iHeartRadio Music Awards release Best New Artist finalists

Written by . Published: February 21 2017

Chance The Rapper and The Chainsmokers are among the seven artists who will battle it out to be crowned iHeartRadio's Best New Artist.


The annual awards show take place next Sunday (5Mar17) with Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars all lined up to perform at the bash.

The 2017 nominations were revealed in January, with Drake leading the way with 12 nods and The Chainsmokers not far behind with 11.

Initially the shortlist featured seven best new artists categories covering New Rock/ Alternative Rock Rock, Country, Hip-Hop, Latin, R&B, Regional Mexican and Pop. The list has now been condensed to a single award, with one artist from each genre in the running for the accolade.

As well as Chance (Hip-Hop) and The Chainsmokers (Pop), the other acts up for the prize are The Strumbellas (Rock), Kelsea Ballerini (Country), CNCO (Latin), Joss Favela (Regional Mexican) and Bryson Tiller (R&B).

The Chainsmokers beat out Zayn Malik for the pop nomination, meaning they didn’t lose out on any possible prizes, while Chance was victorious over Panda singer Desiigner in his category.

DJ duo The Chainsmokers, made up of Drew Taggart and Alex Pall, will also be battling it out with more established acts including Coldplay, Calvin Harris and Rihanna on the night.

The fourth iHeartRadio Awards take place on 5 March 2017 at The Forum in Los Angeles. Shawn Mendes, Big Sean and The Chainsmokers will also be performing, with Ryan Seacrest presiding over the evening’s events.