The iHeartRadio Music Awards 2022 was a star-studded affair with singers Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa and Lil Nas X scoring multiple wins at this year’s ceremony.
Lipa, who wasn’t attending the ceremony, won Song of the Year for ‘Levitating’, along with bagging the Dance Album of the Year for ‘Future Nostalgia’.
Rodrigo took home Female Artist of the Year, along with Best New Pop Artist, while Male Artist of the year went to Lil Nas X, who also won iHeartRadio Hat Trick Award for have three number one singles from the same album.
Hosted by LL Cool J, this year’s ceremony featured performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Jason Aldean, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Billy Porter and Jennifer Lopez.
Other big winners of the night included Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic who won Best Duo/Group of the Year, while Adele won Pop Album of the Year and Best Comeback Album of the Year for ‘30’.
The Foo Fighters also went home with multiple honours: Rock Song of the Year for ‘Waiting On A War’, Rock Artist of the Year and Rock Album of the Year for ‘Medicine at Midnight’.
Meanwhile, in the alternative category, Machine Gun Kelly took home Alternative Artist of the Year, ‘Monsters’ by All Time Low featuring blackbear was Alternative Song of the Year, while Billie Eilish won Alternative Album of the Year for ‘Happier Than Ever’.
With the night presenting a lot of highs, here’s a look at our top moments of the night:
LL Cool J goes retro
LL Cool J opened the evening with a performance of some of his biggest hits including ‘Don’t Call It a Comeback’, ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’, ‘Rampage’ and ‘The Boomin System’.
JLO’s Icon-ic speech
Lopez was honoured with the Icon Award which she accepted in plunge V-neck olive dress that gave us the feels of THAT famous Versace dress from the 2000 Grammy Awards. However, it was her acceptance speech that truly had us cheering. “I wish I could tell you awards are the most important thing to me, but that’s not true,” she said to the crowd at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. “Don’t think I don’t appreciate the shiny, sparkly things, because I do! But that’s not why I do this. I do it for you guys. Because the love you give me, and the appreciation and kindness, and the way you let me into your lives, even in a small way, means the most.”
She continued: “You did that. You did that for me. You made that dream come true. Thank you believing in me even when I didn’t. Thank you for teaching me who I really am. Icon! I can overcome negativity and so can you every single moment.” Lopez concluded her speech with a promise: “Let me tell you something else, I’m just getting started.”
Jenny from the block
Shortly after her win, Lopez took the spotlight on stage once again for her grand performance. But it was her opening act that caught our attention with ‘Pose’ star Billy Porter presenting models in some of JLo’s most iconic looks — from her green Versace dress to her Super Bowl LV halftime look. Lopez then showed up on an elevated stage in a long, white fur coat that had the word ‘equality’ emblazoned. The artist got her performance going with ‘On My Way’ before showing off her moves in ‘Get Right’.
A smitten Ben Affleck
Yes, seeing the Hollywood hunk with pure love in his eyes for his lady melted out hearts. From his goofy smile as Lopez performed a medley of her hits to cheering her on from the seats, Affleck proved he is true boyfriend material and can certainly go the distance with her.
blackbear’s shout out to his baby mama
All Time Low and blackbear’s collab paid off at the awards with ‘Monsters’ winning Alternative Song of the Year. During their acceptance speeches, All Time Low kicked things off saying: “I had so many things planned to say, and then JLo performed and it’s all gone!” We don’t blame them. But it was the jaw-dropping shout out by blackbear that really caught our attention.
After thanking the world and their offspring, blackbear also took a moment to honour his fiancee Michelle who apparently gave birth four days earlier. Much to her embarrassment and our amusement, he encouraged her to “stand up (and) show the body! Show the body!” In case you are wondering, she opted to stay seated as the crowd applauded her.
John Legend and Charlie Puth hit a high note
What happens when two immensely talented artists perform on stage together? The answer was visible to all who saw John Legend and Charlie Puth strums the keys as they performed each other’s hit tracks, including the former’s ‘Ordinary People’ and the latter’s ‘See You Again’.
Naturally, this lead into a tease of their forthcoming collaboration, ‘Dope’. It was a night to remember.
Megan Thee Stallion’s final act
The talented singer, who won iHeartRadio Trailblazer Award on the night, was a Scarlet Woman, dressed in a fire engine red as she owned the stage performing ‘Megan’s Piano’ before leading into a rendition of ‘Sweetest Pie’, her most recent hit with Dua Lipa.
While Lipa wasn’t in attendance, Stallion bowed out for the night by grabbing hold of a pie and slamming it in the face of one of her backup dancers. Sure, why not.
— With input from ANI
