IHEARTMEDIA AND NBC ANNOUNCE Finalists
for THE IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS
Nominees Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea and Luke Bryan Vie for Artist of the Year at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Sunday, March 29, Live on NBC
NEW YORK, N.Y. and UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. Feb. 4, 2015 iHeartMedia and NBC announced today the finalists for the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which returns to the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 29. The event will be televised live on NBC from 8-11 p.m. ET/PT and broadcast simultaneously on iHeartMedia stations nationwide and across the iHeartRadio digital music platform.
The awards will celebrate the year’s amazing music that’s been heard across iHeartMedia radio stations and on iHeartRadio nationwide and will feature today’s biggest artists and songs with live performances, never-before-done duets and collaborations, celebrity guest appearances and live award presentations. iHeartRadio On the Verge artist Iggy Azalea and Sam Smith lead nominees with five nominations, including Best New Artist, while Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande each received four nominations. The nominations are a true reflection of a banner year for female artists especially Swift, who released her multiplatinum album “1989.” Swift, Azalea and Grande will go head-to-head against Luke Bryan and Sam Smith for the coveted Artist of the Year award.
The inaugural 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards telecast showcased the year’s most popular artists and songs determined by the iHeartRadio Chart and music fans nationwide who cast more than 65 million votes using hashtags on Facebook and Twitter. More than 5.5 million people, up 86 percent vs. the time period average, tuned in to watch exhilarating performances by music’s biggest names and to see which of their favorite artists were selected as winners for categories such as Best Collaboration and Alt Rock Song of the Year. Among the winners were Lorde for Best New Artist, Blake Shelton’s “Boys ‘Round Here” for Country Song of the Year and Rihanna, last year’s top vote-getter, with awards for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Hip Hop/R&B Song of the Year and Best Fan Army.
The 2014 award show received a record-setting 8.5 billion social impressions and was a dominant social media topic throughout the week of the show. Additionally, #iHeartAwards trended No. 1 on Twitter throughout the night and the awards were ranked No. 1 in Nielsen’s Twitter TV Ratings Top 10 Programs for the week.
This year’s awards will feature a broad array of exciting categories, with fan voting determining Best Fan Army, Best Lyrics and the first-ever Renegade Award, sponsored by the Jeep brand. This award, which captures the spirit of the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade, recognizes an emerging standout artist that defies convention and who takes risks while still staying true to themselves. They explore new sounds and not only break external boundaries but their own personal boundaries, as well; creating new music lanes that are distinctly their own; artists with the talent and spirit to separate from the pack. This award acknowledges an authentic, passionate artist willing to stretch the limits in order to do something extraordinary a renegade. Voting will begin on Monday, March 2 and extend through Friday, March 20. Category finalists (by alphabetical order) are:
Artist of the Year:
- Ariana Grande
- Iggy Azalea
- Luke Bryan
- Sam Smith
- Taylor Swift
Song of the Year:
- “All About That Bass” – Meghan Trainor
- “All of Me” – John Legend
- “Happy” – Pharrell Williams
- “Shake It Off” – Taylor Swift
- “Stay With Me” – Sam Smith
Best Collaboration:
- “Bang Bang” – Jessie J + Ariana Grande + Nicki Minaj
- “Dark Horse” – Katy Perry featuring Juicy J
- “Fancy” – Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX
- “Problem” – Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea
- “Talk Dirty” – Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz
Best New Artist:
- Bastille
- Cole Swindell
- Iggy Azalea
- Meghan Trainor
- Sam Smith
Country Song of the Year:
- “Bartender” – Lady Antebellum
- “Burnin’ It Down” – Jason Aldean
- “Dirt” – Florida Georgia Line
- “Give Me Back My Hometown” – Eric Church
- “Play It Again” – Luke Bryan
Hip Hop/R&B Song of the Year:
- “Don’t Tell ‘Em” – Jeremih featuring YG
- “Drunk in Love” – Beyoncé featuring Jay Z
- “Flawless” – Beyoncé
- “Loyal” – Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne and Tyga
- “New Flame” – Chris Brown featuring Usher and Rick Ross
Dance Song of the Year:
- “Animals” – Martin Garrix
- “Blame” – Calvin Harris featuring John Newman
- “La La La” – Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith
- “Summer” – Calvin Harris
- “Waves” – Mr. Probz
Alternative Rock Song of the Year:
- “Come With Me Now” – KONGOS
- “Do I Wanna Know?” – Arctic Monkeys
- “Fever” – The Black Keys
- “Something From Nothing” – Foo Fighters
- “Take Me to Church” – Hozier
Best Lyrics:
- “All of Me” – John Legend
- “Blank Space” – Taylor Swift
- “Counting Stars” – OneRepublic
- “Habits (Stay High)” – Tove Lo
- “Stay With Me” – Sam Smith
- “Thinking Out Loud” – Ed Sheeran
Best Fan Army:
- 5SOSFAM – 5 Seconds of Summer
- Arianators – Ariana Grande
- Bey Hive – Beyoncé
- Team Breezy – Chris Brown
- Sheerios – Ed Sheeran
- Church Choir – Eric Church
- Directioners – One Direction
- Selenators – Selena Gomez
- Mendes Army – Shawn Mendes
- Swifties – Taylor Swift
Renegade:
- Brantley Gilbert
- Charli XCX
- Hozier
- Iggy Azalea
- Meghan Trainor
The iHeartRadio Music Awards will be executive produced by John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Liz Kelly of iHeartMedia, along with Ian Stewart and Hamish Hamilton of Done and Dusted Inc., who will also produce the show for NBC Studios. Hamilton will also direct.
For breaking news, additional new award categories and exclusive iHeartRadio Music Awards content visit iHeartRadio.com/awards or follow the social buzz on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google +.
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About iHeartMedia
With 245 million monthly listeners in the U.S., 97 million monthly digital uniques and 196 million monthly consumers of its Total Traffic and Weather Network, iHeartMedia has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America. It serves over 150 markets through 858 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 500 million downloads; it reached its first 20 million registered users faster than any digital service in Internet history and reached 50 million users faster than any digital music service and even faster than Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. 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. For more company information visit iHeartMedia.com.
About NBC Entertainment
NBC Entertainment develops and schedules programming for the network’s primetime, late-night, and daytime schedules. NBC’s quality programs and balanced lineup have earned the network critical acclaim, numerous awards and ratings success. The network finished the 2013-14 season as No. 1 in the 18-49 demo for the first time in 10 years. NBC has earned more Emmy Awards than any network in television history. NBC’s roster of popular scripted comedies includes the critically acclaimed “Parks and Recreation,” as well as “About a Boy” and “Marry Me.” NBC’s drama slate is highlighted by “The Blacklist,” veteran series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” fan favorites “Parenthood,” “Grimm,” “The Night Shift,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.,” as well as its new series “Allegiance,” “A.D.,” “Odyssey” and “The Slap.”
Unscripted series for NBC include the Emmy Award-winning musical competition hit “The Voice” as well as “The Biggest Loser,” “Hollywood Game Night” and the perennial #1 most-watched summer series, “America’s Got Talent.”
In late night, NBC regularly delivers #1 broadcast results with “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “Last Call with Carson Daly” and “Saturday Night Live.” NBC Daytime’s “Days of our Lives” consistently ranks among daytime’s top programs in the valuable women 18-34 category. The five-time, Emmy Award-winning NBC.com streams full episodes and provides original content for NBC entertainment shows online and through apps for mobile and tablet devices.
NBC recently launched NBC Kids, a new Saturday morning programming block designed specifically to address the developmental needs of preschool-aged children. Programmed by the kids’ experts at Sprout, the nation’s first 24-hour preschool television channel, this new three-hour block will feature educational series that promote active, healthy lifestyles for younger children.
About Done+Dusted
Since its founding 15 years ago, Done + Dusted has made a name for itself as one of the biggest global live events and television production companies capable of executing a live show or concert from concept to broadcast in every medium and every film format worldwide. What they’ve learned along the way is applicable to any event, particularly now that many events of all types and sizes have both in-person and remote audiences. Some of their most recognized events they have produced include Madonna at Brixton Academy, which was the first live music event to crash the Internet, they are the only independent production company in history to film an Olympic and Para-Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies (London), produced the largest televised event in UAE history, produced the first intercontinental 3D broadcast, and countless other firsts. Recent producing projects include: the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards from Malaysia, the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards, the 2014 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Sports Awards and 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in London.
About 2015 Jeep Renegade
The all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade expands the brand’s global vehicle lineup, entering the growing small SUV segment, while staying true to the fun-and-freedom lifestyle for which the Jeep brand is known. Renegade delivers a unique combination of best-in-class off-road capability, open-air freedom and convenience, a segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission that contributes to outstanding on-road and off-road driving dynamics, world-class refinement, two fuel-efficient MultiAir engines with more than 30 mpg, and a host of innovative safety and advanced technology offerings.
