Tis’ The Season For iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball

The shows occur all over the US from Atlanta, to Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. The Jingle Ball lineup for the Philadelphia show at Wells Fargo Center featured more widely known artists like Khalid, AJR, Charlie Puth, and Sam Smith and smaller artists like Tate McRae and Nicky Youre.

The event should change its name from iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball to iHeartRadio’s TikTok Show. Most of the smaller artists were only there because one of their songs went viral on TikTok, which apparently grants them the opportunity to perform at one of iHeartRadio’s biggest shows of the year. Artists like Nicky Youre, Jax, and Tate McRae are not well known in the industry and before their music went viral, they were virtually unknown. And, while TikTok is a great place for artists to spread music and obtain fame, the attention it gets does not reflect the quality of art that is produced by these artists.  

With the reintroduction of TikTok to the public in 2019, people took to it immediately and artists noticed quickly that it was a place to get famous. It can be argued, however, that the music that gets promoted on TikTok and becomes the most viral are songs influenced by what the corporate music industry makes successful, creating the same songs time and again.

The show, as a whole, saturated the senses with the use of lights and flash to “add” to the artists performances. The production from the TikTok performers showed that they were on the right track to being like these other big artists that also took the stage. However, the most talented performance of the night was by Sam Smith, featuring Kim Petras. His energy was contagious, and his talent and confidence had clearly grown since he first emerged in the music industry. He performed older songs, like “Stay with Me” and “I’m Not the Only One,” as well as his new, most popular song “Unholy.”

Other performances that were admissible that night were from Khalid and AJR. While Jingle Ball was originally created to bring people together with amazing music, it showcases mainstream music rather than any other. It was perfect music.