The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards Are Coming to Los Angeles and the Lineup Is Genuinely Exciting
There is something about an awards show night in Los Angeles that still feels like it belongs here in a way it does not belong anywhere else. The cameras, the carpet, the artists walking into a legendary room to celebrate a year of music that got inside people's heads and stayed there. On Thursday, March 26, Dolby Theatre in Hollywood becomes the center of the music world for two hours, and the lineup announced this week gives every reason to pay close attention.
The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards airs live from Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Thursday, March 26, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET live and PT tape-delayed on FOX, and will also be heard on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app.
Now in its 13th year, the iHeartRadio Music Awards honors the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout the previous year, while also offering a preview of the upcoming hits of 2026. That dual focus, looking back at what dominated radio in 2025 while pointing forward to what is coming, makes this show a genuinely useful snapshot of where popular music is right now. This year's version of that snapshot includes one of the most talked-about performance bookings in recent awards show memory.
The Performance Everyone Is Already Talking About: TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and En Vogue Share a Stage for the First Time
Let's start with the headline that has been circulating since the announcement dropped on March 11, because it deserves its own section.
Performing for the first time together are TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and En Vogue. Read that again slowly. Three of the most important groups in the history of R&B and hip-hop, three acts that collectively defined a decade and soundtracked the lives of millions of people who are now the core demographic for a show like this, sharing a single stage at the same time for the first time ever.
This is not a nostalgia booking. These are artists whose influence runs through everything currently charting in pop, R&B, and hip-hop. TLC's blend of social commentary and infectious production, Salt-N-Pepa's sharp, confident lyricism that helped reshape what women in hip-hop could say and how they could say it, and En Vogue's flawless harmonies and style-forward presence that raised the bar for vocal performance in pop music. All three in the same room, on the same night, in Los Angeles.
For Angelenos who grew up with these artists, who played their CDs until they scratched and knew every lyric before they were old enough to fully understand all of them, this performance is going to be a moment. The kind of moment you describe to people who were not in the room. The Dolby Theatre, which sits in the middle of Hollywood on Highland Avenue just steps from the Walk of Fame, is one of the few rooms in Los Angeles that can hold the weight of a booking like this without feeling overwhelmed by it.
Ludacris Hosts, Performs, and Picks Up the iHeartRadio Landmark Award
A pioneering force in hip-hop, Ludacris broke through with his major label debut album, Back for the First Time, in 2000, which established him as a mainstream star. He went on to deliver multi-platinum albums including Word of Mouf, Chicken-n-Beer, and The Red Light District, solidifying his place as one of the defining artists of the 2000s. Over the course of his career, he has earned three Grammy Awards and expanded his cultural impact through acclaimed acting roles, including his long-running role as Tej Parker in the Fast and Furious franchise.
Ludacris is one of those artists who built a career on pure energy and wit, and his hosting turns tend to reflect exactly that. He is sharp, funny, and deeply comfortable in a room full of his peers. The fact that he is also performing and receiving an award on the same night gives him an unusual amount of skin in the game, which typically makes for a more invested, more unpredictable host experience.
Ludacris said: "I'm excited to return as host of the iHeartRadio Music Awards to celebrate and perform alongside some of the best in the industry. It's going to be a night with special performances and surprise moments fans are going to love."
The Landmark Award itself, which honors artists whose portfolio has shaped culture across multiple decades, is one of the more meaningful honors in the iHeartRadio universe precisely because it requires time and sustained impact to earn. Ludacris has both.
Miley Cyrus Receives the Innovator Award and RAYE and Lainey Wilson Will Perform
Miley Cyrus will receive the 2026 iHeartRadio Innovator Award, which honors artists who have made a significant impact on music and global culture. Cyrus first rose to prominence nearly two decades ago through her role in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana before evolving into a chart-topping pop artist known for her stylistic reinvention and outspoken artistic approach.
Past recipients of the iHeartRadio Innovator Award include Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Pharrell Williams, Bruno Mars, U2, Alicia Keys, and Lady Gaga. That is a list that puts the significance of this honor in very clear perspective. Cyrus's trajectory from teen pop phenomenon to Grammy-winning adult artist, navigating public scrutiny, stylistic pivots, and personal reinvention across two decades, is genuinely the kind of story the Innovator Award is designed to recognize.
Beyond Cyrus's honor, RAYE and Lainey Wilson will also perform at the ceremony. RAYE has had one of the more remarkable recent rises in global pop, building a devoted fanbase through raw, confessional songwriting and live performances that consistently exceed expectations. Lainey Wilson is country music's current critical darling, an artist with an authentic voice and a growing crossover appeal that has made her one of the more compelling live performers in any genre right now. Putting both of them on the Dolby stage on the same night is a strong vote of confidence in two artists at very different points in their careers but both clearly pointed upward.
Alex Warren: The Breakthrough Artist Who Broke Every Radio Record
Alex Warren will receive the 2026 iHeartRadio Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award, celebrating his remarkable rise and record-shattering achievements.
The numbers behind this award are worth stating clearly. His success included record-setting chart performance, spending 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Mediabase Top 40 chart and 29 weeks atop the Hot AC chart. Twenty-nine weeks at the top of Hot AC is not a strong year at radio; that is a historic year at radio, the kind of run that gets cited for years as a benchmark for what sustained mainstream success looks like in the streaming era.
Over the past year, Alex has emerged as one of the most impactful new voices in pop music, with his emotional songwriting and powerful performances resonating across generations. He is also performing at the ceremony, which will give the Dolby Theatre audience its first extended look at an artist who has been massive on speakers and playlists but has not yet had his defining televised moment. March 26 could be that moment.
The Nominees: Taylor Swift Leads, Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter Close Behind
The nominations for the 2026 show reflect the year in music as accurately as any list could.
Taylor Swift led with nine nominations, followed by Alex Warren, Bad Bunny, and Sabrina Carpenter with eight nominations each.
Artists receiving multiple nominations this year include Bad Bunny, Benson Boone, BLACKPINK, Chris Brown, Ed Sheeran, Ella Langley, GloRilla, Grupo Frontera, Jelly Roll, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, Shinedown, SZA, Tate McRae, Taylor Swift, Twenty One Pilots, and Zara Larsson.
For Los Angeles music fans, Kendrick Lamar's presence in the nominations carries particular weight. His 2025 Grammy performance at Crypto.com Arena was one of the most talked-about live events the city has seen in years, and his continued dominance across the iHeartRadio platform reflects a year of sustained creative output and cultural impact. SZA, who has spent years building one of the most devoted fanbases in R&B, and Sabrina Carpenter, who has become one of pop's most reliable hit-makers, round out a nominated group that covers a genuinely wide range of sounds and audiences.
The show will feature award presentations in multiple categories, live performances from the biggest artists in music, surprise guests and collaborations, and will showcase the stories of the winning artists' road to number one.
The format of the show, which gives significant time to the narratives behind the nominated artists rather than just the trophies themselves, is what has kept the iHeartRadio Music Awards feeling relevant in an era when many awards shows have struggled to maintain audience connection.
Fan Voting Is Open Until March 19: Here Is How to Make Your Voice Count
One of the most appealing aspects of the iHeartRadio Music Awards for fans is the genuine influence they have over the outcome.
Fan voting will determine this year's winners in Favorite Broadway Debut, Favorite TikTok Dance, Favorite Debut Album, Best Lyrics, Best Music Video, Favorite On Screen, Favorite Tour Photographer, Favorite Soundtrack, Favorite Tour Style, Favorite Tour Tradition, and Favorite K-pop Collaboration.
Social voting will close on March 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT for all categories. Fans can vote by visiting iHeartRadio.com/awards.
That is a tight window. If you want to vote, today is the day to get started. The fan-voted categories at shows like this have a history of producing results that diverge meaningfully from what industry insiders and critics would predict, and this year's nominated artists have passionate enough fanbases that every vote genuinely contributes to the final count.
The Best Music Video and Best Lyrics categories are particularly worth engaging with, because they tend to reflect the conversations that fans have been having all year about which artists are doing the most interesting creative work rather than just which ones are selling the most tickets.
Dolby Theatre: One of the Great Rooms in Los Angeles Entertainment
The choice of Dolby Theatre for the iHeartRadio Music Awards is worth appreciating in its own right. Located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood, the venue has been the home of the Academy Awards since 2002 and has hosted some of the most significant entertainment events of the 21st century.
The theatre seats approximately 3,400 people across multiple levels, with sightlines that were specifically engineered for live performance and broadcast. For a show that runs two hours and relies on both intimate award presentations and large-scale musical performances, it is a room that works equally well at every register. The production values for a televised broadcast at Dolby are consistently among the highest in the industry, which means that what audiences at home see on FOX on March 26 will look and sound as good as it gets.
The Hollywood and Highland complex that surrounds the theatre includes restaurants, shops, and one of the densest concentrations of LA entertainment history on any single block in the city. Coming to an event at Dolby means arriving in a neighborhood that has been central to the entertainment industry's identity for over a century.
How to Watch the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards
The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards airs live on FOX from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 26, and will also be heard on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app. For Los Angeles viewers, the show airs tape-delayed at 8:00 p.m. PT, so West Coast audiences will have the benefit of watching a polished broadcast while avoiding live social media spoilers, or they can catch it live if they stay tuned to the Eastern feed.
For cord-cutters, the FOX app and FOX.com typically carry live streaming access for users in markets where FOX is available through their cable or internet provider. The iHeartRadio app will carry audio of the show for listeners who prefer to tune in that way.
LA's March Music Calendar Just Got Its Biggest Night
Put it all together and March 26 at Dolby Theatre is one of the stronger nights on the Los Angeles entertainment calendar this month. In a year that already includes Ye's SoFi Stadium homecoming on April 1 and 3, and a city still buzzing from Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance earlier this year, the iHeartRadio Music Awards adds a third major chapter to what is turning into one of the more memorable music stretches Los Angeles has seen in recent memory.
TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and En Vogue sharing a stage for the first time. Ludacris in full command of a Hollywood room that knows how to celebrate his kind of career. Miley Cyrus receiving an honor she has genuinely earned through 20 years of creative risk-taking. Alex Warren performing on the biggest broadcast stage of his career so far. And a nominee list loaded with artists that Los Angeles, a city with deep relationships with hip-hop, R&B, pop, and country, cares about deeply.
Fan voting closes March 19 at iHeartRadio.com/awards. The show airs March 26 on FOX starting at 8:00 p.m. ET. Set your reminder, cast your vote before the deadline, and get ready for one of the better awards shows of the year.
The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards airs live Thursday, March 26, 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET on FOX, from Dolby Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028. Fan voting is open now through March 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT at iHeartRadio.com/awards.
