The 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards brought the biggest names in entertainment and fans together at the Forum in Los Angeles to celebrate all things music on Sunday, March 5.
Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the fan-fueled annual awards brought the music of the iHeartRadio app to life with featured performances and incredible collaborations, including Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Thomas Rhett, Noah Cyrus featuring Labrinth, Big Sean, plus the first U.S. television performance of “Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
Bruno Mars received the most prestigious award of the evening – the 2017 iHeartRadio Innovator Award. iHeartRadio honored him for his unparalleled contribution to popular culture and the music industry. Big Sean presented Bruno Mars with the 2017 award.
Additional highlights included:
– Drake won seven awards, including Hip-Hop Artist of the Year, R&B Song of the Year, Hip-Hop Album of the Year, Hip-Hop Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, Most Thumbed Up Artist of the Year and Most Thumbed Up Song of the Year.
– The Chainsmokers followed Drake’s lead in wins with five awards including Best New Artist, Best New Pop Artist, Dance Album of the Year, Dance Artist of the Year and Dance Song of the Year.
– Katy Perry kicked off the telecast with an amazing performance of her new single “Chained To The Rhythm” featuring Skip Marley with a crew of kid backup dancers, a human-sized hamster wheel and a giant orange hamster on stage.
– Big Sean performed an incredible medley of his new hits, “Bounce” and “Moves” as pyrotechnics went off all around him.
– Miley Cyrus introduced her younger sister with a hand-made bedazzled poster and shirt that said iHeart Noah Cyrus. Noah, who made her award show debut with a performance of “Make Me (Cry)” with Labrinth later told host Ryan Seacrest that her sister’s introduction made her cry.
– DJ Khaled brought his infant son on stage to introduce Ed Sheeran, who flew in from Germany for his incredible one-man performance of his brand new hit single, “Shape of You.” He later was joined by his band for a performance of “Castle on the Hill,” which had everyone in the audience moving.
– The Chainsmokers performed their hit “Paris” before being joined onstage by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who jumped into the crowd to interact with the audience during their performance of “Something Just Like This.”
– While accepting the award for Best Tour, Chris Martin brought three children on stage to give an acceptance speech on the band’s behalf.
– Shawn Mendes moved the crowd while performing a rendition of his hit song, “Mercy,” while under a rotating full moon.
– Bruno Mars closed out the show with a rousing performance that had the entire crowd on its feet and combined the old with the new by performing a medley of one of his biggest hits, “Treasure,” and his new single, “That’s What I Like.”
Award presenters of the March 5 telecast included Ansel Elgort, Bebe Rexha, Daya, Demi Lovato, DJ Khaled, Fifth Harmony, Florida Georgia Line, Halsey, Jason Derulo, Jeremy Renner, Joe Jonas, John Legend, Karrueche Tran, Kelsea Ballerini, Macklemore and Miley Cyrus.
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