Taylor Swift was the big winner at the fan-voted iHeartRadio Music Awards on Sunday, March 29.
The pop star won Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, for Shake It Off, and Best Lyrics, for Blank Space.
“More than anything in the world, I just hope that any of the fans watching know how much I adore you ... we’ve gotten closer and closer with each year, not farther apart,” Swift said at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. “Like, you make me so happy.”
Swift also performed with Madonna. Madge, whose recent awards show performances have been energetic and upbeat, toned things down to sing Rebel Heart as Swift played guitar beside her. "My favourite guitar player, yeah," Madonna said as she presented Swift with the Song of the Year award.
The second annual iHeart-Radio Music Awards, which were broadcast live on the American TV network NBC, also featured performances by Rihanna, Iggy Azalea with Jennifer Hudson, Nick Jonas, Meghan Trainor, Florida Georgia Line, Snoop Dogg, Jason Derulo, Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean, who won Country Song of the Year.
The actor and singer Jamie Foxx, who hosted the three-hour show, performed a new song with Chris Brown
Other guests included Furious 7 star Ludacris and Justin Timberlake, who received the iHeartRadio Innovator Award for his accomplishments as an entertainer. He told the audience that he was called "weird" as a teenager and offered encouraging words to any youngsters being bullied. "Growing up in school, no one ever called me anything close to an innovator, they called me different, they called me weird, they called me a couple of other words I can't say on TV," he said. "So, thankfully, my mother taught me that being different was a good thing, that being different meant you could actually make a difference, so tonight I want to thank my mum."
Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J won Best Collaboration for Bang Bang, Hozier's Take Me to Church won Alternative Rock Song of the Year and Calvin Harris's Summer won Dance Song of the Year.
Jeremih and YG won Hip-Hop/R&B song of the year for Don't Tell 'Em. Sam Smith, who won Best New Artist, and Azalea were the top nominees with five apiece.
The Best Fan Army award went to 5 Seconds of Summer and Brantley Gilbert received the Renegade Award.
artslife@thenational.ae
