Newcomer Gabby Barrett leads country noms at 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards

The 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards are set to return on May 27 – and the nominees are in!

The star-studded event celebrates music heard throughout the year across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s digital music platform. The show will feature live performances from the biggest artists in music, as well as surprise duets and collaborations, and award presentations in multiple categories.

The categories cover an array of genres including pop, alternative rock, hip-hop, country, dance, R&B, Latin, and regional Mexican music, as well as honouring producers and songwriters. Fans also get the opportunity to decide winners in several new and established categories, including ‘Best Lyrics’, ‘Best Fan Army’, ‘Best Cover Song’, ‘Best Music Video’, ‘Social Star Award’, ‘Favourite Music Video Choreography’ and the first-ever TikTok ‘Bop of the Year’ award.

Leading the country nominations is newcomer Gabby Barrett with four nods, including ‘Country Song of the Year’, ‘Best New Country Artist’, the fan-voted ‘Best Lyrics’ as well as ‘Best Collaboration’ for I Hope featuring Charlie Puth.

Taylor Swift follows with two nominations, including the coveted ‘Female Artist of the Year’ – which she previously took home in 2016 and 2018 respectively – as well as repeat nominations in the two fan-voted award categories ‘Best Fan Army’ and ‘Best Lyrics’.

Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Maren Morris, and Blake Shelton all tie with two nominations each.

Female Artist of the Year: 

• Ariana Grande
• Billie Eilish
• Dua Lipa
• Megan Thee Stallion
• Taylor Swift

Country Song of the Year:

• “Even Though I'm Leaving” - Luke Combs
• “I Hope” - Gabby Barrett
• “Nobody But You” - Blake Shelton with Gwen Stefani
• “One Margarita” - Luke Bryan
• “The Bones” - Maren Morris

Country Artist of the Year:

• Blake Shelton
• Luke Bryan
• Luke Combs
• Maren Morris
• Thomas Rhett

Best New Country Artist:

• Ashley McBryde
• Gabby Barrett
• HARDY
• Ingrid Andress
• Jameson Rodgers

Best Collaboration:

• “Go Crazy” - Chris Brown & Young Thug
• “Holy” - Justin Bieber featuring Chance the Rapper
• “I Hope” - Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth
• “Mood” - 24kGoldn featuring iann dior
• “Savage” (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé

Best Lyrics (Socially Voted Category):

• “Adore You” - Harry Styles
• “Before You Go” - Lewis Capaldi
• “Blinding Lights” - The Weeknd
• “cardigan” - Taylor Swift
• “Don’t Start Now” - Dua Lipa
• “everything i wanted”- Billie Eilish
• “I Hope” - Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth
• “If The World Was Ending” - JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels
• “Intentions” - Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
• “Life Is Good” - Future featuring Drake

Best Fan Army (Socially Voted Category)

• #Agnation - Agnez Mo
• #Arianators - Ariana Grande
• #Beliebers - Justin Bieber
• #BLINK - BLACKPINK
• #BTSARMY - BTS
• #Harries - Harry Styles
• #Limelights - Why Don't We
• #Louies - Louis Tomlinson
• #MendesArmy - Shawn Mendes
• #NCTzens - NCT 127
• #Selenators - Selena Gomez
• #Swifties - Taylor Swift

Previous award recipients include country artists Combs, Swift, Dan + Shay, Morgan Wallen, Garth Brooks, Florida Georgia Line, Jordan Davis, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, and others.

Since the Awards' inception in 2013, the show has included live performances and appearances by such superstar artists as Bon Jovi, Maroon 5, Camila Cabello, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Big Sean, Rihanna, Sam Smith, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Pharrell, Pitbull, Justin Bieber and many others.

The eighth annual iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 27th from 8:00-10:00 PM ET live (PT tape-delayed). The event will also be aired on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app.

For more info and full list of nominees, go to: iheartradio.com

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Image: via Facebook