Taylor Swift is set to receive the 2023 iHeartRadio Innovator Award at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which will air live from Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, March 27. Previous recipients of the Innovator Award are Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, U2, Bruno Mars, Chance the Rapper and Alicia Keys.
In addition to her musical accomplishments, iHeart notes in a statement that Swift is “an advocate for women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community, using her music and platform to inspire young people to use their voting power.”
iHeart also notes that Swift’s smash “Anti-Hero,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks from November into January, “is currently the most played song across iHeartRadio.”
P!nk will receive the 2023 iHeartRadio Icon Award, honoring “her impact on pop culture, longevity and continued relevance as a touring and radio force with a loyal fan base worldwide.” Previous recipients are Bon Jovi, Elton John and Jennifer Lopez.
Swift and P!nk, of course, have both received enough awards to fill a warehouse. Both are multiple Grammy winners (12 for Swift, three for P!nk). Both have received Billboard’s Woman of the Year honor (Swift has received it twice). Both have received top honorary awards at the Brit Awards.
P!nk will also perform on the show, as will Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Muni Long, Cody Johnson and Coldplay (the latter performing live from Brazil).
These bookings are considered a boon for relative newcomers Long and Johnson as they strive to build on their 2022 breakthroughs. Both landed their first top 20 hits on the Hot 100 last year, with “Hrs and Hrs” and “’Til You Can’t,” respectively.
Clarkson’s performance on the iHearts is somewhat surprising, because her focus in the past few years has been on her hugely successful daytime talk show.
Benatar and Giraldo are 2022 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which John Sykes also oversees. (Sykes, the president of entertainment enterprises for iHeartMedia, is also the chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.)
Now in its 10th year, the iHeartRadio Music Awards will celebrate the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2022,
Fan voting will determine this year’s best lyrics, best music video, best fan army, the social star award, favorite tour photographer, TikTok bop of the year, favorite documentary, favorite tour style, favorite residency and favorite use of a sample.
Social voting will close on March 20 at 11:59 p.m. PT for all categories. Fans can vote on Twitter using the appropriate category and nominee hashtags or by visiting iHeartRadio.com/awards.
Additional categories include label of the year and individual winners for album of the year in various genres, including pop, country, alternative, rock, dance, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and regional Mexican formats.
Executive producers for the iHeartRadio Music Awards are Joel Gallen, for Tenth Planet; and Sykes, Tom Poleman and Bart Peters, for iHeartMedia.
Ahead of the event, fans can tune in to the live red carpet pre-show. For breaking news and exclusive iHeartRadio Music Awards content, visit iHeartRadio.com/awards.
The event will air live from Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Monday, March 27 (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET live / PT tape-delayed) on FOX. The event also will be heard on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app.
