A few days removed from the release of her blockbuster Cowboy Carter album, Beyoncé made an appearance at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 1, dressed in full leather Western regalia. Her presence, as well as a performance from fellow honorary award winner Cher, served to enliven the otherwise sleepy telecast, which took place at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater.
Beyoncé was on hand to receive the iHeartRadio Innovator Award, which she accepted from Stevie Wonder, who played harmonica on her recent cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” “Whenever anyone asks me if there’s anyone I could listen to for the rest of my life, it’s always you,” she told Wonder onstage.
She proceeded to give a short speech, thanking her “inspirations” including Linda Martell, Tracy Chapman, Prince, Andre 3000 and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
“Innovation starts with a dream, and the road to execute that dream can be very bumpy,” she said from the stage. “Being an innovator is doing what everyone believes is impossible. Being an innovator often means being criticized, which often will test your mental strength. Being an innovator is leaning on faith and trusting that God will catch you and guide you.”
Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' is all but sure to top this week's Billboard album chart.
Elsewhere in the awards show, Cher was given the radio conglomerate’s Icon Award, which she accepted after joining Jennifer Hudson for a duet of her 1999 hit “Believe.” She began her speech with an acknowledgment of her attire, saying: “There are people who say, ‘doesn’t that b---h have more than one pair of pants?’ I’ve had these pants for 40 years. I thought we should come here and accept this award together.”
As for the year’s competitive awards, Taylor Swift won the artist of the year award, though she sent a video message in lieu of an appearance, while SZA’s “Kill Bill” took home song of the year. Boygenius, Blink-182 and Metallica were also winners on the night, though none of them were in attendance. Justin Timberlake opened the show with a two-song set, and Green Day took the stage for a performance later on.
Cher was the night's other honorary award winner, receiving the Icon award.
Never miss a story — sign up for the Q newsletter for the latest music news on all your favorite artists, all in one place.
Released on March 29, Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is widely expected to make it to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when the week's numbers are tabulated.
More than 350,000 equivalent album units of the record will likely be sold in the week following its release on Friday, March 19, Hits Daily Double reported. The LP is also expected to rack up between 250 and 300 million streams.
That includes a record-setting 76 million Spotify streams on the day of the album's release. No other LP released on the platform this year has performed that well.
The album features a jam-packed guest list, with spoken-word appearances from Dolly Parton, Linda Martell and Willie Nelson, duets with Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, and a cover of the Beatles' "Blackbird" featuring Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts.
