iHeartMedia and Turner announced today the finalists for the 2016 IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS on Sunday, April 3 at the historic Forum in Los Angeles. The event will be televised live on TBS, TNT and truTV at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will be simulcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide, as well as on the iHeartRadio digital music platform.
For the third straight year, the IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS will celebrate the amazing music that was heard throughout the year across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio. The 2016 telecast will feature today's biggest artists and songs with live performances including first released performers Justin Bieber and Meghan Trainor, first-time duets and collaborations, celebrity guest appearances, live award presentations, and an exclusive can't-miss performance by a soon-to-be-named artist that will be simulcast from the Capital One JamFest, which is part of THE MARCH Madness Music Festival taking place in Houston, TX. This is the first year for the Turner networks to simulcast the event, which is scheduled to take place the night between the NCAA Final Four National Semifinals and the NCAA National Championship on TBS.
This year, the IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS will feature 31 categories, including new awards for "Best Tour," "Best Duo/Group of the Year" and "Latin Song of the Year," as well as individual awards for "Artist of the Year" in music's biggest genres. Taylor Swift leads nominees with eight nominations and will vie for the first "Female Artist of the Year" award, while The Weeknd received seven nominations, including in the inaugural "Male Artist of the Year" category. Swift and the Weeknd will go head-to-head in the coveted "Song of the Year" and first-ever "Album of the Year" categories. Other artists who have received multiple nominations include Adele, Drake, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Luke Bryan and Sam Smith. All nominations are listed below.
"Because the IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS are a celebration of all things music, it's extremely fitting that we expand the categories this year to recognize even more of today's biggest artists across every genre," said Tom Poleman, President of iHeartMedia's National Programming Group. "It's going to be an unforgettable night and a true representation of the country's favorite artists and music."
In addition to being a compelling celebration of music and artists, the 2016 IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS will celebrate the fans, giving them once-in-lifetime access to their favorite artists and an up-close-and-personal view of the event like never before. Fan voting will determine this year's "Best Fan Army presented by Taco Bell," "Best Lyrics," "Best Collaboration" and the first-ever "Best Cover Song," "Best Song from a Movie," and "Most Meme-Able Moment" awards. Voting will begin through iHeartMedia's social media partner Telescope on February 9 and extend through March 25, with the "Best Fan Army presented by Taco Bell" and "Most Meme-Able Moment" voting continuing through the evening of the awards on April 3. Fans can vote by visiting iheartradio.com/awards.
"Our Awards are not chosen by a mysterious panel of judges," said John Sykes, President of iHeartMedia's Entertainment Enterprises. "They are a true reflection of the artists and songs our listeners supported all year long."
For the first time ever, tickets to the IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS are going on-sale to the general public. As a signature sponsor of the Awards Show, Capital One cardholders will have the opportunity to purchase them first. The exclusive Capital One Cardholder Pre-sale starts February 10 at 10 a.m. PST and runs through February 12 at 10 a.m. PST, or until tickets sell out. Capital One cardholders can visit www.iheartradio.com/capitalone for the opportunity to purchase tickets using their Capital One card. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting February 13 at 10 a.m. PST, and will be available at iheartradio.com/awardstickets.
"The IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS is one of the year's most energizing nights in music. Now that tickets are available to the public, this year's awards will be even more exciting with fans getting the opportunity to experience the event live." said Marc Mentry, Chief Brand Officer, Capital One. "We're thrilled to offer our customers early access to tickets through the exclusive Capital One Cardholder Pre-sale."
The 2015 IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS was the No. 1 rated show on the broadcast networks among adults 18-49 and captured the attention of Twitter users worldwide, securing the No. 7 spot on Twitter's Top Music Trending List of 2015 with #iHeartAwards. The event generated more than 14 billion social media impressions throughout the promotional period of the show, nearly 75 percent more than the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Award's 8.5 billion and almost triple that of the Academy Awards. The IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS was also one of the first ever to engage fans through live behind-the-scenes Twitter Periscope broadcasts. Among last year's winners were Sam Smith for Best New Artist, Jason Aldean's "Burnin' It Down" for Country Song of the Year and Taylor Swift, last year's top vote-getter, with awards for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Lyrics.
This year's awards will feature a broad array of categories. Category finalists (by alphabetical order) are:
Song of the Year:
Female Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Male Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Best New Artist:
Best Duo/Group of the Year: (New Category)
Album of the Year: (New Category)
Best Tour: (New Category)
Alternative Rock Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Alternative Rock Song of the Year:
Rock Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Rock Song of the Year: (New Category)
Country Song of the Year:
Country Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Dance Song of the Year:
Dance Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Hip Hop Song of the Year: (New Category)
Hip Hop Artist of the Year: (New Category)
R&B Song of the Year: (New Category)
R&B Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Latin Song of the Year: (New Category)
Latin Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Regional Mexican Song of the Year: (New Category)
Regional Mexican Artist of the Year: (New Category)
Best Lyrics: *Socially Voted Category
Best Collaboration: *Socially Voted Category
Best Cover Song: (New Category) *Socially Voted Category
Best Song from a Movie: (New Category) *Socially Voted Category
Most Meme-able Moment: (New Category) *Socially Voted Category
Best Fan Army: *Socially Voted Category
Additional categories include the iHeartRadio most thumbed up artist and song of the year in 2015.
The awards are produced by iHeartMedia and Den of Thieves. Executive Producers for iHeartMedia are John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Lee Rolontz. Den of Thieves Executive Producers are Evan Prager and Chris Choun with Co-Executive Producers Barb Bialkowski and Baz Halpin.
For breaking news and exclusive IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS content visit iHeartRadio.com/awards or follow the social buzz on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+.
About iHeartMedia
With over a quarter of a billion monthly listeners in the U.S and over 80 million social followers, iHeartMedia has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America. It serves over 150 markets through over 850 owned radio stations, and the company's radio stations and content can be heard on AM/FM, HD digital radio, satellite radio, on the Internet at iHeartRadio.com and on the company's radio station websites, on the iHeartRadio mobile app, in enhanced auto dashes, on tablets and smartphones, and on gaming consoles.
iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital radio platform, is the No. 1 all-in-one digital audio service with over 800 million downloads; it reached its first 20 million registered users faster than any digital service in Internet history and reached 80 million users faster than any other radio or digital music service and even faster than Facebook. The company's operations include radio broadcasting, online, mobile, digital and social media, live concerts and events, syndication, music research services and independent media representation. iHeartMedia is a division of iHeartMedia, Inc. (OTCBB: IHRT). Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
About Turner
TBS, TNT and truTV are part of Turner, a Time Warner company. Turner creates and programs branded news; entertainment; kids and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
About Den of Thieves
Den of Thieves has emerged as a force for ambitious music driven event shows and uniquely stylized television series. Using their extensive experience working with talent, their credits cover a vast array of formats and include Comedy Central's Key & Peele SUPER BOWL Special, ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60th, MTV's Greatest Party Story Ever, as well as Pitbull's New Year's Revolution and AMERICAN IDOL on FOX, the CMT Awards, the Peabody Awards, the MTV Movie Awards, THE RADIO DISNEY MUSIC AWARDS and the MTV Video Music Awards.
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