Here we have the "IHeartRadio Music Awards" and this is the edition from 2014. As I learnt while watching, thiss was apparently the first edition of this show. I must say nonetheless that I am a bit critical because honestly, there are so, so many music awards shows now that I have doubts another one is needed really. Watching this did not erase my doubts in total, even if admittedly I did not find it as bad as some other shows. Grammy editions were worse here and there. MTV Music Awards as well. And let's not even get into detail about stuff like BET Awards. So back to this one here: As you can see from the title, the radio is mentioned. Yep, radio is not dead yet. For me it kinda is though. Definitely not my preferred medium at all and honestly it's been years, if not decades, since last time I used the radio. But I know people who are still listening to it on a regular basis, some maybe every morning, so it's all cool Everybody as they please. But I would not say that this awards show is more for the radio listeners than for everybody else. Perhaps it actually would have been cooler if this had been on the radio altogether. The way they went for video, there was nothing different at all compared to other music awards shows and, as I stated, there are many. This way, the only thing about radio really here was that some of the artists that received awards mentioned radio as a medium and thanked those in charge that their music is played on the radio. I wonder what Nelly Furtado thinks about all that. Never mind, I just had to. As for this one here, it ran for minimally over two hours and this is the version without commercials, so at least half an hour longer with commercials and that is not short at all, so a pretty big proect for the first show already. By the way, I read that apparently the last edition so far was in 2018, so it could very well be that this awards show is no longer continued. I would not be too sad about it. Now, I just mentioned the running time already, so let me give you some more basics. It is a bit surprising that there are several directors here, but just one writer. At least if we can trust imdb credits. Normally, with awards shows and I have seen many, it is the other way around. One or two directors max and several writers. Some awards shows almost entered double-digit territory there even. The one and only writer here is David Wild. Well, with him I guess they do not need anybody else. I mean look at his gigantic body of work and all the stuff he directed since the mid90s already. 2014 was apparently his 20th anniversary as a writer. A bit surprising that he "only" has three Emmy nominations and never won. Actually, back then he only had one or two. Alright. In terms of the directors, there is an equally great deal of expertise here. Hamish Hamilton has five Emmy nominations and about as many directorial efforts as Wild has writing credits. Unreal stuff. Guy Hardin is a co-director here for a specific segment and he has only one Emmy nomination, probably because he is an editor usually and directing is nothing he does on a regular basis at all. And finally, Jeff Roe has eight Emmy nominations, but they just cannot seem to get lucky. Directing is also not his primary profession. That would be producing. But he worked in all kinds of fields, editing as well. So really behind the camera as much expertise as it gets here.
In front of the camera, things look slightly different. But that is of course because the musicians in here are way younger. They cannot have 25 years in the industry if they are 30. All good. I liked some parts of this show and others not so much. Usually, I like Katy Perry more than I did here. She was featured a lot during the opening sequence. So was Pitbull. He seemed like the host early on, but apparently he was just a performer and presenter. His number early on was alright though, even if I think I preferred the ladies singing over him in there, but this is just my subjective taste that of course also has to do a lot with my preferred music genres. Rapping I am just not that big on generally. One thing that they really emphasized during this show was the connection to Los Angeles. So no surprise, they also got Jared Leto's band there. i know many people say he is a far better actor than musician and they are probably not wrong, but I kinda like his Miami hymn. Have liked it for a long time. I mean, it may be a bit gimmicky as there is no great depth despite these interviews and it also does not require great vocal range, but I'm digging it. In general I felt that there are so many solid or at least catchy songs in here. It is a landslide difference compared to 2018, 2019 or 2020 if I take a look at all the stuff that was featured on music awards shows recently. So forgettable and on so many occasions they felt much more about politics and ideology than about the music. This is much better here. I mean I do not support the Imagine Dragons song that won an awards, but there is no denying how catchy "Radioactive" is. Sometimes it feels though as if these boys are doing more with their hands than their voices. At least in one music video we see. As for Ed Sheeran, he is included in here too and still have not seen anything that justifies his popularity at all. Maybe the most overrated musician for me right now. And for quite a while in fact. But he did not win big that night. However, Rihanna did and she took home some really big prizes. At least her songs are a bit on the catchy side some of them. The older ones mostly I suppose because I think she is not a particularly good singer at all and doing it all through recognition value in her voice. And to be honest, the brief extract from her collaboration with Eminem here was pretty embarrassing. But she won "Song of the Year" for another song and she lost to "Timber" in another category. Now that is another highly catchy number. Nothing like that in 2020. There were some deceased people featured on this show like Chester Bennington and Avicii which was a bit sad. On a more positive note, i found it nicer to see Juanes and Shakira here, even if the song from the latter was nowhere near her best. The country folks (Blake Shelton etc.) had some nice fun. Also good to see this genre represented here. They're shutting it out way too much on other awards shows. But the best thing is of course that nobody here gets discriminated against because of their (lack of) color. A weak thing, however, was the same as with almost every other music awards show: One performance after the next. The awards sometimes did not even feel important again. Disappointing. They need to stay essential. This could have been half an hour shorter. A few more words on the winners and nominees. Honestly, no idea why Rihanna won this much. So many more gifted recording artists among the nominees. Good to see Miley win one. Her number is catchy as well. She wasn't there though, but her daddy was ready to accept the awards. This is maybe where the show struggled a bit, like Lorde was absent too. Or Rihanna was not there yet for the first win. What was that all about? Please don't tell me she was actually stuck in traffic. Were they toying with the audience? Was she only ready to be present if she wins big? We will never know. Oh yeah, Pharrel was really nice towards the end with his special award and also with his performance. Good job there. Not just "Happy", but also "Blurred Lines" for example. Massive hit back then. I wonder if they could get away with that one now in 2020 during the age of #metoo and political correctness. Kinda doubt it, so they were lucky to get it in a few years earlier. Okay, I think this is pretty much it then. Steven Tyler I could have done without and Lady Gaga for sure as well, but luckily especially the latter did not have that much screen time. And there were other artists that did nothing for me. But that is perfectly fine because not everyone can be a winner in my book. But at least many were and not everyone was a loser basically the way it happened with some more recent awards shows. I mean with this one here they even played some lesser known songs in the baclground here and there. I think I heard Angus & Julia Stone's "Chateu" on one occasion. Not 100% sure. That is really it now. Overall, a flawed awards show that has some solid moments though. Still gotta give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended. Also I am still a bit embarrassed by how much I like some of Coldplay's stuff. Oh and by the way Puff Daddy (let's call him that) was also there. He's always a good addition and also nice to see how he really seems to like it when people in the audience scream they love him. Maybe not so tough on the inside this man. It was cute and seemed heartfelt how he reacted. Now that is really it though. This show is probably as a whole best to be seen by people from Los Angeles or those who once lived there or just like the city. If all that does not apply to you, you should maybe only go for the segments involving your favorites and not for the entire thing.
In front of the camera, things look slightly different. But that is of course because the musicians in here are way younger. They cannot have 25 years in the industry if they are 30. All good. I liked some parts of this show and others not so much. Usually, I like Katy Perry more than I did here. She was featured a lot during the opening sequence. So was Pitbull. He seemed like the host early on, but apparently he was just a performer and presenter. His number early on was alright though, even if I think I preferred the ladies singing over him in there, but this is just my subjective taste that of course also has to do a lot with my preferred music genres. Rapping I am just not that big on generally. One thing that they really emphasized during this show was the connection to Los Angeles. So no surprise, they also got Jared Leto's band there. i know many people say he is a far better actor than musician and they are probably not wrong, but I kinda like his Miami hymn. Have liked it for a long time. I mean, it may be a bit gimmicky as there is no great depth despite these interviews and it also does not require great vocal range, but I'm digging it. In general I felt that there are so many solid or at least catchy songs in here. It is a landslide difference compared to 2018, 2019 or 2020 if I take a look at all the stuff that was featured on music awards shows recently. So forgettable and on so many occasions they felt much more about politics and ideology than about the music. This is much better here. I mean I do not support the Imagine Dragons song that won an awards, but there is no denying how catchy "Radioactive" is. Sometimes it feels though as if these boys are doing more with their hands than their voices. At least in one music video we see. As for Ed Sheeran, he is included in here too and still have not seen anything that justifies his popularity at all. Maybe the most overrated musician for me right now. And for quite a while in fact. But he did not win big that night. However, Rihanna did and she took home some really big prizes. At least her songs are a bit on the catchy side some of them. The older ones mostly I suppose because I think she is not a particularly good singer at all and doing it all through recognition value in her voice. And to be honest, the brief extract from her collaboration with Eminem here was pretty embarrassing. But she won "Song of the Year" for another song and she lost to "Timber" in another category. Now that is another highly catchy number. Nothing like that in 2020. There were some deceased people featured on this show like Chester Bennington and Avicii which was a bit sad. On a more positive note, i found it nicer to see Juanes and Shakira here, even if the song from the latter was nowhere near her best. The country folks (Blake Shelton etc.) had some nice fun. Also good to see this genre represented here. They're shutting it out way too much on other awards shows. But the best thing is of course that nobody here gets discriminated against because of their (lack of) color. A weak thing, however, was the same as with almost every other music awards show: One performance after the next. The awards sometimes did not even feel important again. Disappointing. They need to stay essential. This could have been half an hour shorter. A few more words on the winners and nominees. Honestly, no idea why Rihanna won this much. So many more gifted recording artists among the nominees. Good to see Miley win one. Her number is catchy as well. She wasn't there though, but her daddy was ready to accept the awards. This is maybe where the show struggled a bit, like Lorde was absent too. Or Rihanna was not there yet for the first win. What was that all about? Please don't tell me she was actually stuck in traffic. Were they toying with the audience? Was she only ready to be present if she wins big? We will never know. Oh yeah, Pharrel was really nice towards the end with his special award and also with his performance. Good job there. Not just "Happy", but also "Blurred Lines" for example. Massive hit back then. I wonder if they could get away with that one now in 2020 during the age of #metoo and political correctness. Kinda doubt it, so they were lucky to get it in a few years earlier. Okay, I think this is pretty much it then. Steven Tyler I could have done without and Lady Gaga for sure as well, but luckily especially the latter did not have that much screen time. And there were other artists that did nothing for me. But that is perfectly fine because not everyone can be a winner in my book. But at least many were and not everyone was a loser basically the way it happened with some more recent awards shows. I mean with this one here they even played some lesser known songs in the baclground here and there. I think I heard Angus & Julia Stone's "Chateu" on one occasion. Not 100% sure. That is really it now. Overall, a flawed awards show that has some solid moments though. Still gotta give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended. Also I am still a bit embarrassed by how much I like some of Coldplay's stuff. Oh and by the way Puff Daddy (let's call him that) was also there. He's always a good addition and also nice to see how he really seems to like it when people in the audience scream they love him. Maybe not so tough on the inside this man. It was cute and seemed heartfelt how he reacted. Now that is really it though. This show is probably as a whole best to be seen by people from Los Angeles or those who once lived there or just like the city. If all that does not apply to you, you should maybe only go for the segments involving your favorites and not for the entire thing.
