Rihanna spoke of the “pressure” she feels as she paid an emotional tribute to her fans on Thursday night.
The singer was one of the big winners at the first ever iHeartRadio Awards, which were held in Los Angeles. She picked up the prize for Best Fan Army and didn’t hold back when praising her legion of admirers.
“Rihanna Navy! This award is for the fans as they said,” she stated as she took to the stage. “It’s not easy what we do, it’s very difficult at times, it’s a lot of pressure to be a lot of things and I’ve never felt comfortable being anything but myself. And I want to thank my fans for embracing that and supporting that. I love you guys.”
The 26-year-old added that she was speaking on behalf of all the nominees, adding that sometimes she finds her job hard.
“There are times when it gets really difficult but when we think about the fans and the support that’s what keeps us going. Rihanna Navy, thank you! Congratulations,” she said.
Although the Barbados-born singer arrived late to the ceremony, she didn’t disappoint when it came to her look. The star wore a long black lace dress with showed flashes of her skin, with a black leather jacket over the top. Her punky vibe was completed thanks to the green lipstick she had on and the tight knots her hair was tied in. She soon had time to show off her unique style as she picked up the first prize of the night, Best Hip Hop/R&B Song Of The Year for Pour It Up.
Lorde was another winner, receiving the most votes in the Best New Artist category. Jared Leto accepted on her behalf, with the crowd cheering for the Oscar-winner as he was on stage.
Also triumphant was Miley Cyrus, whose track Wrecking Ball won her the Best Lyrics gong. She’s had a hard time lately after being hospitalised for an allergic reaction to medication she was taking. It’s caused her to cancel some dates of her Bangerz tour and so her father Billy Ray Cyrus accepted on her behalf.
“As a dad I can’t begin to tell you how much your thoughts, your love, your support for our family and Miley mean to us. Thank you and God bless each and every one of you,” he said.
The ceremony was also the venue chosen to play Michael Jackson’s new single Love Never Felt So Good. Usher performed a dance routine to the track, which comes from the late King of Pop’s upcoming posthumous album Xscape.
