Rocio Mateos
The 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards were held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, on April 29th. On its 5th edition, the RDMA celebrated one more time kids’ favorite musical artists, social media stars, and songs. The show was hosted by Jordan Fisher, Kelsea Ballerini, Sofia Carson, Jenna Ortega and Alex Aiono.
This year, the RDMA ‘Icon’ Award was introduced, to “recognize a distinguished artist whose career transcends popular culture and whose music is loved by generations of Radio Disney fans,” according to a statement.
Britney Spears received the first RDMA ‘Icon’ Award
The multiplatinum pop star was recognized with the first RDMA ‘Icon’ Award. “We are proud to celebrate Britney as the first recipient of this award acknowledging her chart-topping career on Radio Disney since 1998,” Phil Guerini, Music Strategy VP of Disney Channel Worldwide, said in a statement.
To honor the pop star and her legacy, singers Kelsea Ballerini, Hailee Steinfeld and Sofia Carson performed some of the most iconic hits the Grammy winner has recorded, including “Oops!… I Did It Again,” “Circus,” and “… Baby One More Time.”
VIDEO: Britney Spears tribute and recieve ‘Icon Award’ on #RDMA 2017 pic.twitter.com/cFHe7u4IIo
— BRITNEY LEGION (@BritneysLegion) April 30, 2017
Her sister Jamie Lynn Spears – you may remember her from Nickelodeon series ‘Zoey 101’ – also showed up to surprise her with a snippet of “Till The World Ends,” bringing our star to tears. “What a pleasant surprise, my goodness,” the pop diva said. She thanked Radio Disney for the award, as well as her fans. She then thanked her children. “My two loves of my life, my sons Jaden and Preston, you’re the reason my heart beats. I love you so much.”
Nick Jonas wins the Hero For Change Award
Ever since reaching fame with the Jonas Brothers, the singer has been very outspoken with his battle with Type 1 diabetes and founded Beyond Type 1, a nonprofit organization dedicated to research, education, and advocacy for the condition. Because of this, he was recognized as the Hero For Change Award, presented by Jack Black.
To receive the award, Jonas got onstage along with a group of children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. “What I saw as the biggest challenge of my life really did become my biggest opportunity to bring some encouragement to these amazing kids,” Jonas said in his acceptance speech. Before getting off stage, he announced he was donating $15,000 to the organization.
Teenagers Jocelyn Woods and Natalie Hampton were also recognized, with the Heroes For Change Award, for making a difference in their communities.
Singers performed the best songs from ‘Moana’
‘Moana’ is the latest hit Disney film, and its soundtrack is one of the things we love the most. To celebrate the stunning movie, some of the singers got onstage to perform the most iconic songs from the film. First, host Jordan Fisher performed an upbeat version of “You’re Welcome,” featuring backup dancers. Then, Alessia Cara was joined by Auli’i Cravalho – who plays Moana in the film – to sing together the hit single “How Far I’ll Go.”
Hailee Steinfeld also gave an impressive performance, singing her new single “Most Girls”, followed by her collaboration with producer Zedd, “Starving.” Julia Michaels sang her latest hit “Issues,” but she had to do it twice, due to technical, well, issues. The youngest of the Cyrus clan, Noah, took the stage to perform a solo version of “Make Me (Cry),” while Sabrina Carpenter gave a classy performance of her single “Thumbs.”
Camila Cabello wins the first award of the night
Cabello was the first artist of the night to get onstage to receive her award. She won Best Collaboration for “Bad Things,” which features Machine Gun Kelly.
Congrats to @Camila_Cabello for winning Best Collaboration at the #RDMAs ! pic.twitter.com/ueBsF3Wg5V
— Rania Aniftos (@RaniaAniftos) April 30, 2017
‘America’s Got Talent’ winner Grace VanderWaal also got to receive her own award, this time for Best New Artist. The 13-year old singer later performed a very cute version of “I Don’t Know My Name” with her ukulele.
Other winners include Ariana Grande for Best Female Artist, Niall Horan for Best Male Artist, and Fifth Harmony for Best Group. Shawn Mendes took home the award for Song of the Year for his successful hit “Treat You Better,” while the collaboration between Major Lazer, Justin Bieber, and MØ, “Cold Water,” got the award for Best Dance Track.
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