2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards Finalists Announced

iHeartMedia and NBC announced today the finalists for the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which returns to the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 29. The event will be televised live on NBC from 8-11 p.m. ET/PT and broadcast simultaneously on iHeartMedia stations nationwide and across the iHeartRadio digital music platform.

The awards will celebrate the year’s amazing music that’s been heard across iHeartMedia radio stations and on iHeartRadio nationwide and will feature today’s biggest artists and songs with live performances, never-before-done duets and collaborations, celebrity guest appearances and live award presentations. iHeartRadio On the Verge artist Iggy Azalea and Sam Smith lead nominees with five nominations, including Best New Artist, while Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande each received four nominations. The nominations are a true reflection of a banner year for female artists especially Swift, who released her multiplatinum album “1989.” Swift, Azalea and Grande will go head-to-head against Luke Bryan and Sam Smith for the coveted Artist of the Year award.

The inaugural 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards telecast showcased the year’s most popular artists and songs determined by the iHeartRadio Chart and music fans nationwide who cast more than 65 million votes using hashtags on Facebook and Twitter. More than 5.5 million people, up 86 percent vs. the time period average, tuned in to watch exhilarating performances by music’s biggest names and to see which of their favorite artists were selected as winners for categories such as Best Collaboration and Alt Rock Song of the Year. Among the winners were Lorde for Best New Artist, Blake Shelton’s “Boys ‘Round Here” for Country Song of the Year and Rihanna, last year’s top vote-getter, with awards for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Hip Hop/R&B Song of the Year and Best Fan Army.

The 2014 award show received a record-setting 8.5 billion social impressions and was a dominant social media topic throughout the week of the show.  Additionally, #iHeartAwards trended No. 1 on Twitter throughout the night and the awards were ranked No. 1 in Nielsen's Twitter TV Ratings Top 10 Programs for the week.

This year’s awards will feature a broad array of exciting categories, with fan voting determining Best Fan Army, Best Lyrics and the first-ever Renegade Award, sponsored by the Jeep brand. This award, which captures the spirit of the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade, recognizes an emerging standout artist that defies convention and who takes risks while still staying true to themselves.  They explore new sounds and not only break external boundaries but their own personal boundaries, as well; creating new music lanes that are distinctly their own; artists with the talent and spirit to separate from the pack. This award acknowledges an authentic, passionate artist willing to stretch the limits in order to do something extraordinary – a renegade. Voting will begin on Monday, March 2 and extend through Friday, March 20.

Category finalists (by alphabetical order) are:

Artist of the Year:
Ariana Grande
Iggy Azalea
Luke Bryan
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift

Song of the Year:
"All About That Bass" - Meghan Trainor
"All of Me" - John Legend
"Happy" - Pharrell Williams
"Shake It Off" - Taylor Swift
"Stay With Me" - Sam Smith

Best Collaboration:
"Bang Bang" - Jessie J + Ariana Grande + Nicki Minaj
"Dark Horse" - Katy Perry featuring Juicy J
"Fancy" - Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX
"Problem" - Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea
"Talk Dirty" - Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz

Best New Artist:
Bastille
Cole Swindell
Iggy Azalea
Meghan Trainor
Sam Smith

Country Song of the Year:
"Bartender" - Lady Antebellum
"Burnin' It Down" - Jason Aldean
"Dirt" - Florida Georgia Line
"Give Me Back My Hometown" - Eric Church
"Play It Again" - Luke Bryan

Hip Hop/R&B Song of the Year:
"Don't Tell 'Em" - Jeremih featuring YG
"Drunk in Love" - Beyoncé featuring Jay Z
"Flawless" - Beyoncé
"Loyal" - Chris Brown featuring Lil
Wayne and Tyga
"New Flame" - Chris Brown featuring Usher and Rick Ross

Dance Song of the Year:
"Animals" - Martin Garrix
"Blame" - Calvin Harris featuring John Newman
"La La La" - Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith
"Summer" - Calvin Harris "Waves" - Mr. Probz

Alternative Rock Song of the Year:
"Come With Me Now" - KONGOS
"Do I Wanna Know?" - Arctic Monkeys
"Fever" - The Black Keys
"Something From Nothing" - Foo Fighters
"Take Me to Church" - Hozier

Best Lyrics:
"All of Me" - John Legend
"Blank Space" - Taylor Swift
"Counting Stars" - OneRepublic
"Habits (Stay High)" - Tove Lo
"Stay With Me" - Sam Smith
"Thinking Out Loud" - Ed Sheeran

Best Fan Army:
5SOSFAM - 5 Seconds of Summer
Arianators - Ariana Grande
Bey Hive - Beyoncé
Team Breezy - Chris Brown
Sheerios - Ed Sheeran
Church Choir - Eric Church
Directioners - One Direction
Selenators - Selena Gomez
Mendes Army - Shawn Mendes
Swifties - Taylor Swift

Renegade:
Brantley Gilbert
Charli XCX
Hozier
Iggy Azalea
Meghan Trainor

The iHeartRadio Music Awards will be executive produced by John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Liz Kelly of iHeartMedia, along with Ian Stewart and Hamish Hamilton of Done and Dusted Inc., who will also produce the show for NBC Studios. Hamilton will also direct.

For breaking news, additional new award categories and exclusive iHeartRadio Music Awards content visit iHeartRadio.com/awards or follow the social buzz on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google +.