iheartradio awards 2026 arrives at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with Ludacris hosting and an in-person appearance from Taylor Swift on March 26, 2026 at 8: 00 PM ET. The live FOX broadcast is set to celebrate the top-played music across iHeartMedia radio stations and new fan-driven categories created for this year’s show. Special honors include the iHeartRadio Innovator Award for Miley Cyrus, the Landmark Award for Ludacris and the Icon Award for John Mellencamp.
Lineup and Performances at Iheartradio Awards 2026
The broadcast will present live performances from John Mellencamp, Alex Warren, RAYE, Kehlani and Lainey Wilson, plus a historic joint set uniting TLC, Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue. Alex Warren was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year for this ceremony. CORTIS earned the first trophy of the day when winners began rolling out at noon ET, taking Best K-Pop New Artist.
Awards, Winners Rolling Out and Broadcast Details
Winners began being announced at noon ET on the day of the ceremony, with the television special airing live on FOX at 8: 00 PM ET / 7: 00 PM CT from the Dolby Theatre. In addition to the competitive categories that span Favorite Debut Album, Best Music Video, Favorite TikTok Dance, Best Lyrics and Favorite K-Pop Collab, the show will hand out several non-competitive honors: Miley Cyrus will accept the iHeartRadio Innovator Award, Ludacris will receive the iHeartRadio Landmark Award and John Mellencamp will be presented with the iHeartRadio Icon Award and perform ahead of his upcoming summer tour. The program is built to reflect play counts on iHeartMedia stations and fan engagement across the company’s digital platforms.
What’s Next: Anticipation and Immediate Stakes
Taylor Swift will make an in-person appearance but is not expected to perform; she enters the night with a leading slate of nominations for this ceremony and holds a record total of career nods and wins across past editions of the show. Viewers and radio audiences are set to watch how many of the day’s fan-voted and juried categories shift as results finalize during and after the broadcast. With the broadcast live on Fox at 8: 00 PM ET and winners already rolling out from noon ET, attention now turns to live moments on stage and any surprise collaborations Ludacris has teased in his role as host.
Stay tuned through the evening of March 26, 2026 at 8: 00 PM ET for live updates and final winners as the Iheartradio Awards 2026 unfolds from the Dolby Theatre.
