Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” was named song of the year at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday night (March 17). It marked the first time a male artist has won in that top category since The Weeknd took the prize in 2021 for “Blinding Lights.”

Boone winning iHeart’s top prize for his broadly appealing pop/rock smash made up for his quieter showing at last month’s 2025 Grammy Awards, where he was nominated in just one category – best new artist. (Though he did make a big splash with one of the most-talked-about performances of the night.)

Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft was named album of the year. It was nominated for a 2025 Grammy in that same category but lost to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter.

Gracie Abrams won breakthrough artist of the year. In her acceptance speech, she gave thanks to four artists who have shared their stages with her: Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahan and The National. Abrams was a Grammy finalist for best new artist a year ago.

SZA won R&B artist of the year for the third year in a row, which sets a new record for most wins in the category. SZA surpasses H.E.R., who won twice in 2020-21. Jelly Roll won country artist of the year, one year after winning for new country artist of the year. GloRilla won hip-hop artist of the year, two years after she tied with Latto for new hip-hop artist of the year. Sabrina Carpenter won pop artist of the year for the first time. Green Day won alternative artist of the year for the first time.

Three powerhouse women won honorary awards. Lady Gaga received the 2025 iHeartRadio Innovator Award, Mariah Carey received the 2025 iHeartRadio Icon Award, and Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour was named Tour of the Century (despite the fact that we’re only one-quarter of the way through the century). In addition, Nelly received the iHeartRadio Landmark Award, to mark the 25th anniversary of his debut studio album, Country Grammar.

The 12th annual iHeartRadio Music Awards celebrated the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2024. The show aired live from Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Monday, March 17 (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET live / PT tape-delayed) on FOX. The event was also heard on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app. The show’s executive producers were Joel Gallen, for Tenth Planet; and John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Bart Peters, for iHeartMedia.

Fan voting determined this year’s favorite soundtrack, favorite Broadway debut, favorite K-pop dance challenge, favorite surprise guest and favorite tour tradition (all of which are new categories this year), plus these five returning categories: best lyrics, best music video, favorite tour style, favorite tour photographer and favorite on screen. (For a full list of categories, visit iHeartRadio.com/awards.)

Here’s the full list of nominations for the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards, with winners marked. All categories will be marked as more winners become known.

GENERAL CATEGORIES

Artist of the Year

    Billie Eilish

    Doja Cat

    Jelly Roll

    Kendrick Lamar

    Morgan Wallen

    Post Malone

    Sabrina Carpenter

    SZA

    Taylor Swift

    Teddy Swims

Song of the Year            

    “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”- Shaboozey

    “Agora Hills”- Doja Cat

    WINNER: “Beautiful Things”- Benson Boone

    “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter

    “Greedy”- Tate McRae

    “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen

    “Lose Control” – Teddy Swims

    “Lovin on Me” – Jack Harlow

    “Not Like Us”- Kendrick Lamar

    “Too Sweet” – Hozier

Best Collaboration

    “Die With a Smile”- Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars

    “Fortnight”- Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone

    “I Had Some Help”- Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen

    “Like That” – Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar

    “Miles on It”- Kane Brown and Marshmello

Producer of the Year

    Julian Bunetta

    Jack Antonoff

    Evan Blair

    Mustard

    Dan Nigro

Songwriter of the Year

    Josh Coleman

    ERNEST

    Ashley Gorley

    Amy Allen

    Justin Tranter

GENRE-SPECIFIC CATEGORIES

Pop Song of the Year

    “Agora Hills”- Doja Cat

    “Beautiful Things”- Benson Boone

    “Espresso”- Sabrina Carpenter

    “Greedy”- Tate McRae

    “Too Sweet”- Hozier

Pop Artist of the Year

    Billie Eilish

    Chappell Roan

    WINNER: Sabrina Carpenter

    Tate McRae

    Taylor Swift

Best New Artist (Pop)

    Benson Boone

    Chappell Roan

    Gracie Abrams

    Shaboozey

    WINNER: Teddy Swims

Country Song of the Year

    “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”- Shaboozey

    “Cowgirls” – Morgan Wallen featuring ERNEST

    “I Am Not Okay”- Jelly Roll

    WINNER: “I Had Some Help”- Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen

    “World on Fire”- Nate Smith

Country Artist of the Year

    WINNER: Jelly Roll

    Kane Brown

    Lainey Wilson

    Luke Combs

    Morgan Wallen

Best New Artist (Country)

    Ashley Cooke

    Dasha

    George Birge

    WINNER: Shaboozey

    Tucker Wetmore

Hip-Hop Song of the Year

    “Like That”- Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar

    “Lovin on Me”- Jack Harlow

    “Not Like Us”- Kendrick Lamar

    “Rich Baby Daddy”- Drake featuring Sexyy Red and SZA

    “TGIF” – GloRilla

Hip-Hop Artist of the Year

    Drake

    Future

    WINNER: GloRilla

    Kendrick Lamar

    Travis Scott

Best New Artist (Hip-Hop)

    310babii

    BigXthaPlug

    BossMan Dlow

    Cash Cobain

    Jordan Adetunji

R&B Song of the Year

    “ICU” – Coco Jones

    “Made for Me”- Muni Long

    “Sensational” – Chris Brown featuring Davido and Lojay

    “Water” – Tyla

    “WY@”- Brent Faiyaz

R&B Artist of the Year

    Chris Brown

    Muni Long

    WINNER: SZA

    Usher

    Victoria Monét

Best New Artist (R&B)

    4Batz

    Ambré

    Inayah

    Josh X

    Maeta

Alternative Song of the Year

    “Dilemma” – Green Day

    “Landmines” – Sum 41

    “Neon Pill”- Cage The Elephant

    “The Emptiness Machine” – Linkin Park

    WINNER: “Too Sweet”- Hozier

Alternative Artist of the Year

    Cage The Elephant

    WINNER: Green Day

    Linkin Park

    Sum 41

    twenty one pilots

Best New Artist (Alt and Rock)

    Djo

    WINNER: Fontaines D.C.

    Good Neighbours

    Myles Smith

    The Last Dinner Party

Rock Song of the Year

    “A Symptom of Being Human” – Shinedown

    “All My Life” – Falling In Reverse and Jelly Roll

    “Dark Matter” – Pearl Jam

    “Screaming Suicide” – Metallica

    “The Emptiness Machine” – Linkin Park

Rock Artist of the Year

    Green Day

    Linkin Park

    Metallica

    Pearl Jam

    Shinedown

Dance Song of the Year

    “360” – Charli xcx

    “Chase It (Mmm Da Da Da)” – Bebe Rexha

    “I Don’t Wanna Wait”- David Guetta and OneRepublic

    “Make You Mine”- Madison Beer

    “Water” – Tyla X Marshmello 

Dance Artist of the Year

    Calvin Harris

    David Guetta

    Dua Lipa

    Kylie Minogue

    Tiësto

Latin Pop / Urban Song of the Year

    “Brickell” – FEID X Yandel

    “LA FALDA” – Myke Towers

    WINNER: “Perro Negro”- Bad Bunny featuring FEID

    “Qlona” – Karol G featuring Peso Pluma

    “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”- Karol G

Latin Pop / Urban Artist of the Year

    Bad Bunny

    FEID

    Karol G

    Myke Towers

    Shakira

Best New Artist (Latin Pop / Urban)

    Christian Alicea

    Cris MJ

    Ela Taubert

    FloyyMenor

    Kapo

Regional Mexican Song of the Year

    “Alch Si” – Grupo Frontera and Carin León

    “El Beneficio De La Duda” – Grupo Firme

    “FIRST LOVE” – Oscar Ortiz and Edgardo Nuñez

    “La Diabla”- Xavi

    “Tu Perfume” – Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga

Regional Mexican Artist of the Year

    Grupo Frontera

    Intocable

    Los Ángeles Azules

    Peso Pluma

    Xavi

Best New Artist (Regional Mexican)

    Chino Pacas

    Iván Cornejo

    Luis R. Conriquez

    Tito Double P

    Xavi

K-pop Artist of the Year

    aespa

    ATEEZ

    ENHYPEN

    Jimin

    Lisa

K-pop Song of the Year

    “Chk Chk Boom” – Stray Kids

    “Magnetic”- ILLIT

    “Supernova” – aespa

    “Who”- Jimin

    “XO (Only If You Say Yes)”- ENHYPEN

Best New Artist (K-pop)

    BABYMONSTER

    BADVILLAIN

    ILLIT

    NCT WISH

    TWS

World Artist of the Year

    Burna Boy

    Central Cee

    Tems

    Tyla

    YG Marley

SOCIALLY VOTED CATEGORIES

Favorite Soundtrack

    Back to Black

    Bad Boys: Ride or Die

    Bob Marley: One Love

    Challengers

    Deadpool & Wolverine

    Descendants: The Rise of Red

    Emilia Pérez

    The Book of Clarence

    Twisters

    Wicked

Favorite Broadway Debut

    Adam Lambert – Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

    Ariana Madix – Chicago

    Barbie Ferreira – Cult of Love

    Charli D’Amelio – & Juliet

    Grant Gustin – Water for Elephants

    Kit Connor – Romeo + Juliet

    Lola Tung – Hadestown

    Nicole Scherzinger – Sunset Blvd

    Rachel Zegler – Romeo + Juliet

    Robert Downey Jr. – McNeal

    Sebastián Yatra – Chicago

    Shailene Woodley – Cult of Love

Favorite K-pop Dance Challenge

    “GGUM”- Yeonjun (TXT)

    “MAESTRO” – Seventeen

    “Magnetic”- ILLIT

    “Smart”- LE SSERAFIM

    “Sticky”- Kiss of Life

    “Supernova” – aespa

    “Touch” – KATSEYE

    “UP”- Karina (aespa)

    “WORK”- ATEEZ

    “XO (Only If You Say Yes)”- ENHYPEN

Favorite Surprise Guest

    Charli xcx bringing out Lorde

    Coldplay bringing out Selena Gomez

    Future & Metro Boomin bringing out Travis Scott

    GloRilla & Megan Thee Stallion bringing out Cardi B

    Jennifer Hudson bringing out Cher

    Kendrick Lamar bringing out Ken & Friends

    Luke Combs bringing out the “Twisters” Cast

    Morgan Wallen bringing out Travis Kelce & Patrick Mahomes

    Niall Horan bringing out Shawn Mendes

    Olivia Rodrigo bringing out Chappell Roan

    Peso Pluma bringing out Becky G

    Taylor Swift bringing out Travis Kelce

Favorite Tour Tradition

    Benson Boone- Backflips

    Chappell Roan – Teaching “HOT TO GO” dance

    Charli xcx + Troye Sivan – “Apple” Girl (dance)

    Morgan Wallen – Walk out song

    Niall Horan – Heaven pose

    Nicki Minaj – Fans sing

    Olivia Rodrigo- Encore tank

    Sabrina Carpenter- “Juno” position

    Tate McRae – Soundcheck covers

    Taylor Swift- “22” Hat

    Taylor Swift – Surprise songs

    Usher – Feeding cherries

Best Lyrics

    “Beautiful Things” – Benson Boone

    “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” – Billie Eilish

    “Espresso”- Sabrina Carpenter

    “Exes” – Tate McRae

    “Fortnight” – Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone

    “Good Luck, Babe!”- Chappell Roan

    “I Had Some Help”- Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen

    “I Love You, I’m Sorry” – Gracie Abrams

    “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar

    “Saturn” – SZA

    “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” – Ariana Grande

    “Who”- Jimin

Best Music Video

    “APT.” – ROSÉ and Bruno Mars

    “Beautiful Things” – Benson Boone

    “Die With A Smile” – Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars

    “Espresso”- Sabrina Carpenter

    “Fortnight”- Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone

    “Houdini” – Dua Lipa

    “Houdini” -Eminem

    “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen

    “LUNA” – ATL Jacob X FEID 

    “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar

    “Please Please Please” – Sabrina Carpenter

    “Rockstar”- Lisa

Favorite Tour Style

    Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft

    Chappell Roan – The Midwest Princess

    Charli xcx and Troye Sivan – Sweat

    GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion – Hot Girl Summer Tour

    Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday 2 Tour

    Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS

    Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet

    Tate McRae – Think Later

    Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour

    Usher – Usher: Past Present Future

Favorite Tour Photographer

    Adam Degross – Post Malone

    Alfredo Flores – Sabrina Carpenter

    Baeth – Tate McRae

    Christian Tierney – Niall Horan

    David Bergman – Luke Combs

    Henry Hwu – Billie Eilish

    Lucienne Nghiem – Chappell Roan

    Miles Leavitt – Olivia Rodrigo

    Pooneh Ghana – Noah Kahan

    RAYSCORRUPTEDMIND – Travis Scott

    Sanjay Parikh – Shinedown

    Yasi – Kacey Musgraves

Favorite On Screen

    Are You Sure?! (Jimin and Jungkook)

    Child Star (Demi Lovato)

    Elton John: Never Too Late (Elton John)

    Gaga Chromatica Ball (Lady Gaga)

    I Am: Céline Dion (Céline Dion)

    Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country (Lainey Wilson)

    Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words (Megan Thee Stallion)

    Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour (Olivia Rodrigo)

    Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE (KATSEYE)

    Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (Bruce Springsteen)

    Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) (Taylor Swift)

    Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story (Bon Jovi)

ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard will be absent from the group’s upcoming tour plans, citing a “health issue” as the reason for his newly-announced leave of absence.

The Texas trio announced the news on Saturday (March 15), explaining that Beard would be absent from the group’s current Elevation tour due to the need to undergo an unspecified health procedure.

“Shelter Music Group, ZZ Top’s management, has announced the band’s drummer, Mr. Frank Beard, has temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term,” a social media post from the band read.

“Beard, along with fellow ZZ Top members Billy F Gibbons and Elwood Francis, presently on the Elevation tour since March 5, have engaged fellow Texan and longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer, John Douglas, for the interim.”

The post noted that Douglas has “maintained a close relationship with Beard and the bandmates,” and had even sat in for Beard during a Paris performance in October 2002 when he underwent an emergency appendectomy.

“He is looking forward to a speedy recovery,” the post concluded.

ZZ Top launched their Elevation tour in October 2024, and toured throughout the U.S. until November. The trek resumed on March 5, and will see the group performing across the country until April, when they visit Australia and New Zealand. Further North American dates will be held upon their return, though it’s currently unknown when Beard will resume his place behind the kit.

Beard has been the drummer of ZZ Top since 1969, when he took over from co-founder Dan Mitchell. Alongside vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons, Mitchell and bassist Lanier Greig had founded the band that same year. 

Following Grieg’s replacement by Billy Ethridge, Dusty Hill assumed the role of bassist in 1970, with their lineup remaining unchanged for 51 years until Hill’s death at 72 in 2021. Elwood Francis has since served as the group’s bassist.

The group have not released a studio album since 2012’s La Futura, though Gibbons has claimed a new record featuring contributions from the late Hill is in the works.

Taking inspiration from The Cure’s Robert Smith, Neil Young has informed fans that he will no longer be offering ‘Platinum’ tickets to his upcoming shows.

Young’s change in ticketing attitudes follows on from an interview Smith conducted with The Times in October 2024. The interview occurred just weeks after Oasis had put the controversial topic of dynamic ticket pricing into the headlines, and Smith had attempted to keep tickets as low as possible – often as low as $20 – for their U.S. tour dates.

“I was shocked by how much profit is made [by ticketing],” Smith said. “I thought, ‘We don’t need to make all this money.’ My fights with the label have all been about how we can price things lower. The only reason you’d charge more for a gig is if you were worried that it was the last time you would be able to sell a T-shirt.”

“It was easy to set ticket prices, but you need to be pig-headed,” he added. “We didn’t allow dynamic pricing because it’s a scam that would disappear if every artist said, ‘I don’t want that!’ But most artists hide behind management. ‘Oh, we didn’t know,’ they say. They all know. If they say they do not, they’re either f–king stupid or lying. It’s just driven by greed.”

Now, Young has taken to his own Neil Young Archives website to point to Smith’s 2024 comments, explaining how the conversation inspired him to make his own changes in terms of ticketing to his shows.

“It’s the story of the bad thing that has happened to concerts world-wide. It’s this story that really helped me to realize that I have a choice to make and can make a difference for my music loving friends,” Young explained. “My management and agent have always tried to cover my back on the road, getting me the best deals they could.

“They have tried to protect me and my fans from the scalpers who buy the best tickets and resell them at huge increases for their own profits. Ticketmaster’s High priced Platinum tickets were introduced to the areas where scalpers were buying the most tickets for resale. The money went to me. That did not feel right.”

As Young concluded, he alerted his fans to the fact that ‘Platinum’ tickets will no longer be available for his upcoming performances in the near future.

“I have decided to let the people work this out,” Young added. “Buy aggressively when the tickets come out or tickets will cost a lot more in a secondary market.”

Young’s upcoming tour will see him accompanied on all shows by the Chrome Hearts band, featuring his longtime collaborator keyboardist/organist Spooner Oldham, as well as Promise of the Real members Micah Nelson (guitar/vocals), Corey McCormick (bass) and Anthony LoGerfo (drums). The group released the grungy anthem “Big Change” in January. Young debuted the Chrome Hearts band last year and has said an album from the group is tentatively slated for release in April.