Taylor Swift and 'Showgirl' dominate iHeartRadio Music Awards

LOS ANGELES – Music superstar Taylor Swift dominated the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday, taking home a leading seven trophies, including Artist of the Year and Best Pop Album for her upbeat record The Life of a Showgirl.

During one of her on-stage moments at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Swift encouraged fellow artists to take the time to learn their craft without immediately seeking online feedback. She shared that, as a teenager, she spent "thousands of hours" playing guitar, writing songs, making mistakes, and learning in private.

"I'm a firm believer that anything you feed your mind, it will internalize, and anything you feed the Internet it will attempt to kill," she said while holding the Album of the Year trophy. "And I don't want that for your dreams."

Swift, wearing a seafoam green velvet corset and matching miniskirt with light pink bead accents, also won awards for Song of the Year and Best Music Video for The Fate of Ophelia.

Olympic figure skating gold medalist Alysa Liu presented Swift with the Artist of the Year award. Swift praised Liu’s Olympic performance, saying, "You brought me so much happiness."

Earlier in her speech, Swift shared that Showgirl was inspired by the positivity she received from fans during her record-breaking Eras Tour.

"The album came out with this energy of just feeling really happy and strong and confident and free. And so I want to say thank you to the fans for giving me that feeling," she said.

Swift also credited her fiancé, NFL star Travis Kelce, for adding similar energy to her daily life. "So thanks for all the vibes," she said to Kelce, who was seated in the front row wearing a brown leather jacket. The couple announced their engagement in August.

-Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Kate Mayberry/Reuters