Taylor Swift sparkled Monday night at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards, where she picked up Song of the Year (for “Anti-Hero”) and was fêted with the Innovator Award.
“I never a single time woke up in the morning and said, ‘You know what I’m gonna do today? I’m gonna innovate stuff,’” said Swift. “What I did do was make the right decisions for me. People want an example of something working before, but I think the coolest ideas, moves and choices are new ones, ones that set a new precedent.”
Swift thanked her fans for supporting her genre shift and her decision to re-record her early albums.
“I want everyone to know — especially young people — that the hundreds and thousands of dumb ideas that I had led me to my good ideas. You have to give yourself permission to fail. I try as hard as I can not to fail because it’s embarrassing, but I give myself permission to.
“Make the right choices that make sense for you and someone one day might thing you’re innovative.”
Swift also won the fan-voted awards for Best Lyrics ("Anti-Hero"), TikTok Bop of the Year ("Bejweled") and Favourite Use of a Sample ("Question...?").
Harry Styles was named Artist of the Year and Sam Smith and Kim Petras won Best Collaboration for "Unholy." Other winners included Doja Cat (Most Played Artist), Bad Bunny, Becky G & Karol G and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Canada's Drake won Hip-Hop Artist of the Year and he shared the Hip-Hop Song of the Year award with Future and Tems for their collaboration “Wait for U."
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
P!nk was accompanied by her children but not husband Carey Hart, whom she mentioned only briefly while accepting the Icon Award. “If he loved me perfectly I’d have nothing to talk about,” she said.
Kelly Clarkson and Pat Benatar performed P!nk songs during the tribute. Other performers on the show included Latto, Keith Urban, Cody Johnson and pre-taped Coldplay in Brazil.
Hosted by Lenny Kravitz, who performed a medley of his hits, the iHeartRadio Music Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Check out the winners below:
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Anti-Hero” - Taylor Swift
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Harry Styles
BEST DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
Imagine Dragons
BEST COLLABORATION
“Unholy” - Sam Smith & Kim Petras
BEST NEW POP ARTIST
Jax
COUNTRY SONG OF THE YEAR
“She Had Me At Heads Carolina” - Cole Swindell
COUNTRY ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Morgan Wallen
BEST NEW COUNTRY ARTIST
Cody Johnson
AFROBEATS ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Tems
Wizkid
HIP-HOP SONG OF THE YEAR
“WAIT FOR U” – Future ft. Drake & Tems
HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Drake
BEST NEW HIP-HOP ARTIST
GloRilla
Latto
R&B SONG OF THE YEAR
“I Hate U”- SZA
R&B ARTIST OF THE YEAR
SZA
BEST NEW R&B ARTIST
Muni Long
ALTERNATIVE SONG OF THE YEAR
“Enemy (from the series Arcane League of Legends)”- Imagine Dragons
ALTERNATIVE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Red Hot Chili Peppers
BEST NEW ARTIST - ALTERNATIVE & ROCK
Giovannie and the Hired Guns
ROCK SONG OF THE YEAR
“Black Summer”- Red Hot Chili Peppers
ROCK ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Papa Roach
DANCE SONG OF THE YEAR
“I'm Good (Blue)”- David Guetta & Bebe Rexha
DANCE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Anabel Englund
LATIN POP/REGGAETON SONG OF THE YEAR
“MAMIII”- Becky G & Karol G
LATIN POP/REGGAETON ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bad Bunny
BEST NEW LATIN ARTIST
Kali Uchis
SOCIALLY-VOTED CATEGORIES
BEST LYRICS
“Anti-Hero” - Taylor Swift
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
“Yet To Come” - BTS
BEST FAN ARMY
“BTSArmy”- BTS
SOCIAL STAR AWARD
JVKE
FAVOURITE TOUR PHOTOGRAPHER
Harry Styles – Lloyd Wakefield
TIKTOK BOP OF THE YEAR
“Bejeweled”- Taylor Swift
FAVOURITE DOCUMENTARY
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me - Selena Gomez
FAVOURITE TOUR STYLE
Harry Styles
FAVOURITE RESIDENCY
Love On Tour - Harry Styles
FAVOURITE USE OF A SAMPLE
Taylor Swift’s “Question…?” – sampled Taylor Swift’s “Out Of The Woods”
MOST PLAYED ARTIST
Doja Cat