Drake leads 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards nominations
Drake and the Chainsmokers lead the nominations for this year’s iHeartRadio Music awards, iHeartMedia and Turner announced Wednesday morning.
Drake is up for 12 trophies at the fan-driven fete, including song of the year for his summer smash “One Dance,” male artist of the year and hip-hop artist of the year. The Chainsmokers are right behind Drake, with 11 nods. The electronic duo is up for new artist and song of the year for its breakout single “Closer,” featuring Halsey.
Bruno Mars was announced as the first performer for the show, which will air live from the Forum in Inglewood on March 5 on TBS, TNT and truTV. The ceremony will also be simulcast on iHeartMedia stations.
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Ahead of last year’s telecast, the fledgling production — its only in its fourth year — underwent a complete overhaul.
The ceremony shifted to the Forum, a much larger venue than the Shrine Auditorium, where it had been held since its debut in 2014, and moved from NBC to Turner’s suite of networks. And there was an exhaustive addition of awards.
Dozens of 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.
Additional fields were added this year, expanding the awards to more than 30 categories. Awards for producer of the year, label of the year and music video will be handed out for the first time during the March telecast.
Beyoncé, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Twenty One Pilots and Sia are among the other multiple nominees.
The 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live March 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern time on TBS, TNT and truTV. Online voting is open for a number of categories — including lyrics, cover song, social star award, song from a movie and fan army.
Tickets go on sale Friday. See the full list here.
For more music news follow me on Twitter:@GerrickKennedy
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