Selena Gomez – Q102 Jingle Ball At Wells Fargo Center – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 9, 2015
Q102 Jingle Ball At Wells Fargo Center – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 9, 2015
Last night, some of the hottest acts on the radio rocked the stage and red carpet in Philadelphia for Jingle Ball, Q102 Radio’s annual holiday mega concert. As in past years, tonight’s show was the hottest ticket in town with top musical talent that thrilled tens of thousands of fans at the Wells Fargo Center.
Popular music acts took the stage one by one to perform up to twenty minute sets for the screaming crowd. This year’s superstar line up contained big names like 5 Seconds of Summer, Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes, Tove Lo, Hailee Steinfeld, Natalie La Rose, Charlie Puth, Alessia Cara, R. City, Conrad Sewell and EDM superstar Calvin Harris.
5 Seconds of Summer – Q102 Jingle Ball At Wells Fargo Center – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 9, 2015
Surprisingly, 5 Seconds of Summer opened the show. With their popularity, I personally thought of them as one of the closers, but apparently the promoters wanted to start off on a high note. They were undoubtedly a crowd favorite, as the screeching girls loved every moment of their five-song set, which included their chart topping platinum hit “Amnesia,” as well as their latest single “Hey Everybody!”
Other fan faves for the night included Shawn Mendes and Selena Gomez. Mendes, the seventeen-year-old Canadian heartthrob, has come a long way since posting vines to get his music noticed a few years back. We’ve gotten to know him through several interviews (check out our YouTube Channel to see them!). He has shown tremendous growth as a musician and performer since we first saw him perform nearly two years ago.
Shawn Mendes – Q102 Jingle Ball At Wells Fargo Center – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 9, 2015
Last night it was like Mendes had 20,000 backup singers in the audience, as every girl in the arena joined him to sing his complete set, word for word. His songs included his current hit “Stitches,” as well as his 2014 hit singles “Life of the Party” and “Something Big.”
Selena Gomez – Q102 Jingle Ball At Wells Fargo Center – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 9, 2015
Twenty-three-year-old singer and actress Selena Gomez wowed the fans with her set, which kicked off with her new single “Same Old Love.” Gomez’s act also included her recent hit “Good For You” and past favorite “Love You Like a Love Song.” As always, she did not disappoint the fans with her energetic performance, which was packed with choreographed dance moves and lithe backup dancers.
Charlie Puth was a favorite for us. Besides being extremely personable and kind during our red carpet interview, this was the first time we had seen the twenty four year old New Jersey native perform live. We were struck by his flair both as a singer and as a pianist.
Charlie Puth on the red carpet – Q102 Jingle Ball At Wells Fargo Center – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 9, 2015
The performance of his hit single “Marvin Gaye” was powerful and left us elated, though we admit there may have been a slight yearning for last year’s Jingle Ball star Meghan Trainor to join him on stage and share another American Music Awards-style kiss. However, with some of the younger crowd that Jingle Ball attracts, we knew that wouldn’t happen.
Puth’s rendition of his platinum single (which featured Wiz Khalifa) “See You Again” was another crowd favorite of the night. The song – which was featured in the film Fast and Furious 7 – was just as good with Puth and a piano as it was in his collab version with Khalifa.
Tove Lo on the red carpet – Q102 Jingle Ball At Wells Fargo Center – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 9, 2015
Swedish singer and Grammy-nominated Tove Lo is well known for her grunge-like pop music. Last night, Lo put on another energetic twenty-minute set, performing five songs including her hit single “Talking Body.” After stripping down to her bodysuit and fishnets, we found ourselves both enjoying her performance of “Talking Body,” but also holding our breath a bit in hopes it would not include the famous boob flash she’s known for, since she was in front of an audience of mostly tweens and teens. Being European, Lo is comfortable with her body, and we are too, just not necessarily with some 11 year olds in the front row. However, she was cool and held off of that signature move. Her set rounded off with other songs like “Habits (Stay High),” “Moments” and “Not On Drugs.”
Hailee Steinfeld – Q102 Jingle Ball At Wells Fargo Center – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 9, 2015
Performers like Natalie La Rose, R. City, Alessia Cara, Hailee Steinfeld and Australia’s Conrad Sewell put on somewhat shorter sets, but all played the music the fans wanted to hear. Their sets included their chart topping singles like La Rose’s “Somebody,” Steinfeld’s “Love Myself” and Sewell’s “Firestone.”
Popular EDM superstar Calvin Harris closed out the night with an exciting set that was both crazy and intense with a whole lot of impressive and awesome stage craft.
The visual affects appealed to young fans as the jumped up and down to an incredible pyrotechnic show, like we have never seen before. We now understand why he is considered one of the kind in EDM. With sparks shooting from the stage, smoke blowing from columns, laser lights, video clips, and confetti falling on the heads of fans, not one person in the arena was still in their seats. When Harris said, “I want you to jump now,” everyone in the Center did!
Stay tuned for more pics from the exciting night and our red carpet interviews with some of the Jingle Ball acts, including 5 Seconds of Summer, Shawn Mendes, Alessia Cara, Hailee Steinfeld, Conrad Sewell and more!
We’re excited to see what iHeart Radio and Q102 have in store for the 2016 holiday show!
Deborah Wagner
Copyright ©2015 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: December 12, 2015.
Photos ©2015 Rachel Disipio. All rights reserved.
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