Awards season continues – next up, iHeartRadio Music Awards. iHeartRadio is an Internet radio platform, that now functions as both a music recommender system and a radio network, that was founded in 2008. It began its own awards show in 2014, so it’s definitely a big deal.
This year’s nominations of relevance come from the “Dance Song of the Year” category. Last year’s winner was Avicii’s “Wake Me Up,” which you all might remember was played incessantly on most major radio stations. The awards specifically “celebrate the year’s amazing music that’s been heard across iHeartMedia radio stations and on iHeartRadio nationwide,” so the range of music they are able to award is similarly limited.
This year’s “Dance Song of the Year” nominees – 
“Animals” – Martin Garrix
“Blame” – Calvin Harris featuring John Newman
“La La La” – Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith
“Summer” – Calvin Harris
“Waves” – Mr. Probz
The two standouts are obviously Martin Garrix, for the infamous “Animals,” and Calvin Harris, who scored two nominations for songs found on his recent Motion album. “Waves” is an interesting choice for “Dance Song of the Year,” as it really isn’t a dance song. The Robin Schulz remix would have made much more sense. Lastly is “La La La” from Naughty Boy, which has been viewed over 450 million times just on YouTube alone. As far as mass-appeal dance music goes, these are likely the strongest choices available to iHeartRadio this year.
And that’s fine. I don’t mean to sound like I’m criticizing their choices because I’m not. I’m just aware of who their target audience is, and they’re targeting that audience brilliantly. You can read the rest of the nominations below, courtesy of Billboard.
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
Image Source: Abaca USA
Source: Billboard
