Olivia Rodrigo wants to raise awareness of women’s rights everywhere
Olivia Rodrigo founded a non-profit organization called Fund 4 Good.
Bang Showbiz
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA — As the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concert played its final performances Friday night at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, the shouting grew increasingly frantic.
During the packed four-hour show, artists from Korean boy band P1Harmony to rapper Flo Rida took turns on stage, and anticipation steadily grew for Olivia Rodrigo, the final act of the evening.
As she took the stage, the arena erupted in a deafening roar as the three-time Grammy winner jumped out to join her band and perform hits from her albums “Sour” and “Guts” to a crowd eager to attack Rodrigo’s Teenage angst songs answer them directly.
Sabrina Carpenter, Niall Horan, rapper Doechii and K-pop group (G)I-DLE also received a warm welcome, although perhaps none more warmly than “The Summer I Turned Pretty” star Christopher Briney, who walked in with was met with unbridled screaming and would like to introduce surprise guest Paul Russell.
Los Angeles was the third stop of eleven Jingle Ball shows held across the country over the next two weeks. A rotating cast will perform in Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and other cities. Fans who were unable to snag tickets can watch the “Jingle Ball” special, airing December 21st at 8:00 PM ET/PT on ABC and streaming December 22nd on Hulu.
Check out more highlights from Jingle Ball 2023 on Friday evening.
Olivia Rodrigo performs “Can’t Catch Me Now” live for the first time
Olivia Rodrigo, who has been busy traveling the world and promoting her second (and Grammy-nominated) album in recent months, celebrated the release of her latest musical project: a song for the Hunger Games prequel, ” The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”.
Rodrigo told the almost wild crowd of fans that this was her first time performing the ethereal “Can’t Catch Me Now,” although you wouldn’t know it was released just a month ago by the chorus of fans sang along.
The 20-year-old opened her performance with “All-American Bitch” and then inspired a karaoke session with her single “Vampire,” which had so many shouting the lyrics at her that one might worry about who had personally been wronged has these fans. Rodrigo closed with her 2021 banger “Good 4 U.”
Review: Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts is a no-skip album, but these two songs are the best of the lot
Sabrina “Claus” Carpenter turns her hit “Nonsense” into a Christmas tune
“Barbie” star Ariana Greenblatt and “Westside Story” actress Maddie Ziegler introduced Sabrina Carpenter — or rather “Sabrina Claus” — who added the festive spirit of the evening to her Jingle Ball set.
The 24-year-old pop star transformed into a seductive Mrs. Claus on stage, rocking a red mini dress with red gloves. Carpenter’s set included her hits “Feather,” “Because I Liked a Boy” and of course “Nonsense.”
But first, she annoyed fans and acted like she wasn’t finishing with her beloved viral song. Finally, before backing out, she said, “I don’t like this version. Because there is no Christmas spirit, so to speak.”
Instead, she swapped in “A Nonsense Christmas” from her new holiday album “Fruitcake.” It’s the holiday season, after all, and she’s talking about decking the halls, making eggnog, and trimming trees.
“When I look at you I think of Christmas / Snowflakes in my stomach when we kiss,” Carpenter cooed.
More: Sabrina Carpenter’s music video in a church calls for the diocese to hold a mass for “holiness.”
Miguel impresses the Jingle Ball audience with his vocal skills
Donning a knee-length red coat on the Jingle Ball stage, Miguel exuded rocker Santa Claus flair as he treated the audience to a set full of incredible falsettos and runs.
The Grammy-winning R&B singer/songwriter delivered songs like “Do You…” and “Sure Thing” with an effortless confidence befitting someone of his vocal prowess.
His performance of “Sure Thing” celebrated the triumph of the 2011 song being given new life via TikTok, and Miguel thanked fans for making it the No. 1 song on pop radio this summer.
Review: Miguel mixes politics and pleasure in his confident “War & Leisure”
The club could not cope with the performance of Flo Rida and Flava Flav
Surprisingly, Flo Rida and Flava Flav showed the rappers that “club can’t keep up,” which was surprising for an audience that appeared to be heavily Gen Z.
The dynamic duo brought most of the Forum audience to their feet with a mix of Flo Rida’s hits from the 2000s and 2010s. During Flo Rida’s 2007 breakthrough hit “Low,” members of the audience joined the backup dancers on stage, while “Club Can’t Handle” lured the 44-year-old into the audience as he rode on the shoulders of a certain well-built dancer member of his crew.
After powering through other fan favorites like “Right Round” and “My House,” Flo Rida made another loop through the crowd, this time joining Flavor Flav for 2011 chart-topper “Wild Ones.”
AJR shows how the group produces their catchy indie pop songs
The energy of the Met brothers – Adam, Jack and Ryan – was infectious to say the least as the indie trio brought the audience to their knees with their elaborate dance moves.
To close out their set, Ryan Met demonstrated how their 2016 song “Weak” came together in their living room with the help of some loud neighbors, “epic” horns, and inspiration from some iconic movie soundtracks.
Breaking the track down into layers, Met explained how the band used an altered recording of a crying baby for the “catchy” chorus and slowed down the tempo “to make it sound more like an AJR song.” The three-minute demonstration led straight into the explosive (and actually catchy) uptempo song with wonderful support from trumpeter Arnetta Johnson.
Interview: P1Harmony jumps into a new era: members talk mini-albums, growth and hopes for the future