Radio Disney Music Awards

Radio Disney ceased operations on April 14, 2021, after switching to automated programing on January 1 of that same year. The network has made no statement about the future of the awards.

History[edit]

The Radio Disney Music Awards honored the year's achievements in music, mainly in the teen pop genre, and were awarded based on popular vote from the network's listeners via online voting. The trophy awarded to a winner is known as the "Golden Mickey", a gold-colored statuette with a silhouette figure of Mickey Mouse donning headphones nicknamed the "Ardy", representing Radio Disney's initials. Before 2014, the ceremony was not televised beyond commercial interstitial segments for Disney Channel to promote their sister radio network. As of the seventh annual ceremony on April 26, 2014, the ceremony began to be televised in full a day after a tape delay, as the network attempted to compete with Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards in airing awards programming. Starting in 2016, Canada was able to vote for the first time as Disney programming, formerly under the control of Family Channel, is now carried by Disney-branded Corus Entertainment networks in both English and French.^[4][5]


On June 16, 2019, the 2019 Radio Disney Music Awards were renamed ARDYs: A Radio Disney Music Celebration and aired live for the first time instead of on a tape-delay.^[6]


On June 25, 2020, it was announced that the 2020 Radio Disney Music Awards would be renamed Radio Disney Presents ARDYs Summer Playlist and premiere on July 10, 2020 with Laura Marano as the host.^[7]