Advertisement

Jason Derulo tapped to host revamped iHeartRadio Music Awards

Jason DeRulo performs at the People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles in January. He'll host the iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 3.

Jason DeRulo performs at the People’s Choice Awards in Los Angeles in January. He’ll host the iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 3.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)
Share

It looks like the iHeartRadio Music Awards underwent an overhaul ahead of this year’s live broadcast.

In an announcement unveiling pop heartthrob Jason Derulo as this year’s host, the fledgling fan-driven ceremony appeared to have gone through a number of changes.

Set to air April 3, the third edition of the telecast will be anchored in a new, bigger venue — shifting from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles to the Forum in Inglewood.

Advertisement

It will also air on a new network, moving from NBC to TBS, TNT and truTV as part of a previously announced multi-year deal with Turner Broadcasting System that will see the company simulcast the ceremony across three of its flagship channels.

The most dramatic change in the show, however, comes with an exhaustive addition of awards.

More than 20 new categories were added, covering an array of genres (including alternative rock, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and regional Mexican music) as well as artist categories and trophies for film songs and, keeping in line with the show’s heavy emphasis on social media, most meme-able moment.

Derulo follows Jamie Foxx as last year’s host after the show’s inaugural run in 2014 relied on pre-taped interviews with artists (it didn’t go over well at all).

Former One Direction member Zayn Malik leads the list of newly announced performers, who will also include Chris Brown, DNCE, Fetty Wap and Demi Lovato.

Pitbull and Maroon 5 will perform live from the Capital One JamFest in Houston, where the NCAA Tournament Final Four will be held and aired on Turner’s networks. Performances by Justin Bieber and Meaghan Trainor were previously announced and more are expected.

Advertisement

Taylor Swift dominated the nominees this year with seven nods, including song, album and female artist of the year. The Weeknd is close behind with six nods, including song, album and male artist of the year. Adele, Drake and Bieber all scored five nods each.

The iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live on TBS, TNT and truTV on April 3 at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT and will be simulcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio digital music platform.

Online voting is open for a number of categories -- including fan army, best cover song, song from a movie and biggest triple threat.

A full list of nominees is below:

Song of the year:

· “Blank Space” -- Taylor Swift
· “Can’t Feel My Face” -- The Weeknd
· “Hello” -- Adele
· “Shut Up and Dance” -- Walk the Moon
· “Uptown Funk” - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

Female artist of the year (new category):
· Adele
· Carrie Underwood
· Meghan Trainor
· Selena Gomez
· Taylor Swift

Male artist of the year (new category):
· Ed Sheeran
· Justin Bieber
· Luke Bryan
· Sam Smith
· The Weeknd

Best new artist:
· Fetty Wap
· Hozier
· Sam Hunt
· Shawn Mendes
· Tove Lo

Best duo/group of the year (new category):
· Fall Out Boy
· Maroon 5
· One Direction
· Walk the Moon
· Zac Brown Band

Album of the year (new category):
· “1989” -- Taylor Swift
· “25” -- Adele
· “Beauty Behind the Madness” -- The Weeknd
· “In the Lonely Hour” -- Sam Smith
· “X” -- Ed Sheeran

Best tour (new category):
· Foo Fighters
· Garth Brooks
· Luke Bryan
· Taylor Swift
· U2

Alternative rock artist of the year (new category):
· Awolnation
· Foo Fighters
· Muse
· Twenty One Pilots
· X Ambassadors

Alternative rock song of the year:
· “Cigarette Daydreams” -- Cage the Elephant
· “Ex’s & Oh’s” -- Elle King
· “Renegades” -- X Ambassadors
· “Shut Up and Dance” -- Walk the Moon
· “Stressed Out” -- Twenty One Pilots

Rock artist of the year (new category):
· Breaking Benjamin
· Disturbed
· Five Finger Death Punch
· Foo Fighters
· Three Days Grace

Rock song of the year (new category):
· “Cut the Cord” -- Shinedown
· “Failure” -- Breaking Benjamin
· “Footsteps” -- Pop Evil
· “Heavy Is the Head” -- Zac Brown Band featuring Chris Cornell
· “I Am Machine” -- Three Days Grace

Country song of the year:
· “Buy Me a Boat” -- Chris Janson
· “Homegrown” -- Zac Brown Band
· “I See You” -- Luke Bryan
· “Lose My Mind” -- Brett Eldredge
· “Take Your Time” -- Sam Hunt

Country artist of the year (new category):
· Blake Shelton
· Brad Paisley
· Luke Bryan
· Sam Hunt
· Thomas Rhett

Dance song of the year:
· “Hey Mama” -- David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack
· “Lean On” -- Major Lazer & DJ Snake featuring MØ
· “Waves” -- Mr. Probz
· “Where Are Ü Now” -- Skrillex & Diplo with Justin Bieber
· “You Know You Like It” -- DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge
·
Dance artist of the year (new category):
· Calvin Harris
· David Guetta
· Major Lazer
· Skrillex & Diplo
· Zedd

Hip-hop song of the year (new category):
· “Blessings” -- Big Sean featuring Drake and Kanye West
· “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)” -- Rich Homie Quan
· “Hotline Bling” -- Drake
· “Trap Queen” -- Fetty Wap
· “Truffle Butter” -- Nicki Minaj featuring Drake and Lil Wayne

Hip-hop artist of the year (new category):
· Big Sean
· Drake
· Fetty Wap
· Future
· J. Cole

R&B song of the year (new category):
· “Bitch Better Have My Money” -- Rihanna
· “Earned It” -- The Weeknd
· “Planez” -- Jeremih featuring J. Cole
· “Post to Be” -- Omarion featuring Chris Brown and Jhene Aiko
· “The Hills” -- The Weeknd

R&B artist of the year (new category):
· Beyonce
· Chris Brown
· The Weeknd
· Trey Songz
· Usher

Latin song of the year (new category):
· “Ay Vamos” -- J Balvin
· “El Perdón” -- Nicky Jam and Enrique Iglesias
· “Hilito” -- Romeo Santos
· “La Gozadera” -- Gente De Zona featuring Marc Anthony
· “Mi Verdad” -- Maná featuring Shakira

Latin artist of the year (new category):
· Enrique Iglesias
· J Balvin
· Nicky Jam
· Pitbull
· Prince Royce

Regional Mexican song of the year (new category):
· “Aunque Ahora Estés Con Él” -- Calibre 50
· “Eres Una Niña” -- Gerardo Ortiz
· “Levantando Polvadera” -- Voz de Mando
· “Mi Vicio Más Grande” -- Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga
· “Te Metiste” -- Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho

Regional Mexican artist of the year (new category):
· Banda Los Recoditos
· Calibre 50
· Gerardo Ortiz
· Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
· Voz De Mando

Best lyrics (socially voted category):
· “Die A Happy Man” -- Thomas Rhett
· “Fight Song” -- Rachel Platten
· “Hello” -- Adele
· “Photograph” -- Ed Sheeran
· “See You Again” -- Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth

Best collaboration (socially voted category):
· “Bad Blood” -- Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar
· “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” -- Meghan Trainor featuring John Legend
· “See You Again” -- Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
· “Uptown Funk” -- Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
· “Where Are Ü Now” -- Skrillex & Diplo with Justin Bieber

Best cover song (new category and socially voted category):
· “1989” (album in full) -- Ryan Adams covering Taylor Swift
· “Bad Blood” -- Alessia Cara covering Taylor Swift
· “Bitch Better Have My Money” -- Kelly Clarkson covering Rihanna
· “Cheerleader” -- Pentatonix covering Omi
· “Hands to Myself/Sorry” -- Troy Sivan covering Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber
· “Hello” -- Demi Lovato covering Adele
· “Hotline Bling” -- Justin Bieber covering Drake
· “Hotline Bling” -- Sam Smith and Disclosure covering Drake
· “Trap Queen” -- Ed Sheeran covering Fetty Wap
· “Uptown Funk” -- Fifth Harmony, Jasmine V, Jacob Whitesides and Mahogany Lox covering Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

Best song from a movie (new category and socially voted category):
· “Earned It” -- The Weeknd (“50 Shades of Grey”)
· “Love Me Like You Do” -- Ellie Goulding (“50 Shades of Grey”)
· “See You Again” -- Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth (“Furious 7”)
· “Til It Happens To You” -- Lady Gaga (“The Hunting Ground”)
· “Writing’s on the Wall” -- Sam Smith (“Spectre”)

Most meme-able moment (new category and socially voted category):
· Adele and all of the “Hello” memes (Lionel Richie, Miss Piggy, etc.)
· Drake and “Hotline Bling”
· Katy Perry and the Left Shark (from Super Bowl 49)
· Kanye West and Kanye for President / Kanye 2020
· Taylor Swift’s “Crazy Girl” with Running Mascara (from “Blank Space” video)

Best fan army (presented by Taco Bell and socially voted category):
· 5 Seconds of Summer -- 5SOSFam
· Adam Lambert -- Glamberts
· Ariana Grande -- Arianators
· Demi Lovato -- Lovatics
· Fifth Harmony -- Harmonizers
· Justin Bieber -- Beliebers
· Little Mix -- Mixers
· Nicki Minaj -- Barbz
· One Direction -- Directioners
· Selena Gomez -- Selenators
· Shawn Mendes -- Mendes Army
· Taylor Swift -- Swifties

Biggest triple threat (socially voted category)
· Hailee Steinfeld -- singer / actor / model
· Jason Derulo -- singer / host / dancer
· Jennifer Lopez -- singer / actor / dancer
· Justin Timberlake -- singer / actor / dancer
· Lady Gaga -- singer / actor / activist
· Nick Jonas -- singer / actor / model
· Selena Gomez -- singer / actor / dancer
· Troye Sivan -- singer / actor / YouTuber
· Usher -- singer / actor / dancer
· Zendaya -- singer / actor / dancer

gerrick.kennedy@latimes.com

For more music news, follow me on Twitter: @gerrickkennedy

Advertisement