Drake, The Chainsmokers Lead 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nominees
Drake and the Chainsmokers top this year’s list of nominees for the iHeartRadio Music Awards to be held March 5 at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Along with the announcement Wednesday, Bruno Mars was revealed as the event’s first announced performer. Mars is also nominated in the socially voted covers category for his rendition of Adele’s “All I Ask.”
Drake’s 12 nominations include song of the year for “One Dance,” featuring Wizkid and Kyla, male artist of the year and hip-hop artist of the year. In the hip-hop song of the year category, he is nominated for three out of the five songs overall, including his “One Dance” and “Controlla” and his feature on DJ Khaled’s “For Free.”
Meanwhile, the Chainsmokers received 11 nods, including song of the year with the Halsey-featuring “Closer,” best duo/group of the year and the new best new pop artist category.
Other artists with multiple nominations include Rihanna, Twenty One Pilots, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Beyonce.
The awards are intended to celebrate the music heard across iHeartMedia radio stations over the past year. And as the media company’s audience has grown, John Sykes, president of iHeartMedia Entertainment Enterprises, says the awards have expanded to reflect that. This year, there are 22 more categories than in the past three years. New awards include producer of the year, label of the year and best music video, as well as individual genre-specific awards for artists, songs and albums of the year.
“The biggest artists in music show up every year because this is the awards show that fans truly control,” said Sykes. “With iHeartRadio now reaching such a diverse audience, this year we have expanded to giving awards in more than 30 categories.”
There are also eight socially voted categories, including best lyrics, best collaboration and best fan army, giving fans a chance to participate. Voting for the fan army award began Tuesday through iHeartRadio’s social media accounts and its app, with all other categories now open, and runs through Feb. 24, with the fan army award extending to the night of the event, March 5. Fans can vote by visiting iHeartRadio.com/awards.
The 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live March 5 at 8 p.m. ET on TBS, TNT and truTV.
See the full list of nominees below:
Song of the Year:
– “Can’t Stop The Feeling” – Justin Timberlake
– “Cheap Thrills” – Sia featuring Sean Paul
– “Closer” – The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
– “One Dance” – Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla
– “Stressed Out” – Twenty One Pilots
Female Artist of the Year:
– Adele
– Ariana Grande
– Rihanna
– Selena Gomez
– Sia
Male Artist of the Year:
– Drake
– Justin Bieber
– Luke Bryan
– Shawn Mendes
– The Weeknd
Best Duo/Group of the Year:
– Coldplay
– DNCE
– Florida Georgia Line
– The Chainsmokers
– Twenty One Pilots
Alternative Rock Song of the Year:
– “Bored to Death” – Blink-182
– “Dark Necessities” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
– “Heathens” – Twenty One Pilots
– “Ride” – Twenty One Pilots
– “Trouble” – Cage the Elephant
Alternative Rock Artist of the Year:
– Blink-182
– Cage The Elephant
– Coldplay
– The Strumbellas
– Twenty One Pilots
Rock Song of the Year:
– “Bang Bang” – Green Day
– “Dark Necessities” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
– “Take Me Down” – The Pretty Reckless
– “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown” – Volbeat
– “The Sound of Silence” – Disturbed
Rock Artist of the Year:
– Disturbed
– Five Finger Death Punch
– Red Hot Chili Peppers
– Shinedown
– Volbeat
Country Song of the Year:
– “Church Bells” – Carrie Underwood
– “Snapback” – Old Dominion
– “Somewhere On A Beach” – Dierks Bentley
– “T-Shirt” – Thomas Rhett
– “You Should Be Here” – Cole Swindell
Country Artist of the Year:
– Carrie Underwood
– Jason Aldean
– Keith Urban
– Luke Bryan
– Thomas Rhett
Dance Song of the Year:
– “Closer” – The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
– “Cold Water” – Major Lazer featuring…