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Ludacris on Hosting the iHeartRadio Music Awards Again, Being Considered a Musical Landmark & How to Succeed as an Up-and-Coming Artist

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It’s time to roll out to this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards — and leading the charge is this year’s host and recipient of the highly coveted Landmark Award, Ludacris.

The Atlanta native is no stranger to the hosting gig. He hosted the Billboard Music Awards for back to back years in 2016 and 17. And two years ago, Luda took on the emcee role for the iHeartRadio Music Awards where he delivered a joyous opening monologue, honored fellow musical legends, cracked jokes at his own expense and also performed a medley of his own biggest hits. With this experience already under his belt, hosting the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards is a return to form for him.

Taylor Swift speaks onstage at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards held at The Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Taylor Swift Set to Appear at 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards; John Mellencamp & Kehlani Added as Performers

Taylor Swift speaks onstage at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards held at The Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Taylor Swift Leads 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nods: Full Nominations List

Miley Cyrus at the 68th GRAMMY Awards held at the Crypto.com Arena on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Miley Cyrus to Receive Innovator Award at 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards

With Luda at the helm, this year’s ceremony is looking to be as exciting as ever. Alongside the rapper’s Landmark Award, iHeartRadio has announced several other major honors that are to be presented. Miley Cyrus, hot off the heels of last week’s Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special, will receive the Innovator Award, given out to an artist with global musical and cultural impact. Best New Artist Grammy nominee and chart topper Alex Warren will get the award for Breakthrough Artist. Grammy-winning singer-songer writer John Mellencamp will be bestowed with the Icon Award. Though it is not yet known what awards she may receive, Taylor Swift, who is nominated in a whopping nine categories, is set to make a special appearance, marking the first time she’s attended the event since 2023.

The awards categories aren’t the stacked lineup at this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards. 90s hiphop and RnB legends Salt-N-Pepa, TLC and En Vogue will all hit the stage together for the first time — a perfect kickoff to their recently-announced It’s Iconic tour. Vocal powerhouse Raye, whose second studio album This Music May Contain Hope drops the day after the ceremony, will also perform. The Landmark himself, Ludacris will take a break from hosting to put on his performer hat, as he shows off just why he’s receiving the major award this year.

Ahead of Thursday’s (March 26) ceremony, Billboard caught up with Ludacris to chat all things iHeartRadio Music Awards, why he’s looking forward to hosting, and what he thinks of some of this year’s performers and awardees.

You hosted the iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2024 — what are you most excited for with hosting again?

Just it being live, because anything can happen. Not all award shows are live, and I just love that element. It brings a whole new excitement to it. You just never know what can happen — anything can happen.

Do you have any ideas or plans for crazy surprises that people should look out for it?

There are a bunch of those types of crazy surprises. I can’t give them away, because then it wouldn’t be a surprise, but there are definitely some really good things. I know there’s not a surprise with Taylor Swift making an appearance. She hasn’t done that in a long time, so just that alone is going to get a lot of people excited. She has nine nominations, so she’s making a special appearance.

There are a lot of awards being given out — how do you keep up your energy and keep the audience excited throughout the night as a host?

I got a team of individuals around me that help me stay sane and keep me on point. I can’t do it all myself. I always make sure that I give love to the team that’s around me. Having the experience of doing it before is also something that comforts me, and I feel like we’re going to make it even better, and are trying to top last time.

Major congratulations on receiving the Landmark Award this year! What does it mean to you to receive this honor?

It means the world, because as artists, when we first put music out, you never know exactly how long it’s going to have impact. So when you can be in the industry for over two decades and look back at it, these are the type of awards that bring joy to your heart. You’re able to reflect on the impact, the amount of time and relevancy that your songs have made in the culture. So I’m extremely excited.

Alex Warren is receiving the breakthrough artist award. As a veteran of the industry, do you have any advice for him as a young artist reaching new levels of success?

Try not to take anything personal. Just keep going in the industry, that’s what I would say. Just keep your passion in the music, and don’t let the behind-the-scenes mess up your your [ability] to stay focused on the music.

You’re also performing this year! Without giving too much away, do you have anything special planned for it?

Something new. Absolutely something new and something classic, [we’re molding] those together.

Outside of your own, are there any performances at this year’s awards that your particularly excited about?

Man, I can’t wait to see TLC — you know, the hometown, that’s Atlanta, Georgia, right there. And Salt-N-Pepa, they are a pioneer female rap group. I love seeing pioneers be able to come back. For those who may not have been around when Salt-N-Pepa started, they’re able to witness their history and people that have paved the way for all of these current female artists. So those are the ones I’m most excited about.

Miley Cyrus is receiving this year’s innovator award. What do you think makes her an innovator?

It’s not easy to transition from child star into super stardom and have this type of role for so long. You see a lot of people that started in the children’s space, and it’s not as easy to transcend all of those years, still keep a level head and continue to grow as an artist. So I just want to salute her for just being consistent in elevation as a star and as a person that’s passionate about all that she does, it definitely shows.

Do you have any final words of encouragement you want to share with any of the nominees ahead of the ceremony?

Man, good luck. That’s all I would say.


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LE SSERAFIM’s Sophomore Album ‘PUREFLOW’ Is on Its Way: Here’s When It Arrives

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They are fearless, they are powerful and they are back with new music. K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM announced via Weverse on Sunday (April 12) the release date for their second studio album, PUREFLOW pt. 1 and the lead single “CELEBRATION.” PUREFLOW pt. 1 will drop on May 22 with the single coming out April 24.

The girl group began teasing its comeback on April 7 with a cryptic Instagram post with the hashtag “#TimeToCelebrate.” Fans were quick to react in the posts’ comments asking, “What are we celebrating,” while others responded simply with “Finally.”

Alongside the news of the upcoming album and single, the K-pop girl group also shared a video for the PUREFLOW on its social media channels and record label HYBE’s YouTube channel. In the video, the phrase “For we are not fearless, and therefore powerful” materializes before “powerful” transforms into the word PUREFLOW. The same message appears in the caption.

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PUREFLOW is the follow-up record to LE SSERAFIM’s 2023 debut studio album, UNFORGIVEN, and the first release since its 2025 single “SPAGHETTI” featuring j-hope of BTS. Since the group’s debut in 2022 with EP FEARLESS, LE SSERAFIM has taken the stage at both the MTV VMAs and EMAs, achieved major chart success on the Billboard 200 and performed at Coachella in 2024. LE SSERAFIM’s second EP, ANTIFRAGILE, debuted and peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, marking the band’s first time on the chart. UNFORGIVEN earned the group its first top 10 placement on the Billboard 200 when it rose to a peak of No. 6 in May 2023.


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Young Thug Looks Out for North West in Crowd During Coachella Set: ‘Protect North’

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Young Thug was very communicative with the desert audience during his Coachella set on Sunday night (April 12). Among the VIPs in the crowd to pull up with a front-row view to his performance were North West and Teyana Taylor.

“What’s up, North? How you doing? Where your parents?” Thug said while asking about Kim Kardashian and Ye (formerly Kanye West).

He gave another shout-out to Ye and Kim’s eldest daughter later in the show. “I want y’all to make some noise for North,” Thugger continued. “She in this motherf—ker. You just casually having fun.”

Ahead of performing the top 15 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Hot” sans Gunna, Thugger instructed the crowd to open up some mosh pits, as captured in a fan video. “Give me a mosh pit over here. North, get out of the way. Teyana, get out the way. I don’t see one yet. What is this, not English? Where North at, man, protect North,” he said while looking out for the 12-year-old.

Thug also took a playful jab at Teyana Taylor in the audience, as he was looking to have the Harlem native style him for the performance. Thugger opted for colorful braids and a bedazzled black SP5DER football jersey to go with a pair of diamond-encrusted leather pants.

“Teyana Taylor in here, what’s up. I’ve been tryna get in touch with her for, like, the last month. I wanted her to style me, man. She just too big. [She] wasn’t calling back, talking about, ‘We promise she gonna call back later, we promise she’s rehearsing.’ I’m like, ‘What she rehearsing for?'”

Thugger’s set was a roller-coaster ride throughout all the eras of his unique career. He even brought a few special guests to the stage, as Camila Cabello, Ty Dolla $ign and NAV all joined him.

Watch a clip of Camila Cabello’s “Havana” performance with Thug below.

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Katy Perry Denies Ruby Rose’s Sexual Assault Allegations, Calls Them ‘Dangerous, Reckless Lies’

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After Batwoman actress Ruby Rose accused Katy Perry of sexual assault in a series of Threads posts on Sunday (April 12), the singer’s team responded on Monday morning (April 13) with a denial of the claims they called “categorically false.”

In a statement to Billboard, a representative for Perry said, “The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous, reckless lies.” The statement went on to refer to what Perry’s team described as Rose’s “well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals,” saying those claims have “repeatedly been denied by those named.”

Former Orange Is the New Black star Rose made the allegations in a response to a news story about Perry’s reaction to Justin Bieber’s Saturday Coachella, in which Perry appeared to make a lighthearted jab about the portion of the show in which Bieber sang along to his old YouTube videos.

Australian native Rose commented in response to Complex’s Threads post, “Katy Perry sexual assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a s–t what she thinks.” After a Threads user asked for additional details, Rose, 40, claimed the alleged assault took place when she was in her 20s, writing, that “as a woman, for a myriad of reasons, opening up about W on W violence and sexual abuse, seems to be 100 times harder than speaking about the male predators, at least for me.”

When another commenter attempted to make a joke by referring to one of Perry’s early hits with the quip, “She kissed a girl and you didn’t like it?,” Rose provided what she claimed were the details of the alleged incident.

Rose then added, “I told the story publicly but changed it to be a ‘funny little drunk story’ because I didn’t know how else to handle it. Later she agreed to help me get my US visa. So I kept it a secret. But I DID tell yall she wasn’t a good person. Instead I got attacked by.. everyone.”

In her series of posts, Rose wrote, “I was only in my early 20s. I’m now 40. It has taken almost 2 decades to say this publicly. Though I am so grateful to have made it long enough to find my voice, it just shows how much of an impact trauma and sexual assault takes. Thank you for seeing me.”

Initially, Rose said she was not interested in filing a report over the incident, “not when I haven’t even filed a report for the numerous rapes at the hands of grown men.” She also said she invited Perry to sue her over the allegations, claiming, “she won’t, because it happened,” claiming she has photos from the night and that it was “witnessed by multiple people.”

She ended the posts by reiterating her claims that Perry wrote and signed letters of recommendation for her U.S. visa application in the 2010s.

The two stars have a history dating back to 2017, when Rose took aim at Perry over her song “Swish Swish,” widely believed to be a diss aimed at Rose’s friend Taylor Swift. At the time, Rose tweeted, “Purposeful poop’ to ‘bomb a petit’ to a sloppy mess of writing over the top of Funkagenda..stop trying to make ‘Wit..I mean ‘fetch’ happen,” later retracting her comment and tweeting, “being mean doesn’t suit me and leaves me feeling dirty … I get so triggered when I think bullies don’t get held accountable and it makes me think I should say something.”

At press time, it appeared as if Rose might have had a change of heart about taking her allegation to the authorities, writing late Sunday, “Today I will be walking into a police station to see if any of my experiences can be investigated. I imagine they are past their statute of limitations, but all the more reason to try. I have a long list, it will probably take more out of me than I’m prepared for, but I will come back here to update others on the process, as soon as I am ready.” It was unclear at press time if Rose discussed the alleged Perry incident or another one during her reported visit the police.

She also thanked all the “brave women” who came forward with their own stories of sexual abuse. “Especially the ones who went through the painful process of going through the police and court system. For years I have been too wounded and afraid to take the appropriate steps because I know the system seldom works.”

When another user questioned why she hadn’t filed a police report, Ruby responded Monday, “Just left the police station.” A spokesperson for Rose has not yet returned Billboard‘s request for comment.

If you or anyone you know has experienced sexual assault and needs support, reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims 24/7. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.


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