The 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 18 was a night celebrating music’s biggest names, honoring stars like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Mariah Carey.
The fan-voted awards show celebrated its 12th consecutive year in Los Angeles’s Dolby Theatre, with rapper LL Cool J hosting. The ceremony began with Billie Eilish’s performance of “WILDFLOWER.” The stripped-down performance from Eilish and her brother Finneas was an emotional and haunting start to the show. Eilish later took home Album of the Year for her 2024 album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.”
Eilish also presented the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award to Gracie Abrams, who took to the stage to perform her hit song “That’s So True.” In her acceptance speech, Abrams addressed national tensions and reminded listeners that despite difficult times, there is still light within the music community.
Sabrina Carpenter was crowned Pop Artist of the Year. Carpenter is currently on the European leg of her Short N’ Sweet Tour and was unable to attend the ceremony, but sent in a video thanking her fans for their support.
Another significant moment of the night came when Doechii presented Lady Gaga with this year’s Innovator Award, which is awarded to artists who have made a significant impact on pop culture. Her album “Mayhem,” released on March 7, was the biggest album debut by a female artist in 2025 so far.
Gaga used her speech to thank her fans and the LGBTQ+ community, citing them as the reason for her self-confidence and courage throughout her ambitious career. She also directly addressed ageism in the music industry.
“Even though the world might consider a woman in her late 30s ‘old’ for a pop star–which is insane–I promise that I’m just getting warmed up,” Gaga said in her speech.
Mariah Carey also received a special honor at this year’s show: the Icon Award, which is given to artists who are viewed as one of a kind. Tori Kelly and Muni Long performed a medley of Carey’s hit songs “Always Be My Baby” and “We Belong Together” in her honor. Carey’s reaction to the performance went viral, with many saying Carey appeared unimpressed.
Taylor Swift was the most awarded artist of the night, winning 9 out of her ten nominations. Most memorable of her awards was the Tour of the Century award for The Eras Tour. To celebrate receiving this award, Swift unveiled exclusive HQ footage from the tour’s opening night of her “Mirrorball” surprise song performance.
Swift’s speech for the award sparked even more discussion, as several eagle-eyed fans noticed Swift wearing a snake necklace in her prerecorded acceptance speech video. Many believe this is one of Swift’s famous “Easter eggs” that alludes to her unreleased re-recording of “Reputation.” The potential clue sent Swifties into a frenzy as they await the highly anticipated album. See the full list of winners here.
