Washington: Pop stars Ariana Grande and The Weeknd are set to open the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday night.
Ariana would be making her first public appearance as a married woman on the live concert with her ‘Save Your Tears’ collaborator- The Weeknd, reported Fox News.
The iHeartRadio Music Awards celebrates music heard throughout the year across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s digital music platform. The event recognises the most popular artists and music over the past year.
Following the return of live shows in the US, the nominations for the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Award had already been announced a month ago.
American singer-songwriter Usher will be hosting the show.
iHeartMedia president of entertainment enterprises, John Sykes spoke with Fox News and described the infectious enthusiasm and energy felt between audience members and scheduled talent at the concert rehearsal area.
“Usher said to me, ‘I’ve been touring for 20 years and I forgot this energy that this audience has. I forgot why I do this on stage. God, I can’t wait to go on tour. I think what you’ll see tomorrow night is the reconnection between fans and artists,” said Sykes.
Sykes also told that the members of the coronavirus-compliant audience will also include the frontline workers, emphasising the role they have been playing during the testing times.
“Without them, we wouldn’t be here today and we wouldn’t have this show. It was their bravery, their commitment to helping people that allowed us to pull out of this pandemic and return to normal life so we figured the least we could do is invite them to come be part of this celebration of the reopening of music in our country,” he explained.
On a related note, other featured performances include the likes of Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak (AKA Silk Sonic), Dan plus Shay and Doja Cat.
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch, twenty-one pilots and Megan Thee Stallion are also slated to appear during the show.
Chris Martin and Lil Nas X will also present Elton John with the 2021 iHeartRadio Icon Award while the program will issue a special tribute to the ‘Rocketman’, honouring John’s global impact on pop culture.
Talking about the nominations, The Weeknd, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Harry Styles and Justin Bieber have raked in the most nobs at the fan-favourite show.
Other solo hitmakers in the 2021 group of nominees with more than two nods include Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande and Blake Shelton. The Jonas Brothers, Maroon 5 and K-pop sensations BTS are among the nominees for the best duo/group of the year alongside Dan plus Shay and Twenty One Pilots.
The 2021 ceremony will feature an array of categories including male and female artists of the year, best collaboration, dance song, best new artist categories — and the first-ever TikTok bop of the year category, which will be voted by social media users.
Winners at this year’s show will represent every music genre from R and B and country to reggaeton and alternative rock. The ceremony celebrates the most played artists and songs across iHeartRadio platforms.
Last year’s ceremony skipped a telecast due to the coronavirus pandemic, instead of announcing winners via social media and on the radio. Billie Eilish took home the most awards with four, including for female artist, alt-rock album, alt-rock song, and alt-rock artist of the year.
The iHeartRadio Music Awards will be live from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on May 27 on FOX at 8 pm ET. The event will also broadcast on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide, and the iHeartRadio app.
