24K MAGIC: BRUNO GETS A NEW PRIZE
The 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards started with Justin Timberlake speaking about inclusion and dedicating his award to children who feel different, and ended with a rousing performance by Bruno Mars that included crowd participation from Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Ty Dolla $ign, Heidi Klum and more.
Timberlake won the night’s first award, Song of the Year, for Can’t Stop This Feeling!— his massive No. 1 hit that was nominated for an Academy Award last month.
“I wrote this song because I wanted it to be about inclusion, about being together. ...If you are black or you are brown or you are gay or you’re a lesbian or you are trans, or maybe you’re just a sissy singing boy from Tennessee... anyone that is treating you unkindly, it’s only because they are afraid or have been taught to be afraid of how important you are,” Timberlake said.
Mars, who earned the Innovator Award and closed the show, started his performance with his past hit, Treasure, and later sang his newest hit, the groovy That’s What I Like. It featured his signature, slick dance moves and all-star band.
“Innovator is a very heavy word. ...It’s a little ironic for me because I genuinely feel like I’m just getting started,” Mars, 31, said onstage, sporting a black suit and sunglasses. “So buckle up. I don’t know where we’re going yet but we’re going. Keep up y’all.”
Other A-list stars were part of the awards show, too: Ed Sheeran started solo and strummed his guitar during
Shape of You and later walked to another stage to perform
Castle on the Hill with a full band. Sheeran won Best Lyrics for
co-writing Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself.
Drake, who didn’t attend the show, was the night’s big winner with seven awards from 12 nominations. The Chainsmokers had 11 nominations and won five awards, including Best New Artist. The Grammy-winning EDM (electronic dance music) duo performed Paris and
Something Just Like This with Chris Martin.
Martin and his band Coldplay won Best Tour. He accepted the award onstage with three people—not his band mates—but child background dancers who performed with Katy Perry at the top of the show.
“Hello, we are Coldplay. Thank you so much for this award. We love our job and we love our fans,” the young girl read from a paper. “You wouldn’t believe it, but we are in our late 30s.”
Perry, in a bright red blazer, hot pink pants and a short blond haircut, kicked off the show with kid dancers dressed as laborers when she sang Chained to the
Rhythm. Miley Cyrus was ecstatic as she introduced her younger sister, Noah Cyrus, to the stage. Miley and her parents sang along as Noah performed Make Me (Cry).
Some of the winners were announced on Snapchat, including Rihanna (R&B Album of the Year), Green Day (Rock Song of the Year) and twenty one pilots (Alternative Rock Artist of the Year). Fifth Harmony won Best Fan Army.
Ryan Seacrest hosted the two-hour show.