On Dec. 16 iHeartRadio teamed with 103.5 KISS FM for the Jingle Ball bash at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
One dollar from each ticket of the multi-act concert goes to the Ryan Seacrest Foundation to benefit today's youth. This year's lineup included several new performers, including some that are quickly making it big. Many took time to talk on the red carpet, either before or after their set ,and most said they were heading back to LA for the holidays to get back to work right after.
The Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer kicked things off at 7:30 p.m. and the festivities ended at 11 p.m. with Nick Jonaskind of late for a school night for some of these kids, but they hung in there to squeal for their favorite crush( es ).
Another Australian who has done well is long-haired Conrad Sewell and his song with Kygo, "Firestone." He not only performed strongly with a nice range but was personable during an interview. He described tour experiences with Ed Sheeran and Maroon 5, explaining he learned a lot from them.
Child prodigy Hailee Steinfeld wore a jumpsuit with a plunging neckline for the red carpet. Primarily known for acting in hit movies like Pitch Perfect, she sang pop songs this night and told us how she has been a long time fan of many of the artists on this tour. Not only can this talented lady play Juliet in the Shakespeare classic, but she was nominated for an Academy Award for the film True Grit. With a budding singing career at age 19, there is no stopping her.
Ellen DeGeneres discovered young singer Charlie Puth and we are glad she did. His song "See You Again" has earned him a Grammy nomination and his "Marvin Gaye" hit with Meghan Trainor is all over the place. He mentioned that the kiss was her idea to have them stand out from the crowd at the American Music Awards.
One surprise was Virgin Islands duo Rock City, with their energy and exclaiming "one love" showing support for all people. Their song with Adam Levine, "Locked Away," is on repeat for most pop radio stations these days. When asked about who is wildest to work with in the studio out of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus, of course Cyrus stood out in the pack of divas.
Swedish hit maker Tove Lo stopped to chat about her new music coming out in 2016 and was genuinely humble, as always.
Shawn Mendes, who did an interview with us last summer, has literally exploded on the radio since then with new singles dropping over the past few months. He left us in "Stitches" describing fans showing up at his home, where he personally drove them to a Starbucks to make sure they left the property.
Music group Fifth Harmony poses like no other and still seem the same down-to-earth group of girls we loveeven after the massive hit "Worth It."
There was lots of Taylor Swift talk, as many of the artists on the red carpet either toured with her, like Tove Lo, or were friends with her, such as Steinfeld. Just a few years ago, Swift performed on the Jingle Ball Tour and some of her girl squad, including Selena Gomez, is now part of the Jingle Ball act.
A highlight of this year's event was that many acts either played the piano themselves or brought a full band to rock out instead of piping in background music. Gomez even had a large group of hot backup dancers in front of her band and it worked well.
Two brothers were on the scene. Joe Jonas' group, DNCE, has a hit at the gay bars; they spoke with Windy City Times on the red carpet about their cover video of the Adele song "Hello," in which they used clown makeup to portray sadness for Halloween.
Jonas' brother Nick closed the show with new signature dance moves. He seemed relaxed, with a more seasoned performance now that he has been out on the road with his self-titled album in 2015. There were quite a few scream queens in the audience that nightand we don't blame them.