TT From the iHeartRadio Music Awards stage: Taylor Swift accepts Artist of the Year award and encourages fans to pursue their passions.
Taylor Swift was awarded Artist of the Year at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards.
On Thursday, March 26, the pop megastar was presented with the honor by Alysa Liu, who previously introduced her, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito as the Blade Angels in an Instagram video for the 2026 Olympics.
At the awards ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Liu, 20, presented Swift, 36, with seven awards, including Artist of the Year.
In her acceptance speech, the 14-time Grammy winner praised Liu, who brought so much “happiness” to her and the world, at the 2026 Olympics.
“I was so inspired by how much diligence and work and effort and love you have for what you do,” Swift told the two-time Olympic gold medalist before addressing the crowd. “To be receiving Artist of the Year, which is … I love being an artist. I love writing songs more than anything in the world, and I didn’t think I was an artist when I first started doing it.”
She noted that it was a “hobby” that became her “favorite hobby” and recalled rushing home from school to write songs on her guitar.
“I just wanna say like when I was 12 years old, I had the luxury of spending thousands of hours working at my craft, practicing making mistakes through trial and error and that was all completely unobserved, right? So, that was just me and my craft,” Swift recalled.
She continued, “I’m looking out into this crowd and I’m seeing so many ambitious, cool, smart, awesome people who have dreams, and Like we live in this world where there’s so much immediate feedback constantly. Like, you get feedback for everything you share with the world now. Everything you post, you get feedback, whether it’s good or bad or whatever.”
Swift then shared what she wanted for the audience.
“If I had, if I had one hope for you, I would say that I hope that you get to nurture your hobby and your passion just between you and that craft, and you give yourself time. Give yourself time to make mistakes, give yourself time to hone your craft,” she said.
Swift added, “I’m a firm believer that anything you feed your mind, it will internalize. Anything you feed the internet, it will attempt to kill, and I don’t want that for your dreams.”
“Thank you for allowing me to turn my hobby into a love, into a passion, into a dream, into a career,” she concluded. “Thank you for allowing me to have it this long, and I wish you the best with everything you do.”
Swift had a remarkable year as she reacquired her masters, released her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl, and released her Disney+ docuseries, The End of an Era, and concert film, The Eras Tour: The Final Show.
Debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, The Life of a Showgirl became Swift’s 15th No. 1 album and made her the solo artist with the most No. 1 albums. The album sold 2.7 million copies in the U.S. on its first day, became the most pre-saved album in Spotify history and had the single largest sales week for an album since 1991.
The global superstar led the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards nominations with nine nods, including Pop Artist of the Year. Her hit song “The Fate of Ophelia” was nominated for Song of the Year and Pop Song of the Year, as well as the socially voted categories Favorite TikTok Dance and Best Music Video. Swift was also considered for the socially voted category Favorite On Screen for her Disney+ docuseries.
Last year, Swift was crowned Artist of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. She also took home the awards for the socially voted categories Favorite Surprise Guest, Favorite Tour Tradition, Favorite Tour Style and Favorite On Screen. “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone won the socially voted categories Best Lyrics and Best Music Video.
Swift also received the Tour of the Century Award for her record-breaking Eras Tour that spanned five continents from March 2023 to December 2024.
The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live on FOX from Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 26.
