Thanks to a star-studded lineup of performers at this year’s KIIS Jingle Ball, the holiday spirit has officially taken over the music world.
The big show took place on Friday, December 6 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and featured performances by Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Enrique Iglesias, Robin Thicke, Ariana Grande, Austin Mahone, Jason Derulo, Fifth Harmony and Travie McCoy. Each act performed a few songs to the sold out stadium, but the night was not without its hiccups!
Travie McCoy kicked off the show with his hit “Billionaire” and was followed by performances by Danish indie-pop band New Politics and fan-favourite Jason Derula. Girl group, Fifth Harmony, did not disappoint with their 2013 single, “Miss Movin’ On” and “Dance Alone.” The crowd was then graced by music veteran Enrique Iglesias, who even brought up a young fan to sing and dance along with him. It wasn’t long before Robin Thicke hit the stage to sing “Blurred Lines” and brought out rapper T.I. to join him!
But just as everything seemed to be going smoothly, Selena Gomez ran into some technical difficulties when it was her turn to wow the crowd. The 21-year-old singer was noticeably distressed as she stopped dancing to try to fix the sound issue and even stormed off the stage at one point! After composing herself, she came back out to tell the crowd, “there are much cooler people than me performing tonight” and asked them to support her through two more songs. Unfortunately, the sound issues were not resolved and she left the stage after a shaky performance of “Come & Get It.”
Following Austin Mahone and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Ariana Grande graced the stage to belt out “Right There,” but then realized her mic wasn’t even on! She was quick to remark, “at least now you know I’m not tracking,” which many suspect was a snarky dig at Selena Gomez, before finishing up with performances of “Last Christmas,” “Honeymoon Avenue” and “The Way.”
Last but not least, Miley Cyrus energized the crowd as she performed hits “Party In The USA” and “We Can’t Stop” in one of her trademark racy costumes. The former Disney star closed the show with an emotional rendition of her hit ballad, “Wrecking Ball.”
Despite some technical difficulties, the KIIS Jingle Ball kicked off the holiday season with impressive performances by many of this year’s top artists.