year:

• Andrew Watt
• Dijon
• Jack Antonoff
• Max Martin & Shellback
• Sounwave

Favorite Broadway Debut: *Socially Voted Category 

• Ashley Graham, "Chicago"
• Cheryl Porter, "& Juliet"
• Durrell "Tank" Babbs, "Hell's Kitchen"
• Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, "Stranger Things: The First Shadow"
• Jack Wolfe, "Hadestown"
• Kelsie Watts, "Six! The Musical"
• Lencia Kebede, "Wicked"
• Lizzy McAlpine, "Floyd Collins"
• Meg Donnelly, "Moulin Rouge! The Musical"
• Ne-Yo, "Hell's Kitchen"
• Tom Felton, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child"
• Trisha Paytas, "Beetlejuice"

Favorite TikTok Dance: *Socially Voted Category 

• "Abracadabra" – Lady Gaga
• "Gnarly" – KATSEYE
• "GO!" – CORTIS
• "Happen To Me" – Russell Dickerson
• "JUMP" – BLACKPINK
• "like JENNIE" – JENNIE
• "Midnight Sun" – Zara Larsson
• "MONA LISA" – j-hope
• "Revolving Door" – Tate McRae
• "SPAGHETTI" – LE SSERAFIM, j-hope
• "The Fate of Ophelia" – Taylor Swift

Favorite Debut Album: *Socially Voted Category 

• Addison Rae, "Addison"
• Alex Warren, "You'll Be Alright, Kid"
• Audrey Hobert, "Who's the Clown?"
• Calum Hood, "ORDER chaos ORDER"
• Coco Jones, "Why Not More?"
• JADE, "THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!"
• JENNIE, "Ruby"
• LISA, "Alter Ego"
• Michael Clifford, "SIDEQUEST"
• Perrie, "Perrie"
• sombr, "I Barely Know Her"
• Tucker Wetmore, "What Not To"

Best Lyrics: *Socially Voted Category 

• "Anxiety" – Doechii
• "BAILE INoLVIDABLE" – Bad Bunny
• "Camera" – Ed Sheeran
• "Choosin' Texas" – Ella Langley
• "DAISIES" – Justin Bieber
• "Golden" – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
• "Man I Need" – Olivia Dean
• "Manchild" – Sabrina Carpenter
• "Ordinary" – Alex Warren
• "The Fate of Ophelia" – Taylor Swift
• "undressed" – sombr
• "WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!" – RAYE

Best Music Video: *Socially Voted Category 

• "Abracadabra" – Lady Gaga
• "BAILE INoLVIDABLE" – Bad Bunny
• "BORN AGAIN" – LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE
• "Gabriela" – KATSEYE
• "JUMP" – BLACKPINK
• "like JENNIE" – JENNIE
• "Manchild" – Sabrina Carpenter
• "Ordinary" – Alex Warren
• "Sapphire" – Ed Sheeran
• "Shake It to the Max (FLY) (Remix)" – MOLIY, Shenseea, Skillibeng, Silent Addy
• "The Fate of Ophelia" – Taylor Swift
• "toxic till the end" – ROSÉ

Favorite On Screen: *Socially Voted Category 

• AJ McLean, Nicole Scherzinger, Liam Payne, Kelly Rowland, "Building the Band"
• Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked: For Good"
• Bad Bunny, "Happy Gilmore 2"
• Becky G, "REBBECA"
• Ed Sheeran, "ONE SHOT with Ed Sheeran: A Musical Experience"
• Jimin and Jungkook, "Are You Sure?!"
• Jonas Brothers, "A Very Jonas Christmas Movie"
• Karol G, "Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful"
• Lady Gaga, "Wednesday"
• LISA, "The White Lotus"
• Taylor Swift, "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era"
• Zara Larsson, "Up Close"

Favorite Tour Photographer: *Socially Voted Category 

• Abby Waisler for Gracie Abrams
• Adam DeGross for Post Malone
• Anna Lee for Coldplay
• baeth for Tate McRae
• Chris Cornejo for Shakira
• Cynthia Parkhurst for Katy Perry
• Henry Hwu for Billie Eilish
• Hyghly for The Weeknd
• Joshua Halling for Oasis
• Rahul Bhatt for KATSEYE
• Thomas Falcone for Shawn Mendes
• Tom Pallant for YUNGBLUD

Favorite Soundtrack: *Socially Voted Category 

• "A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (Original Soundtrack)"
• "F1 the Album"
• "Frankenstein (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)"
• "KPop Demon Hunters"
• "Nobody Wants This Season 2: The Soundtrack"
• "Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)"
• "Smurfs Movie Soundtrack (Music From & Inspired By)"
• "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere"
• "Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)"
• "Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack"
• "Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires (Original Soundtrack)"

Favorite Tour Style: *Socially Voted Category 

• Bad Bunny, "DeBí TiRaR MáS FOtoS World Tour"
• Beyoncé, "Cowboy Carter Tour"
• Billie Eilish, "Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour"
• BLACKPINK, "Deadline World Tour"
• Dua Lipa, "Radical Optimism Tour"
• Ella Langley, "Still Hungover Tour"
• KATSEYE, "Beautiful Chaos Tour"
• Lady Gaga, "The Mayhem Ball"
• Sabrina Carpenter, "Short n' Sweet Tour"
• Tate McRae, "Miss Possessive Tour"
• Taylor Swift, "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour"
• Zara Larsson, "Midnight Sun Tour"

Favorite Tour Tradition: *Socially Voted Category 

• Benson Boone, Cover song
• Beyoncé, Blue Ivy & Rumi on stage
• Billie Eilish, "when the party's over" silent loop
• Coldplay, Crowd cam
• Dua Lipa, Surprise guest
• Jonas Brothers, Surprise guest
• KATSEYE, "Gnarly" dance break
• Lainey Wilson, Cowgirl of the night
• ROLE MODEL, Sally
• Sabrina Carpenter, Celebrity "Juno" arrest
• Tate McRae, Fan cam on stage
• Zara Larsson, "Lush Life" star

Favorite K-pop Collab: *Socially Voted Category 

• "Blink" – Corbyn Besson & TZUYU of TWICE
• "BORN AGAIN" – LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE
• "BUCK" – Jackson Wang feat. Diljit Dosanjh
• "Confessions" – Flo Rida, HEESEUNG & JAKE of ENHYPEN, Paul Russell
• "Dirty Work" – aespa feat. Flo Milli
• "ExtraL" – JENNIE, Doechii
• "EYES CLOSED" – JISOO X ZAYN
• "Illegal + SEVENTEEN" – PinkPantheress, SEVENTEEN
• "On My Mind" – Alex Warren & ROSÉ
• "Sweet Dreams (feat. Miguel)" – j-hope, Miguel
• "TOO BAD" – G-DRAGON feat. Anderson .Paak
• "WE PRAY (TWICE Version)" – Coldplay, TWICE, Burna Boy, Elyanna, TINI, Little Simz

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