Soundcheck: Hip Hop Hits iheartradio Music Festival
posted in: Music News • Pop • Urban
The biggest live music event in radio history hit Las Vegas this weekend when Clear Channel’s iheartradio Music Festival kicked off Friday night at the MGM Grand. Thousands of fans came from across the country to see the impressive line-up, which included the best of the best in every music genre. The festival marked the launch of Clear Channel’s new iheartradio app, which is designed to make users the program directors for their own fantasy radio station. Abandoning the traditional set-up of genre-specific set-lists, iheartradio allows fans to hear the latest and greatest music from their favorite artists, whether its Jay-Z or Rascal Flats. For a true music aficionado, the resulting playlist would probably sound a lot like the incredible mash-up of music offered at the two-night event.
Black Eyed Peas kicked off the show with Boom Boom Pow to an ecstatic crowd comprised of die-hard pop, country, hip hop and rock fans. The night went smoothly with stellar sets from Jane’s Addiction, Carrie Underwood, Bruno Mars and Kelly Clarkson, all of whom were there to celebrate radio and prove why they rule the charts. Coldplay delivered an amazing set including Clocks and Chris Martin came off as the ultimate front man. The set was enough to convert me into an instant Chris Martin fan.
Alicia Keys was a beaming beauty when she hit the stage to perform a medley of hits including Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart, Unthinkable and Empire State of Mind.Shealso debuted a new song, teasing fans, Is it OK for me to play something brand new? The inspirational number, A Place Of My Own was classic Keys, who delivered airy vocals over her perfect piano playing.
Next up was Hova himself, who seemed to be in a particularly good mood when he hit the stage for his forty-minute set. With Memphis Bleek by his side, he delivered hit after hit from his sixteen-year career. He repped The Black Album pretty hard and touched on his most successful singles, including Jigga What, 99 Problems, Give It To Me Run This Town, Big Pimpin’ and Dirt Off Your Shoulder. He closed the show with Empire State of Mind after Alicia Keys returned to the stage to belt out the huge hook.
Night number two was the biggest music party ever, with tons of pop stars delivering dynamic sets to the pumped-up crowd. Steven Tyler opened up with Sweet Emotion backed up by Sting on the bass. The American Idol judge shared a smooch with X-Factor judge and former Pussycat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger, proving there’s no bad blood between the two singing shows.Later in the night, another Idol alum took the stage when Jennifer Lopez delivered her sparkly set. The 42-year-old performer proves she’s still got it after two kids and a quick split from Marc Anthony. In a Tina Turner-inspired red dress, she was a vision. Who knew the former fly girl still had those moves? She went way back to the beginning of her career when she performed I’m Real and Jenny From The Block and Ain’t It Funny with her Ja Rule-featured video playing on the big screen behind her. She ended her set with the infectious, On The Floor.
David Guetta kept the party going with his spinning set, which seemed to pump the crowd up more than any other headliner. Usher joined the Frenchman for the first-ever live performance of their newest hit, Without You.
Nicki Minaj was a joy to watch, as she came to play in full effect, looking like a cracked-out Barbie doll in huge fluffy pigtails, bright pink rubber rain boot, tutu skirt, and a bright pink chicken wing around her neck. She and her six dancers tore up the stage, delivering more choreography than I knew she was capable of. Her performance of Moment For Life showed how well she can sing live, while hits like Super Bass and Where The Girls At riled fans and showcased her sick rhyming skills. She closed her set by telling her Barbs her three unbreakable rules. 1. Go to school. 2. Be ambitious. 3. Don’t depend on anyone for anything. You’re all epic and amazing.
The show’s closer was none other than Lady Gaga, who seemed to take the roll quite seriously, playing well past her scheduled thirty-minute set. Justin Timberlake took the stage to announce her, delighting music fans that miss his days on the mic. A giant piano/motorcycle was planted on the stage and throughout the set; she played it, rode it, hung upside down from it, and danced atop it. The visuals of her performance were only overshadowed by the powerhouse voice, which was inarguably the strongest of the night. A few costume changes, a few blood spatters, and a few awesome mash-ups later (Sting anyone?), and Gaga was ready to get heavy. She dedicated her song, Hair to 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer, a fan who committed suicide last week after being bullied at school. Gaga told the crowd, We lost a little monster this week. I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you’ve got when you’re in school … so tonight, Jamey, I know you’re up there looking at us, and you’re not a victim … you’re a lesson to all of us. I know it’s a bit of a downer, but sometimes the right thing is more important than the music.”
The two-night festival was an amazing success, and proved that radio still has a place in the rapidly changing music scene. The other big accomplishment of the festival, and subsequently, the iheartradio application, is the breakdown of barriers between good music. At the end of the two-day festival, it became crystal clear that good music is good music, and all we need to enjoy it is access.