The couple that Taylor Swift fans yearned to see at Monday’s iHeartRadio Awards didn’t show, turning it into a disappointing night for Swifties. (So much for manifesting?)
So now, they resume vigil for April 19.
Fans waited through two hours of “red” carpet coverage before the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, hoping to see her and boyfriend Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs in what would have been their first such outing. (The carpet was actually a lemony yellow, apparently the color of corporate sponsor Ozempic.)
Before the show, Swift style watchers had revisited what she wore to previous iHeartRadio shows. The word went out that Swift, who led the nominations with nine would be there to present the Innovator Award to Beyoncé.
But when it became clear she wasn’t on the yellow carpet, Swifties pleaded on social media: Where is Taylor Swift???
WHERE IS TAYLOR SWIFT #iHeartAwards2024 #iHeartRadioAwards
— michael TTPD (@mwahmichael) April 2, 2024
swifties right now: pic.twitter.com/75H7oHuWNm
— Ron (@midnightstrack2) April 2, 2024
Where is taylor i’m so serious pic.twitter.com/10102vtgXF
See AlsoTaylor Swift reveals FIRST single from The Tortured Poets DepartmentTaylor Swift sparks backlash by dropping even MORE tracksTaylor Swift officially DROPS her Tortured Poets Department albumExact date and time Taylor Swift's new album drops— lin ⟡ ⟡ (@jacklinstots) April 2, 2024
hey queen, do you know where taylor is? pic.twitter.com/wxLrVpyWHB
— gabby (seeing olivia 4/5) (@sussy_swiftie) April 1, 2024
WHERE THE HELL IS TAYLOR SWIFT
— fer ★ an’s month (@rcklandarcher) April 2, 2024
MOTHER WHERE ARE YOU!?!????!????#iheartradioawards2024 #taylorswift pic.twitter.com/vkJyTwwfwh
— mortygurlswift (@mortygurlswift) April 2, 2024
Me watching an award show that Taylor Swift isn’t confirmed to be going to, waiting for her to arrive pic.twitter.com/txIfVWyIUn
— Emily (@emkelley_) April 1, 2024
They clowned each other with fake sightings. Someone posted a picture of singer JoJo Siwa, in dramatic black eye makeup a la Kiss, and joked it was Swift.
| Taylor Swift has ARRIVED at the 2024 iHeart Radio Music Awards, and seems to be teasing ‘reputation (taylor’s version)’!! pic.twitter.com/JB5wFoZLY9
— The Eras Tour Updates (@TS13ontour) April 1, 2024
And speaking of fans …
Swifties were nominated for an iHeartRadio award for Best Fan Army, but lost to the passionate BTS Army, which also bested fans of Beyoncé, Harry Styles and Nicki Minaj.
Some Swifties wondered how they could possibly lose, but others noted that Swift fans rarely beat passionate K-Pop fans.
| Taylor Swift unfortunately did not win her iHeartRadio Music Awards nomination for “Best Fan Army” with “Swifties”. Congratulations to BTS ARMY️ #iHeartAwards2024 pic.twitter.com/FhDUmszKTL
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) April 1, 2024
Mechanical difficulties might have actually grounded Swift.
Kelce was scheduled to do media interviews for his upcoming Kelce Jam via a Zoom call on Monday but canceled the plans. The reason? A publicist said Kelce’s plane had been grounded.
The Daily Mail said the couple were in Pennsylvania on Easter Sunday, enjoying time with Kelce’s brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce, and his wife, Kylie. Jason and Kylie’s three daughters were introduced to “their Auntie Tay for the first time,” the Daily Mail said.
If Kelce’s plane had issues, perhaps Swift was still with him. It’s possible they couldn’t make it to Los Angeles for the awards show.
Thank you, via taped message
The iHeartRadio awards recognize the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio and the iHeartRadio app in 2023. (Last month the Kelce brothers won iHeartRadio’s Podcast of the Year award for their “New Heights” program.)
One hour into the show, after performances by Justin Timberlake, Green Day, Jelly Roll and other headliners, former boy-banders Lance Bass and AJ McClean came out to announce Artist of the Year: Taylor Swift. The audience shrieked.
Was she there after all?
After Bass handed McClean a friendship bracelet, they ran through Swift’s accomplishments over the past year, including her record-setting tour and new albums.
“So basically while she was in the middle of her record-shattering eras tour she was already working on her next era,” said McClean.
After a montage of concert clips and narration by Swift, she accepted the award in a taped message in which she called the past year “pretty spectacular.”
She told fans, “It’s completely up to you to choose how you spend your time, what concerts you want to go to, what music you want to make the soundtracks to your life,” she said.
“And to anyone who has included me in those choices, I’m so so so thankful for that. We have so many exciting things ahead of us. Most importantly I have a brand new album called ‘The Tortured Poets Department,’ which comes out April 19 and I’m so proud of it and I cannot wait to share it with you.”
Swift won six of the nine awards she was nominated for, including Pop Artist of the Year, Tour of the Year, Best Lyrics (“Is It Over Now? Taylor’s Version”), TikTok Bop of the Year and Favorite Tour Style — awards presented off camera.
And it was Stevie Wonder, not Swift, who presented the Innovator Award to Beyoncé.
On May 18, Kelce will presides over his Kelce Jam concert at Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs. Meanwhile Swift will be in Europe for another leg of her tour.
So who knows when they will venture into the public eye again as a couple?
