There were plenty of things to compliment in the 10th annual iHeartRadio Awards, which took place at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on March 27. With all major players of the music industry in attendance, the best of the best were honored for their outstanding achievements.
Starting with a fabulous red carpet, everything about that night was eye-catching. There were many amazing stylish looks. Pink’s all-white look, designed by Robert Wun, was very fitting because she is 2023’s Icon Award honoree. All eyes were on her, and the iconic white was a perfect choice.
I also think H.E.R.’s blue outfit with edgy sunglasses was also particularly good. It was a nice bright touch to classic white and black outfits other people wore. But you can’t fail with a black dress, and Bebe Rexha in her velvet Alessandra Rich gown with feathers is proof of that.
But just like at any other award ceremony, some celebrities overdressed while others didn’t match the scale of the event. While some attendees, like Heidi Klum, were wearing gowns, Big Time Rush wore simple fall attire to the event. Viewers caught the members in sweaters and jackets, which, as they joked, made them look hot on the red carpet.
Moving on to performances, a few artists stood out. Lenny Kravitz did it all – he hosted the ceremony and performed a medley of his songs. Pink, the recipient of the Icon Award, sang “Trustfall”, a title track of her most recent album. The performance had multiple falls but no flaws – the dancers kept jumping down the trampoline and Pink herself fell into the dancers’ arms. The performance started off with Pink being on top of the stage with gray colors on the background, then coming down and later rising back to the top while purple and pink lights were bursting. I thought the colors were very symbolic for the song and the artist. Pink is a true icon, for which she was finally recognized.
Another performance of the night I found particularly emotional and well-done was the tribute to Pink. Kelly Clarkson, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo were all a part of it. Benatar and Giraldo played “Just Like a Pill” which was followed by Clarkson’s performance of “Just Give Me a Reason.” Surprisingly, Pink herself, who stood in the audience, started singing and joined Clarkson on stage. It was a magical performance of the two strongest voices in the industry with a starry night sky in the background and an acoustic version of the song.
Pink’s children were also at the ceremony, and some cameras caught them singing along, which only added to the significance of this tribute.
Another highlight of the night was the Innovator Award that went to Taylor Swift. Rising star Phoebe Bridgers, dressed in a beautiful gothic dress, presented it to Swift, who surprisingly appeared at the ceremony even though she had just started her Eras tour.
Bridgers will be one of the opening acts at Swift’s shows, so their interactions at the iHeart Awards were particularly special. She gave a speech, highlighting how important Swift is as an artist in the music industry, and said that she’s grateful to “have grown up in a world with Taylor Swift in it, or the world…(Taylor’s Version).”
The speech was followed by a video of many celebrities talking about the impact Swift had on the music industry. It featured Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake and others. Swift gave a powerful acceptance speech, emphasizing how her failures are exactly what led her to good ideas. Keeping up with her bejeweled reputation, she wore a jumpsuit by Alexandre Vauthier Couture the whole night that was covered in green and blue crystals. She truly made the whole place shimmer, especially when her song “Bejeweled” won the TikTok BOP of the Year award. Swift also won the Song of the Year, Best Lyrics and Best Sample awards.
Many other talented artists took home the awards that night. Harry Styles won the Artist of the Year, Doja Cat got the Most Played Artist and gave a speech in her simple yet stylish look by VTMNTS. With Doja Cat you can never predict whether she’s going to be dressed in red crystals or a white T-shirt, black leather trousers and a fur coat, like she did for this ceremony.
Overall, the 2023 iHeartRadio Awards was a spectacular night that celebrated talented artists. It’s one of the biggest awards shows of the year, and the production lived up to my expectations.
The winners in most categories were predictable, but it doesn’t make them any less worthy of recognition. I really enjoyed watching the performances because of the great choices of the artists and how every detail, light change, and graphic was thought through for all of them. Even more so, I enjoyed the extravagant fashion that accompanied those performances.
Once again, the iHeartRadio Awards proved to be the top event of the year, and I can’t wait to see what it’ll bring us next year.