The 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards—the only award show where celebrity musicians are awarded for being signed to major labels and popular on corporate radio—took place Thursday night in Los Angeles. The looks were passable. Some brought it, like Backstreet Boys Howie Dorough, especially! They never let him stand in the middle, but clearly couldn’t resist that turtle neck-silk lapel combo. Others did not.
Maren Morris met some trends in the middle(get it?), but I can’t help but think the triangle pattern on her dress looks like the YouTube play button. It would’ve been perfect for the Streamy Awards! Taylor Swift raided a Forever 21 before hitting the carpet (it’s a Rosa Bloom romper), though I will not speak ill of those rose-adorned stilettos. Dance Moms star-turned-social media celeb Nia Sioux’s playful, rainbow, caped sequin mini dress is right on the money.
Betty Who’s black, sheer cat suit is a look, and Heidi Klum’s tiered tulle leopard print dress is both sweet and sexy. I’m envious. Bebe Rexha’s look is a bit imbalanced, and also hilarious when realizing she told multiple people on the carpet that she was going for a “Victorian look.” Someone give this woman a book.
Kacey Musgraves’s textured, hunter green mini dress is fun and feminine; I like Zara Larsson’s look because it appears to be a thrift-flipped grandma gown. Elle Fanning’s nude-pink Miu Miu gown is a classic look for her.
Yungblud’s look screams deliquent-dude-cleans-up, and who wouldn’t applaud those tasteful leather pants? Halsey always kills it in menswear-adjacent styles, but this might be a bit too waiter-uniform for a red carpet. Empire’s Ta’rhonda Jones is bringing back the early ‘00s and for once, I am not worried about nostalgia.
5 Seconds of Summer have grown the hell up but continue to stick to the same sort of simple black suits. It looks fine, but bonus points to Calum Hood and his sequined jacket, bolo tie combination.
Don’t stop starring at Poppy’s perfect Viktor & Rolf dress. Tiffany Young, formerly of Girls’ Generation, had one of the best looks of the night—this is how you coordinate a head-to-toe fit! Baby Ariel’s Masaki Matsuka dress was kind of bland, but the high, wide neck is chic.
Orange is the new black suit: T-Pain looked like a million bucks in the bright shade. DJ Mustard’s snakeskin leather jacket is dope, as is John Legend’s Easter Sunday, lavender look.
Vanderpump Rules, just not the iHeartRadio carpet. Ariana Madix wore a romper, as she’s been known to do—and Tom Sandoval somehow played it too cool? Why is he wearing clamdiggers? Isn’t he the extra one of the bunch? Scheana Marie is a bit too late to the off-the-shoulder trend, and lovebirds Stassi Schroeder and new boo Beau Clark complimented each other well, even if the looks were pretty basic.
I call this the teen television section: Katie Stevens’ Markarian dress is so casual and so cute, Shay Mitchell’s Nicolas Jebran dress and jacket is the shine I’ve been dying for all carpet long. Praise her! The Bachelor’s Hannah G. does not give a fuck that she lost Colton Underwood’s season: she hit the carpet in a simple silver dress, leaving me to wonder if maybe she should’ve broken out one of her many, many gowns from the show, instead?
Why do we live in a world were boy band stylists don’t give them a theme? Individually, the guys of In Real Life look cool. Together, it’s a cacophony of prints, jeans and sneakers. Come on.
And finally, Zedd cosplayed as a couch and Katy Perry was a Stepford Wives-esque robot, straight from the music video of their boring new single, “365.” Miguel and wife Nazanin Mandi’s coordinated neon lime green looks were a honeymoon in and of itself. Inspiring!