iHeartRadio winners in rock
At the iHeartRadio Music Awards, rock-adjacent winners included Twenty One Pilots, Linkin Park and Shinedown — a notable recognition for alternative and post-grunge acts. (x.com) The social coverage showed the awards buzz amplifying across rock communities right after the ceremony. (x.com)
The 13th annual iHeartRadio Music Awards took place March 26, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and were hosted by Ludacris. (billboard.com) Twenty One Pilots won Alternative Artist of the Year over Linkin Park, Green Day, Sublime and Cage The Elephant. (rocksound.tv) Drummer Josh Dun accepted Twenty One Pilots’ trophy onstage and thanked fans for “calling in and requesting songs” during the band’s iHeartRadio push. (rocksound.tv) Linkin Park took Rock Song of the Year for “Heavy Is The Crown,” beating Evanescence, Shinedown, Papa Roach and Falling In Reverse. (rocksound.tv) Mike Shinoda and Emily Armstrong accepted Linkin Park’s award together, telling the audience “We love you guys” as they left the stage. (rocksound.tv) Shinedown was named Rock Artist of the Year in a category that included Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Sleep Token and Three Days Grace. (iheart.com) The iHeartRadio awards reflect the most‑played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app across 2025, a metric the ceremony used to frame this year’s rock and alternative winners. (billboard.com) Linkin Park’s “Heavy Is The Crown” had already shown strong radio momentum, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart earlier in the cycle. (billboard.com)
