Miley Cyrus took home the Innovator Award last night at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on the eve of the release of her newest single “Younger You” from the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. It’s been a whirlwind week of promo for Miley, from the LA premiere of the special to multiple interviews and appearances.

Miley is officially at the two-decade mark of her career and the tribute awards are rolling in,  her “flowers”, if you will – which is unbelievable when you think about it because she’s only 33 years old. She tells the audience in her speech how her persona as Hannah helped to give her confidence and in turn give us, her fans, the same confidence as well. This entire Hannah Montana celebration has been all about Miley honouring her younger self and our younger selves as well. This also applies to Lainey Wilson who presented Miley with the award as she was concluding her own performance, saying proudly how much Miley has inspired her over the years. Lainey was once a Hannah Montana impersonator (weren’t we all?), so you know she means it.

One thing that I was hoping to see during the show was a potential Miley and Taylor Swift crossover. The two of them have had their names in the same headlines recently as Miley has mentioned Taylor in a few interviews about Hannah Montana. Taylor of course was the sole songwriter on one of Hannah’s hits “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home”, and Miley’s comments on Taylor’s appearance in Hannah Montana: The Movie have gone all over the internet. Miley talking about needing someone who could “no shade, be performing on a barn” will live in my head rent free until the end of pop diva time.

Alas, no crossover between the two occurred but thanks to some audience cam we do now have this shot of Taylor chanting Miley’s name when she won her award, and some fans even believe Miley was winking at Taylor at the beginning of her speech. This is healing years of trauma between both fandoms as there have long been rumours of that the two didn’t like each other. Why FOX didn’t see that as an opportunity to give us an iconic audience shot when the entire evening was spent on Taylor anyway is beyond me.

It’s certainly interesting that both Miley and Taylor were the biggest pulls at last night’s ceremony yet neither of them performed any new music even though they both have new singles that could have been promoted. The performers instead were a mix of legendary icons who aren’t currently making new hits and rising stars working towards the top. Taylor and Miley represented the sweet spot of relevant icons, but maybe a bit too relevant to give a performance, lol.

Like previous years, iHeart mixed in icons from multiple generations, including performances by John Mellencamp, Ludacaris (who hosted) and an EPIC performance by TLC, Salt-n-Pepa, and En Vogue. All of these performances felt wasted on the crowd though as it was clear that none of the paid actors in the audience knew what the f-ck was going on. Particularly during John’s performance, to the point where it was painful and a little insulting to witness, I mean that’s a legend on that stage and you have wannabe influencers in the crowd waving their hands with a lost look in their eyes. But it’s seeing the fans in the front pit not know the words to Salt-n-Pepa or En Vogue that really got me. How on earth does one not know the lyrics to “Whatta Man”?!?!? One comment on the YouTube performance said “would have loved this without the crowd shots”.

On the rising stars front, the night belonged to TikTok alum Alex Warren whose hit “Ordinary” earned Song of the Year while he himself was named the 2026 iHeartRadio Breakthrough Artist of the Year along with three other wins. Alex got his Grammy redemption last night, performing a medley of “Ordinary” and his new single “FEVER DREAM”. A Gen Z anthem no doubt, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of “I’m just too old to get it” rushing through my spine as he performed. To me it all just seemed like some watered down Justin Timberlake sh-t and that’s never a good thing given that JT is already watered down enough as it is. Nonetheless, clearly something’s working for him because aside from Taylor, Mr. Warren had the most screen time during last night’s ceremony of any artist, even with getting his last award cut off due to lack of air time. It was all very low-budget.

Alex may have been named the breakthrough artist, but it was Kehlani and RAYE who truly felt like two artists stepping into something bigger. Kehlani has been around for more than a decade but she’s reached new heights this year with her hit “Folded”, and last night was her first-ever televised solo awards show performance. Given that she’s been an R&B mainstay for so long, it’s actually quite surprising, but it’s never too late for an artist to reach that next level. She took home R&B Song of the Year and delivered a performance that was all control, tone and emotional precision. Plus, a few Janet-esque dance moves for some added flair which perfectly mirror the mini nod to Janet she included with an “All For You” sample.

RAYE, meanwhile, continues to build real momentum. From the Taylor Swift on-stage co-sign and the release of her album THIS ALBUM MAY CONTAIN HOPE! (which drops today), it’s a really great time to be RAYE. She brought a theatrical feel to the stage during her performance of “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” and stood out among the roster of performances as one of the strongest. With the release of her newest album, RAYE is entering a new realm of commercial success especially in America where she’s getting more radio play than ever before in her career, and all of this as an independent artist.

Miley Cyrus, Alex Warren, Kehlani attend the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

RAYE attends the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

Photo credits: John Salangsang/Shutterstock

Share this post