The 2023 iHeartRadio Awards are a wrap. The show celebrating the year on radio featured appearances by Pink and Taylor Swift — both winners on Monday night — along with presenters Phoebe Bridgers, Ice Spice and PinkPantheress, and performances by Latto, Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban and more music stars.
Host Lenny Kravitz kicked off the festivities at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre with a somber note: paying respect to the victims of Monday’s shooting at a private Christian elementary school in Tennessee. “Before we get started, I want to take a moment to send some of that healing to the Nashville community,” said Kravitz. “Our hearts are heavy and we are with you. America we must do better and we will do better.”
(Later in the show, “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” singer Cole Swindell also sent love to Nashville during his acceptance speech for country song of the year.)
The first performance of the evening came from Pink, 2023’s Icon Award honoree, who appeared on a foggy, purple-lit platform to — quite literally — dive into “Trustfall,” the title track from her ninth studio album. A group of dancers that Pink later lovingly referred to as her “road crew” took turns defying gravity as they bounced between trampolines and the stage’s walls.
Bebe Rexha, Becky G, Doja Cat and H.E.R could be seen watching in awe on the same camera that later caught Swift clapping along to Keith Urban’s performance of “Brown Eyes Baby.” His set also included the premiere of an unreleased track that kept the crowd on their feet.
Becky G took the stage to receive the award for best Latin pop song, while Doja Cat accepted the most played artist of the year Titanium award for “Woman.”
As most of these shows are taped affairs, there’s always some shuffling and mingling in the crowd between segments. Celebs were pouring in and out of the sides of the Dolby Theatre, and at one point, a bejeweled Swift came swerving through the crowd causing the entire room — meaning anyone and everyone from a pre-teen boy to a grown woman in their 30s — to promptly scream their heads off.
Fresh off her Eras tour, Swift accepted the Innovator Award after friend and tourmate Phoebe Bridgers presented her with the honor. “I’m grateful to have grown up in a world with Taylor Swift in it,” Bridgers said, causing the room to erupt in rapturous applause that only grew louder when she joked: “or the world…’Taylor’s Version.'”
She was followed by a starry video montage that included words of praise from Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez, Miles Teller, Ed Sheeran, Simone Biles, Alex Morgan, Dolly Parton and Jonathan Van Ness.
“Some 15 years ago, most songs on the pop charts were written by other people and Taylor has been at the forefront of being a singer-songwriter,” Sheeran said in his message. “Her stories are her songs.”
Joined by Bridgers on stage, Swift quipped that she never woke up in the morning and thought, ‘You know what I’m gonna do today? I’m gonna innovate some stuff.” She continued, “What I did do was try to make the right decision for me at the time, whether or not it had ever been successfully done before.”
Referencing her genre switch from country to pop, and the massive undertaking of re-recording her old music, Swift said she thought “the coolest ideas or moves are the new ones, the ones that set a new precedent,” and thanked her fans for their continued support throughout her career.
“The hundreds or thousands of dumb ideas that I’ve had are what led me to my good ideas,” Swift continued. “You have to give yourself permission to fail.” Later in the night, Swift also won the award for song of the year for “Anti-Hero,” which topped the charts for eight weeks as her longest-running No. 1 single.
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo kicked off a tribute to Pink, the Icon award recipient. The pair served as a teaser for what’s to expect on Pink’s “Summer Carnival” tour, where they’ll be playing for select dates later this summer. The couple played “Just Like A Pill” from the singer’s 2001 album “Missundaztood,” and were followed by Kelly Clarkson, who duetted with Pink on “Just Give Me a Reason.”
“Being on stage doing what I love, with people I love, and my babies in the audience, this feels like a Christmas miracle,” Pink said in her speech. “Every room I walk into, my heart walks into first. Every lyric that I write is my heart crying… You have watched me do this, just sifting through life’s messiness, for 25 years.”
Tour of the year went to Coldplay, who delivered a remote performance of the BTS-featuring “My Universe” from a tour stop in Brazil. Artist of the year went to none other than Harry Styles, who sent a short video message with many thanks to his team, supporters and iHeart. Meanwhile, the best new artist award went to four newcomers: Jax, Cody Johnson, Muni Long and Giovannie and the Hired Guns, who each gave a taste of their hit song in a shared performance that lasted less than five minutes.
Elsewhere, Latto delivered a performance of “Big Energy” on a “Big Latto’s Jackpot”-themed stage backed by a lineup of giant sparkly cherries and metallic-dressed dancers. LL Cool J also gave an impassioned speech about the 50 years of hip-hop that transitioned into a spoken-word segment about the “street poet” origins of the genre.
The night came to a close with an electric performance from host Kravitz, who rocked the house with a three-song medley of “American Woman,” “Fly Away” and “Are You Gonna Go My Way.”
Before the big night, Kravitz spoke to Variety about his first hosting gig saying, “After all the years I have behind me — to still be so vibrant and feel so inspired — is truly a gift. And in this very special case, it’s beautiful to meet and witness the people coming up now in this generation. It’s a special moment in my career.”
iHeartRadio Awards 2023 Full Winners List:
Song of the Year:
“About Damn Time” – Lizzo
“Anti-Hero” – Taylor Swift – WINNER
“As It Was” – Harry Styles
“Big Energy” – Latto
“Enemy (from the series Arcane League of Legends)” – Imagine Dragons
“First Class” – Jack Harlow
“Ghost”- Justin Bieber
“Heat Waves” – Glass Animals
“INDUSTRY BABY” – Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow
“Woman” – Doja Cat
Artist of the Year:
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
Drake
Dua Lipa
Harry Styles – WINNER
Jack Harlow
Justin Bieber
Lizzo
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
Best Duo/Group of the Year:
AJR
Black Eyed Peas
BLACKPINK
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic
Glass Animals
Imagine Dragons – WINNER
Måneskin
OneRepublic
Parmalee
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Best Collaboration:
“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Elle King & Miranda Lambert
“Cold Heart” – Elton John & Dua Lipa
“half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini ft. Kenny Chesney
“I Like You (A Happier Song)” – Post Malone ft. Doja Cat
“INDUSTRY BABY” – Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow
“One Right Now” – Post Malone & The Weeknd
“Sweetest Pie” – Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa
“Unholy” – Sam Smith & Kim Petras – WINNER
“Wait For U” – Future ft. Drake & Tems
“You Right” – Doja Cat ft. The Weeknd
Most Played Artist
Doja Cat – WINNER
Best New Pop Artist:
Dove Cameron
GAYLE
Jax – WINNER
Nicky Youre
Steve Lacy
Best Pop Album
Taylor Swift – WINNER
Country Song of the Year:
“Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis ft. Luke Bryan
“half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini ft. Kenny Chesney
“She Had Me At Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell – WINNER
“The Kind of Love We Make” – Luke Combs
“Wasted On You” – Morgan Wallen
Country Artist of the Year:
Carrie Underwood
Jason Aldean
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen – WINNER
Best New Country Artist:
Bailey Zimmerman
Cody Johnson – WINNER
Elle King
Elvie Shane
Priscilla Block
Country Album of the Year
Growin’ Up – Luke Combs – WINNER
Afrobeats Artist of the Year
Burna Boy
CKay
Fireboy DML
Tems – WINNER
Wizkid – WINNER
Hip-Hop Song of the Year:
“F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”- Hitkidd & GloRilla
“First Class” – Jack Harlow
“Girls Want Girls” – Drake ft. Lil Baby
“Super Gremlin”- Kodak Black
“WAIT FOR U” – Future ft. Drake & Tems – WINNER
Hip-Hop Artist of the Year:
Drake – WINNER
Future
Kodak Black
Lil Baby
Moneybagg Yo
Best New Hip-Hop Artist:
B-Lovee
GloRilla – WINNER
Latto – WINNER
Nardo Wick
SleazyWorld Go
R&B Song of the Year:
“BREAK MY SOUL” – Beyoncé
“Free Mind” – Tems
“Hrs And Hrs” – Muni Long
“I Hate U”- SZA – WINNER
“Smokin Out The Window” – Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic
R&B Artist of the Year:
Blxst
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic
Muni Long
SZA – WINNER
Yung Bleu
Best New R&B Artist:
Blxst
Brent Faiyaz
Muni Long – WINNER
Steve Lacy
Tems
Alternative Song of the Year:
“Black Summer”- Red Hot Chili Peppers
“EDGING”- Blink-182
“Enemy (from the series Arcane League of Legends)”- Imagine Dragons – WINNER
“Heat Waves”- Glass Animals
“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”- Kate Bush
Alternative Artist of the Year:
Imagine Dragons
Måneskin
Red Hot Chili Peppers – WINNER
twenty one pilots
Weezer
Best New Artist (Alternative & Rock):
Beach Weather
BoyWithUke
Giovannie and the Hired Guns – WINNER
Turnstile
Wet Leg
Rock Song of the Year:
“Black Summer”- Red Hot Chili Peppers – WINNER
“Patient Number 9”- Ozzy Osbourne ft. Jeff Beck
“Planet Zero”- Shinedown
“So Called Life”- Three Days Grace
“Taking Me Back”- Jack White
Rock Artist of the Year:
Ghost
Papa Roach – WINNER
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Shinedown
Three Days Grace
Dance Song of the Year:
“Cold Heart”- Elton John & Dua Lipa
“Escape”- KX5, Kaskade, Deadmau5 ft. Hayla
“Heaven Takes You Home”- Swedish House Mafia & Connie Constance
“Hot In It”- Tiësto & Charli XCX
“I’m Good (Blue)”- David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – WINNER
Dance Artist of the Year:
Anabel Englund – WINNER
Joel Corry
SOFI TUKKER
Swedish House Mafia
Tiësto
Latin Pop/Reggaeton Song Of The Year:
“El Incomprendido” – Farruko/ Víctor Cárdenas/ DJ Adoni
“MAMIII”- Becky G & Karol G – WINNER
“Me Porto Bonito”- Bad Bunny ft. Chencho Corleone
“Moscow Mule” – Bad Bunny
“PROVENZA”- Karol G
Latin Pop/Reggaeton Artist of the Year:
Bad Bunny – WINNER
Daddy Yankee
Farruko
Karol G
Rauw Alejandro
Regional Mexican Song of the Year:
“Cada Quien”- Grupo Firme ft. Maluma
“Cómo Te Olvido” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de René Camacho – WINNER
“Si Te Pudiera Mentir”- Calibre 50
“Ya Solo Eres Mi Ex” – La Adictiva
“Ya Supérame”- Grupo Firme
Regional Mexican Artist of the Year:
Calibre 50
Christian Nodal
El Fantasma
Grupo Firme – WINNER
La Adictiva
Best New Latin Artist:
Blessd
Kali Uchis – WINNER
Quevedo
Ryan Castro
Venesti
Best Lyrics: *a socially voted category
“About Damn Time” – Lizzo
“abcdefu” – GAYLE
“Anti-Hero” – Taylor Swift – WINNER
“Buy Dirt”- Jordan Davis ft. Luke Bryan
“Glimpse Of Us”- Joji
“Lift Me Up”- Rihanna
“N95” – Kendrick Lamar
“pushin P” – Gunna ft. Future, Young Thug
“Super Freaky Girl” – Nicki Minaj
“Wasted On You” – Morgan Wallen
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno”- Lin-Manuel Miranda performed by the Cast of Encanto
Best Music Video: *a socially voted category
“Anti-Hero”- Taylor Swift
“As It Was” – Harry Styles
“Calm Down”- Rema & Selena Gomez
“Don’t Be Shy”- Tiësto & Karol G
“DON’T YOU WORRY”- Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, David Guetta
“Envovler” – Anitta
“Left and Right”- Charlie Puth ft. Jung Kook of BTS
“Pink Venom”- BLACKPINK
“Tití Me Preguntó” – Bad Bunny
“Yet To Come” – BTS – WINNER
Best Fan Army: *a socially voted category
“Barbz”- Nicki Minaj
“Beliebers”- Justin Bieber
“BeyHive” – Beyoncé
“Blinks”- BLACKPINK
“BTSArmy”- BTS – WINNER
“Harries” – Harry Styles
“Hotties”- Megan Thee Stallion
“Louies”- Louis Tomlinson
“RihannaNavy”- Rihanna
“Rushers”- Big Time Rush
“Selenators” – Selena Gomez
“Swifties”- Taylor Swift
Social Star Award: *a socially voted category
Bailey Zimmerman
Charli D’Amelio
Em Beihold
GAYLE
GloRilla
JVKE – WINNER
Lauren Spencer-Smith
Yung Gravy
Favorite Tour Photographer: *a socially voted category
Bad Bunny – SIEMPRERIC
Demi Lovato – Angelo Kritikos
Dua Lipa – Elizabeth Miranda
Halsey – Yasi
Harry Styles – Lloyd Wakefield – WINNER
Louis Tomlinson – Joshua Halling
Luke Combs – David Bergman
Machine Gun Kelly – Sam Cahill
Olivia Rodrigo – DONSLENS
Post Malone – Adam DeGross
twenty one pilots – Ashley Osborn
YUNGBLUD – Tom Pallant
TikTok Bop of the Year: *a socially voted category
“About Damn Time”- Lizzo
“As It Was” – Harry Styles
“Bad Habit” – Steve Lacy
“Bejeweled”- Taylor Swift – WINNER
“Big Energy”- Latto
“CUFF IT”- Beyoncé
“Envolver”- Anitta
“Just Wanna Rock” – Lil Uzi Vert
“Made You Look”- Meghan Trainor
“Super Freaky Girl” – Nicki Minaj
“Unholy”- Sam Smith & Kim Petras
“World’s Smallest Violin”- AJR
Favorite Documentary: *a socially voted category
“Halftime” – Jennifer Lopez
“Life in Pink” – Machine Gun Kelly
“Love, Lizzo”- Lizzo
“Niall Horan’s Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar with Lewis Capaldi” – Niall Horan + Lewis Capaldi
“Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me” – Selena Gomez – WINNER
“Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl” – Shania Twain
“Sheryl” – Sheryl Crow
“Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby” – Lil Baby
Favorite Tour Style: *a socially voted category
Bad Bunny
Carrie Underwood
Dua Lipa
Elton John
Harry Styles – WINNER
Lady Gaga
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Machine Gun Kelly
Olivia Rodrigo
Rosalía
The Weeknd
Favorite Residency: *a socially voted category
“An Evening with Silk Sonic” – Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic
“Enigma + Jazz & Piano” – Lady Gaga
“Let’s Go!” – Shania Twain
“Love In Las Vegas”- John Legend
“Love On Tour” – Harry Styles – WINNER
“Play”- Katy Perry
“REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency” – Carrie Underwood
“Usher: My Way – The Las Vegas Residency” – Usher
“Weekends with Adele” – Adele
Favorite Use of a Sample: *a socially voted category
Beyoncé’s “SUMMER RENAISSANCE” – sampled Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom” – sampled 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P,” Rihanna’s “Pon de Replay,” and Biggie’s “Kick In The Door”
Chlöe’s “Treat Me” – sampled Bubba Sparxxx & Ying Yang Twins’ “Ms. New Booty”
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” – sampled Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee)”
DJ Khaled & Drake’s “Staying Alive” – sampled The Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive”
Doja Cat’s “Vegas” – sampled Shonka Dukureh’s “Hound Dog”
Jack Harlow’s “First Class” – sampled Fergie’s “Glamorous”
Latto’s “Big Energy” – sampled Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy”
Lizzo’s “Break Up Twice” – sampled Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)”
Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” – sampled Rick James’ “Super Freak”
Taylor Swift’s “Question…?” – sampled Taylor Swift’s “Out Of The Woods” – WINNER
Yung Gravy’s “Betty (Get Money)” – sampled Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”