Kendrick Lamar earned five nominations for the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, capping off what many consider his most dominant year in music since his commercial breakthrough over a decade ago.
The Compton rapper secured nominations for Artist of the Year and Hip-Hop Artist of the Year. At the same time, his collaboration with SZA on “luther” earned nods for Song of the Year, Hip-Hop Song of the Year, and Best Collaboration when iHeartMedia and FOX Entertainment announced the nominees Thursday.
Kendrick’s iHeartRadio recognition comes after a banner 2025, which saw him emerge as hip-hop’s highest earner according to Forbes’ annual list of the highest-paid musicians, pulling in $109 million and outpacing longtime rival Drake by $31 million.
The massive earnings were driven by touring revenue and streaming royalties from his surprise album GNX.
Kendrick Lamar also dominated the Grammy Awards landscape, leading all nominees for the 68th Grammy Awards with nine nominations for GNX, including his fifth consecutive Album of the Year nomination, making him one of only a handful of artists to achieve that milestone.
The rapper’s success at the 2025 Grammy ceremony, where he won five awards, including Song of the Year for “Not Like Us,” further solidified his position as the current leader in Hip-Hop’s creative and commercial landscape.
Doechii also earned recognition at the iHeartRadio Awards with nominations for Song of the Year and Best Lyrics for her breakout hit “Anxiety,” which appears on her critically acclaimed album Alligator Bites Never Heal.
The track originally debuted in 2019 as part of Doechii’s “COVEN MUSIC” segments on YouTube, but gained massive popularity after the audio went viral on TikTok last February, leading to an official single release once she cleared the Gotye sample.
Other Hip-Hop artists earning nominations include Drake, Cardi B, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Playboi Carti, and BigXthaPlug, who were recognized in categories like Hip-Hop Artist of the Year and Hip-Hop Song of the Year.
Rising stars Zeddy Will, Moliy, Pluto, and YKNIECE received nominations for Best New Hip-Hop Artist, highlighting the genre’s continued evolution and the emergence of fresh talent.
The R&B categories featured strong representation from SZA, who earned multiple nominations alongside Leon Thomas, Chris Brown, Kehlani, and Mariah The Scientist for R&B Song of the Year and R&B Artist of the Year.
Fresh R&B acts Jenevieve, kwn, and Sailorr joined Leon Thomas and Mariah The Scientist in the Best New R&B Artist category, showcasing the genre’s depth of emerging talent.
The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards will broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 26, at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX, with simultaneous coverage on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio app.
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