Linkin Park & Shinedown Win Again At The 2026 ‘iHeartRadio Music Awards’

Rock radio favorites Linkin Park and Shinedown once again walked away with major honors at the 2026 ‘iHeartRadio Music Awards,’ continuing their recent dominance at the annual fan-voted ceremony.

This year’s event took place March 26 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, with winners reflecting a lineup largely centered around mainstream rock and radio-friendly acts.

Linkin Park earned ‘Rock Song Of The Year’ for “Heavy Is The Crown,” adding another accolade to the band’s ongoing resurgence. At last year’s ceremony, the group claimed ‘Rock Album Of The Year’ for their comeback release From Zero.

---

---

Meanwhile, Shinedown secured ‘Rock Artist Of The Year’ for the second consecutive year. The band previously won ‘Rock Song Of The Year’ at the 2025 awards for “A Symptom Of Human Being,” further solidifying their continued presence at the top of modern rock radio.

In the ‘Best New Artist (Rock)’ category, hard rock newcomers Sleep Theory took home the trophy, beating out nominees Spiritbox, Poppy, Return To Dust, and Architects — whose inclusion raised eyebrows among some fans given the band’s formation dating back to 2004.

Below is a selection of major rock and alternative category winners and nominees from the ceremony.

Duo/Group Of The Year

HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI (winner)
Linkin Park
Maroon 5
Shinedown
Twenty One Pilots

Alternative Song Of The Year

“Ensenada” – Sublime (winner)
“Back To Friends” – sombr
“One Eyed Bastard” – Green Day
“Stargazing” – Myles Smith
“The Contract” – Twenty One Pilots

Alternative Artist Of The Year

Twenty One Pilots (winner)
Cage The Elephant
Green Day
Linkin Park
Sublime

Rock Song Of The Year

“Heavy Is The Crown” – Linkin Park (winner)
“Afterlife” – Evanescence
“Bad Guy” – Falling In Reverse ft. Saraya
“Dance, Kid, Dance” – Shinedown
“Even If It Kills Me” – Papa Roach

Rock Artist Of The Year

Shinedown (winner)
Linkin Park
Papa Roach
Sleep Token
Three Days Grace

Best New Artist (Rock)

Sleep Theory (winner)
Architects
Poppy
Return To Dust
Spiritbox

Favorite Soundtrack

“KPop Demon Hunters” (winner)
“A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (Original Soundtrack)”
“F1 the Album”
“Frankenstein (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)”
“Nobody Wants This Season 2: The Soundtrack”
“Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)”
“Smurfs Movie Soundtrack (Music From & Inspired By)”
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere”
“Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Nine Inch Nails)
“Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack”
“Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires (Original Soundtrack)”

A full list of winners and nominees is available via iHeartRadio’s official website.

---

If you’re rocking with The Mosh Network, hit the link and add us as a Preferred Source on Google. That’s the easiest way to keep our latest metal, hardcore, and alternative news, tours, and releases showing up directly in your feed.

---