{"id":224432,"date":"2026-01-09T04:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T04:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/224432\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T04:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T04:34:08","slug":"taylor-swift-bad-bunny-lead-iheartradio-music-awards-2026-nominees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/224432\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny Lead iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026 Nominees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTaylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter<\/a> lead the nominations for the iHeartRadio Music Awards<\/a> 2026, taking place on March 26 at Los Angeles\u2019 Dolby Theatre.<\/p>\n

\n\tSwift leads the pack with nine nominations, including song of the year for \u201cThe Fate of Ophelia,\u201d artist of the year and pop artist of the year. Bad Bunny<\/a>, Carpenter and Alex Warren each tie for eight nominations apiece, while additional nominees include Kendrick Lamar, Benson Boone, Doechii, Morgan Wallen, Leon Thomas and more.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 13th annual award show celebrates the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app through 2025. The telecast, which will air on Fox, will also feature fan-voted awards in categories including favorite TikTok dance, best lyrics, favorite soundtrack and more. Social voting<\/a> begins today and runs through the end of March 19.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is an annual awards show made exclusively for fans, celebrating the biggest songs and artists they\u2019ve loved listening to on iHeartRadio stations and our iHeartRadio app all year long,\u201d says John Sykes, President of Entertainment Enterprises, and Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer of iHeartMedia. \u201cFox viewers will also get an exclusive preview of some of the songs they\u2019ll be listening to in the Summer of \u201826.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCheck out the full list of nominees below:<\/p>\n

\n\tSong of the Year:
\u201cAnxiety\u201d \u2013 Doechii
\u201cGood News\u201d \u2013 Shaboozey
\u201cLove Somebody\u201d \u2013 Morgan Wallen
\u201cluther\u201d \u2013 Kendrick Lamar and SZA
\u201cManchild\u201d \u2013 Sabrina Carpenter<\/a>
\u201cMUTT\u201d \u2013 Leon Thomas
\u201cOrdinary\u201d \u2013 Alex Warren
\u201cSorry I\u2019m Here For Someone Else\u201d \u2013 Benson Boone
\u201cStargazing\u201d \u2013 Myles Smith
\u201cThe Fate of Ophelia\u201d \u2013 Taylor Swift<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tArtist of the Year:
Bad Bunny
Benson Boone
Chris Brown
Jelly Roll
Kendrick Lamar
Lady Gaga
Morgan Wallen
Sabrina Carpenter
Tate McRae
Taylor Swift<\/p>\n

\n\tPop Artist of the Year:
Alex Warren
Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Tate McRae
Taylor Swift<\/p>\n

\n\tPop Song of the Year:
\u201cGolden\u201d \u2013 HUNTR\/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
\u201cManchild\u201d \u2013 Sabrina Carpenter
\u201cOrdinary\u201d \u2013 Alex Warren
\u201cPink Pony Club\u201d \u2013 Chappell Roan
\u201cThe Fate of Ophelia\u201d \u2013 Taylor Swift<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (Pop):
Alex Warren
Jessie Murph
Myles Smith
Ravyn Lenae
sombr<\/p>\n

\n\tDuo\/Group of the Year:
HUNTR\/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
Linkin Park
Maroon 5
Shinedown
Twenty One Pilots<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Collaboration:
\u201cAll The Way\u201d \u2013 BigXthaPlug ft. Bailey Zimmerman
\u201cAPT.\u201d \u2013 ROSE\u0301 & Bruno Mars
\u201cluther\u201d \u2013 Kendrick Lamar and SZA
\u201cTimeless\u201d \u2013 The Weeknd ft. Playboi Carti
\u201cWHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME\u201d \u2013 GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Song of the Year:
\u201cAfter All The Bars Are Closed\u201d \u2013 Thomas Rhett
\u201cGood News\u201d \u2013 Shaboozey
\u201cLiar\u201d \u2013 Jelly Roll
\u201cLove Somebody\u201d \u2013 Morgan Wallen
\u201cWhiskey Drink\u201d \u2013 Jason Aldean<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Artist of the Year:
Jason Aldean
Jelly Roll
Lainey Wilson
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (Country):
Chase Matthew
Ella Langley
Hudson Westbrook
Josh Ross
Zach Top<\/p>\n

\n\tHip-Hop Song of the Year:
\u201cluther\u201d \u2013 Kendrick Lamar and SZA
\u201cNOKIA\u201d \u2013 Drake
\u201cOutside\u201d \u2013 Cardi B
\u201cThe Largest\u201d \u2013 BigXthaPlug
\u201cWHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME\u201d \u2013 GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red<\/p>\n

\n\tHip-Hop Artist of the Year:
Cardi B
GloRilla
Kendrick Lamar
Playboi Carti
Tyler, The Creator<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (Hip-Hop):
MOLIY
PLUTO
Real Boston Richey
YKNIECE
ZEDDY WILL<\/p>\n

\n\tR&B Song of the Year:
\u201cBurning Blue\u201d \u2013 Mariah the Scientist
\u201cFolded\u201d \u2013 Kehlani
\u201cMUTT\u201d \u2013 Leon Thomas
\u201cResiduals\u201d \u2013 Chris Brown
\u201cSOMEBODY LOVES ME\u201d \u2013 PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake<\/p>\n

\n\tR&B Artist of the Year:
Chris Brown
Kehlani
Leon Thomas
Mariah the Scientist
SZA<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (R&B):
Jenevieve
Kwn
Leon Thomas
Mariah the Scientist
Sailorr<\/p>\n

\n\tWorld Artist of the Year:
Ayra Starr
Jackson Wang
JO1
MOLIY
Tyla<\/p>\n

\n\tAlternative Song of the Year:
\u201cBack To Friends\u201d \u2013 sombr
\u201cEnsenada\u201d \u2013 Sublime
\u201cOne Eyed Bastard\u201d \u2013 Green Day
\u201cStargazing\u201d \u2013 Myles Smith
\u201cThe Contract\u201d \u2013 Twenty One Pilots<\/p>\n

\n\tAlternative Artist of the Year:
Cage the Elephant
Green Day
Linkin Park
Sublime
Twenty One Pilots<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (Alternative):
\u00b7 almost monday
\u00b7 Gigi Perez
\u00b7 Lola Young
\u00b7 Role Model
\u00b7 sombr<\/p>\n

\n\tRock Song of the Year:
\u201cAfterlife\u201d \u2013 Evanescence
\u201cBad Guy\u201d \u2013 Falling In Reverse ft. Saraya
\u201cDance, Kid, Dance\u201d \u2013 Shinedown
\u201cEven If It Kills Me\u201d \u2013 Papa Roach
\u201cHeavy Is the Crown\u201d \u2013 Linkin Park<\/p>\n

\n\tRock Artist of the Year:
Linkin Park
Papa Roach
Shinedown
Sleep Token
Three Days Grace<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (Rock):
Architects
Poppy
Return to Dust
Sleep Theory
Spiritbox<\/p>\n

\n\tDance Song of the Year:
\u201cBlessings\u201d \u2013 Calvin Harris feat. Clementine Douglas
\u201cIn My Arms\u201d \u2013 ILLENIUM & HAYLA
\u201cNo Broke Boys\u201d \u2013 Disco Lines & Tinashe
\u201cSave My Love\u201d \u2013 Marshmello, Ellie Goulding and AVAION
\u201cWon\u2019t Be Possible\u201d \u2013 Ti\u00ebsto, Odd Mob & Goodboys<\/p>\n

\n\tDance Artist of the Year:
Calvin Harris
David Guetta
John Summit
Martin Garrix
Ti\u00ebsto<\/p>\n

\n\tLatin Pop\/Urban Song of the Year:
\u201cAngel\u201d \u2013 Grupo Frontera & Romeo Santos
\u201cDEGENERE\u201d \u2013 Myke Towers & benny blanco
\u201cDtMF\u201d \u2013 Bad Bunny
\u201cQu\u00e9 Pasar\u00eda\u2026\u201d \u2013 Rauw Alejandro and Bad Bunny
\u201cSoltera\u201d \u2013 Shakira<\/p>\n

\n\tLatin Pop\/Urban Artist of the Year:
Bad Bunny
Feid
J Balvin
Karol G
Shakira<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (Latin Pop\/Urban):
Alleh Mezher
Be\u00e9le
De La Rose
Dei V
Louis BPM<\/p>\n

\n\tRegional Mexican Song of the Year:
\u201cAmor Bonito\u201d \u2013 Luis Angel \u201cEl Flaco\u201d
\u201cEl Amor De Mi Vida\u201d \u2013 Calibre 50
\u201cFlores\u201d \u2013 Xavi
\u201cHecha Pa\u2019 Mi\u201d \u2013 Grupo Frontera
\u201cLejos Estamos Mejor\u201d \u2013 Eden Mu\u00f1oz<\/p>\n

\n\tRegional Mexican Artist of the Year:
Alejandro Fern\u00e1ndez
Carin Le\u00f3n
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Luis Angel \u201cEl Flaco\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (Regional Mexican):
Clave Especial
Edgardo Nu\u00f1ez
Los Dos De Tamaulipas
\u00d3scar Maydon
Oscar Ortiz<\/p>\n

\n\tK-pop Artist of the Year:
JENNIE
j-hope
Jin
LISA
ROSE\u0301<\/p>\n

\n\tK-pop Group of the Year:
ATEEZ
BLACKPINK
ENHYPEN
Stray Kids
TWICE<\/p>\n

\n\tK-pop Song of the Year:
\u201cAPT.\u201d \u2013 ROSE\u0301 & Bruno Mars
\u201cGolden\u201d \u2013 HUNTR\/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
\u201cJUMP\u201d \u2013 BLACKPINK
\u201cKillin\u2019 It Girl\u201d \u2013 j-hope feat. GloRilla
\u201clike JENNIE\u201d \u2013 JENNIE<\/p>\n

\n\tBest New Artist (K-pop):
82Major
AllDay Project
Cortis
Hearts2Hearts
Meovv<\/p>\n

\n\tSongwriter of the Year:
Amy Allen
Ashley Gorley
Cal Shapiro
Charlie Handsome
Julia Michaels<\/p>\n

\n\tProducer of the Year:
Andrew Watt
Dijon
Jack Antonoff
Max Martin & Shellback
Sounwave<\/p>\n

\n\tFavorite Broadway Debut: *Socially Voted Category
Ashley Graham, \u201cChicago\u201d
Cheryl Porter, \u201c& Juliet\u201d
Durrell \u201cTank\u201d Babbs, \u201cHell\u2019s Kitchen\u201d
Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, \u201cStranger Things: The First Shadow\u201d
Jack Wolfe, \u201cHadestown\u201d
Kelsie Watts, \u201cSix! The Musical\u201d
Lencia Kebede, \u201cWicked\u201d
Lizzy McAlpine, \u201cFloyd Collins\u201d
Meg Donnelly, \u201cMoulin Rouge! The Musical\u201d
Ne-Yo, \u201cHell\u2019s Kitchen\u201d
Tom Felton, \u201cHarry Potter and the Cursed Child\u201d
Trisha Paytas, \u201cBeetlejuice\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t(New for 2026) Favorite TikTok Dance: *Socially Voted Category
\u201cAbracadabra\u201d \u2013 Lady Gaga
\u201cGnarly\u201d \u2013 KATSEYE
\u201cGO!\u201d \u2013 CORTIS
\u201cHappen To Me\u201d \u2013 Russell Dickerson
\u201cJUMP\u201d \u2013 BLACKPINK
\u201clike JENNIE\u201d \u2013 JENNIE
\u201cMidnight Sun\u201d \u2013 Zara Larsson
\u201cMONA LISA\u201d \u2013 j-hope
\u201cRevolving Door\u201d \u2013 Tate McRae
\u201cSPAGHETTI\u201d \u2013 LE SSERAFIM, j-hope
\u201cThe Fate of Ophelia\u201d \u2013 Taylor Swift<\/p>\n

\n\t(New for 2026) Favorite Debut Album: *Socially Voted Category
Addison Rae, \u201cAddison\u201d
Alex Warren, \u201cYou\u2019ll Be Alright, Kid\u201d
Audrey Hobert, \u201cWho\u2019s the Clown?\u201d
Calum Hood, \u201cORDER chaos ORDER\u201d
Coco Jones, \u201cWhy Not More?\u201d
JADE, \u201cTHAT\u2019S SHOWBIZ BABY!\u201d
JENNIE, \u201cRuby\u201d
LISA, \u201cAlter Ego\u201d
Michael Clifford, \u201cSIDEQUEST\u201d
Perrie, \u201cPerrie\u201d
sombr, \u201cI Barely Know Her\u201d
Tucker Wetmore, \u201cWhat Not To\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Lyrics: *Socially Voted Category
\u201cAnxiety\u201d \u2013 Doechii
\u201cBAILE INoLVIDABLE\u201d \u2013 Bad Bunny
\u201cCamera\u201d \u2013 Ed Sheeran
\u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d \u2013 Ella Langley
\u201cDAISIES\u201d \u2013 Justin Bieber
\u201cGolden\u201d \u2013 HUNTR\/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
\u201cMan I Need\u201d \u2013 Olivia Dean
\u201cManchild\u201d \u2013 Sabrina Carpenter
\u201cOrdinary\u201d \u2013 Alex Warren
\u201cThe Fate of Ophelia\u201d \u2013 Taylor Swift
\u201cundressed\u201d \u2013 sombr
\u201cWHERE IS MY HUSBAND!\u201d \u2013 RAYE<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Music Video: *Socially Voted Category
\u201cAbracadabra\u201d \u2013 Lady Gaga
\u201cBAILE INoLVIDABLE\u201d \u2013 Bad Bunny
\u201cBORN AGAIN\u201d \u2013 LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE
\u201cGabriela\u201d \u2013 KATSEYE
\u201cJUMP\u201d \u2013 BLACKPINK
\u201clike JENNIE\u201d \u2013 JENNIE
\u201cManchild\u201d \u2013 Sabrina Carpenter
\u201cOrdinary\u201d \u2013 Alex Warren
\u201cSapphire\u201d \u2013 Ed Sheeran
\u201cShake It to the Max (FLY) (Remix)\u201d \u2013 MOLIY, Shenseea, Skillibeng, Silent Addy
\u201cThe Fate of Ophelia\u201d \u2013 Taylor Swift
\u201ctoxic till the end\u201d \u2013 ROS\u00c9<\/p>\n

\n\tFavorite On Screen: *Socially Voted Category
AJ McLean, Nicole Scherzinger, Liam Payne, Kelly Rowland, \u201cBuilding the Band\u201d
Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo, \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d
Bad Bunny, \u201cHappy Gilmore 2\u201d
Becky G, \u201cREBBECA\u201d
Ed Sheeran, \u201cONE SHOT with Ed Sheeran: A Musical Experience\u201d
Jimin and Jungkook, \u201cAre You Sure?!\u201d
Jonas Brothers, \u201cA Very Jonas Christmas Movie\u201d
Karol G, \u201cKarol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful\u201d
Lady Gaga, \u201cWednesday\u201d
LISA, \u201cThe White Lotus\u201d
Taylor Swift, \u201cTaylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era\u201d
Zara Larsson, \u201cUp Close\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFavorite Tour Photographer: *Socially Voted Category
Abby Waisler for Gracie Abrams
Adam DeGross for Post Malone
Anna Lee for Coldplay
baeth for Tate McRae
Chris Cornejo for Shakira
Cynthia Parkhurst for Katy Perry
Henry Hwu for Billie Eilish
Hyghly for The Weeknd
Joshua Halling for Oasis
Rahul Bhatt for KATSEYE
Thomas Falcone for Shawn Mendes
Tom Pallant for YUNGBLUD<\/p>\n

\n\tFavorite Soundtrack: *Socially Voted Category
\u201cA Very Jonas Christmas Movie (Original Soundtrack)\u201d
\u201cF1 the Album\u201d
\u201cFrankenstein (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)\u201d
\u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d
\u201cNobody Wants This Season 2: The Soundtrack\u201d
\u201cSinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)\u201d
\u201cSmurfs Movie Soundtrack (Music From & Inspired By)\u201d
\u201cSpringsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere\u201d
\u201cTron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)\u201d
\u201cWicked: For Good \u2013 The Soundtrack\u201d
\u201cZombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires (Original Soundtrack)\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFavorite Tour Style: *Socially Voted Category
Bad Bunny, \u201cDeB\u00ed TiRaR M\u00e1S FOtoS World Tour\u201d
Beyonc\u00e9, \u201cCowboy Carter Tour\u201d
Billie Eilish, \u201cHit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour\u201d
BLACKPINK, \u201cDeadline World Tour\u201d
Dua Lipa, \u201cRadical Optimism Tour\u201d
Ella Langley, \u201cStill Hungover Tour\u201d
KATSEYE, \u201cBeautiful Chaos Tour\u201d
Lady Gaga, \u201cThe Mayhem Ball\u201d
Sabrina Carpenter, \u201cShort n\u2019 Sweet Tour\u201d
Tate McRae, \u201cMiss Possessive Tour\u201d
Taylor Swift, \u201cTaylor Swift | The Eras Tour\u201d
Zara Larsson, \u201cMidnight Sun Tour\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFavorite Tour Tradition: *Socially Voted Category
Benson Boone, Cover song
Beyonc\u00e9, Blue Ivy & Rumi on stage
Billie Eilish, \u201cwhen the party\u2019s over\u201d silent loop
Coldplay, Crowd cam
Dua Lipa, Surprise guest
Jonas Brothers, Surprise guest
KATSEYE, \u201cGnarly\u201d dance break
Lainey Wilson, Cowgirl of the night
ROLE MODEL, Sally
Sabrina Carpenter, Celebrity \u201cJuno\u201d arrest
Tate McRae, Fan cam on stage
Zara Larsson, \u201cLush Life\u201d star<\/p>\n

\n\t(New for 2026) Favorite K-pop Collab: *Socially Voted Category
\u201cBlink\u201d \u2013 Corbyn Besson & TZUYU of TWICE
\u201cBORN AGAIN\u201d \u2013 LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE
\u201cBUCK\u201d \u2013 Jackson Wang feat. Diljit Dosanjh
\u201cConfessions\u201d \u2013 Flo Rida, HEESEUNG & JAKE of ENHYPEN, Paul Russell
\u201cDirty Work\u201d \u2013 aespa feat. Flo Milli
\u201cExtraL\u201d \u2013 JENNIE, Doechii
\u201cEYES CLOSED\u201d \u2013 JISOO X ZAYN
\u201cIllegal + SEVENTEEN\u201d \u2013 PinkPantheress, SEVENTEEN
\u201cOn My Mind\u201d \u2013 Alex Warren & ROS\u00c9
\u201cSweet Dreams (feat. Miguel)\u201d \u2013 j-hope, Miguel
\u201cTOO BAD\u201d \u2013 G-DRAGON feat. Anderson .Paak
\u201cWE PRAY (TWICE Version)\u201d \u2013 Coldplay, TWICE, Burna Boy, Elyanna, TINI, Little Simz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter lead the nominations for the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026, taking place…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[27813,156,133881,157,111,139,69,3569,6456],"class_list":{"0":"post-224432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-bad-bunny","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-iheartradio-music-awards","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-sabrina-carpenter","16":"tag-taylor-swift"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}