LOS ANGELES — The Weeknd, Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch are among the top nominees for next month’s iHeartRadio Music Awards.
The Weeknd’s eight nominations include male artist of the year, competing with Ricch, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and Post Malone, and song of the year for “Blinding Lights.”
Ricch and Megan Thee Stallion earned seven nods each, including hip-hop artist of the year. Also competing in the category are DaBaby, Lil Baby and Pop Smoke.
Megan Thee Stallion is a contender for female artist of the year, alongside Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift, according to Wednesday’s announcement for the May 27 awards airing on Fox.
The ceremony will be broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, an exception to a pandemic-forced run of largely virtual awards shows in the past year. The 2020 iHeartRadio awards telecast was canceled, with winners announced on radio.
FILE – The Weeknd performs during the halftime show of the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game on Feb. 7, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. The Weeknd, Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch are among the top nominees for next month’s iHeartRadio Music Awards. The Weeknd’s eight nominations include male artist of the year and song of the year, for “Blinding Lights.” (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File) ORG XMIT: NYET303 (Photo: David J. Phillip, AP)
Other song of the year nominees are Malone’s “Circles”; Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now”; “Rockstar” from DaBaby and featuring Ricch, and Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar.”
Dr. Luke, who’s enjoyed a creative renewal with hits including Doja Cat’s “Say So” and earned his first Grammy nod this year in seven years, was nominated as producer of the year. Competing with Dr. Luke, who remains embroiled in a lawsuit with Kesha, are Andrew Watt, Frank Dukes, Louis Bell and Max Martin.
Nominees for Latin pop or reggaeton artist of the year are Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Karol G, Maluma and Ozuna.
Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Maren Morris and Thomas Rhett are country artist of the year contenders.
BTS, Dan + Shay, Jonas Brothers, Maroon 5 and twenty one pilots are the nominees for best duo or group.
The Weeknd’s nomination lead comes after the artist opened up to Billboard in January about his indifference toward the Grammy Award after failing to pick up a single Grammy nod for his critically acclaimed “After Hours” album, which includes top-100 hits “Blinding Lights” and “Heartless.”
“I personally don’t care anymore,” said the Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye. “I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want the Grammy!’ It’s just that this happened, and I’m down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again.”
The ceremony, honoring 2020′s most-played artists and songs on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio app, will include live performances and stories of how the winners gained success. The stations and app also will carry the show.
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