On Monday, December 5th, iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball concert, hosted by 101.3 KDWB came to Minneapolis. The concert took place at Xcel Energy Center and lasted for three hours. Ten artists performed, including Jon Bellion, Gnash, Hailee Steinfeld, Tove Lo, Alessia Cara, Lukas Graham, the Backstreet Boys, Diplo, G-Eazy, and Fifth Harmony. A few of the artists brought special guests along with them, like Olivia O’Brien (with Gnash) and MØ (with Diplo).

The concert attracted a diverse crowd, ranging from tweens excited for Fifth Harmony to full grown adults eager to see the Backstreet Boys. However, Drew Schmidt and Jay Chochrek, two Edina High School sophomores were not too pleased with their experience. “Jingle Ball was a huge disappointment this year,” said Chochrek. Both of the boys have been to Jingle Ball several times in the past and thought that this year’s set did not live up to expectations of last year’s show. “I was trying my hardest to get hyped, but I couldn’t get as hype as I was last year,” said Schmidt. “Backstreet Boys, they’re a little too old…not a little, they’re way too old,” said Chochrek. With artists ranging across almost every genre, it was difficult for every artist to please the entire crowd. Nonetheless, the energy was still there, despite the demographics of the audience.

However, Schmidt and Chochrek weren’t completely disappointed. “Fifth Harmony had great choreography,” said Schmidt. “Yeah, they were workin’ it,” said Chochrek. Fifth Harmony was the last performance, closing the show. The remainder of the audience went wild when they came on; Fifth Harmony was a crowd favorite.

The show gives the fans a mix between music they are familiar with and artists that are up and coming, making for a diverse night. Each performer brought a different type of energy to the stage, so the crowd adapted to the variety of songs. As the DJ crafted his beats, Diplo fans were dancing rather than singing along, but when artists like Alessia Cara or Hailee Steinfeld came out, the crowd belted out their hits right along with them. G-Eazy attracted his own type of crowd as well; his fans were dancing and jumping up and down while rapping along with him. “He wasn’t out for long enough,” said Chochrek, a big G-Eazy fan.

In the end, every concert is going to have some tough critics, but a better and stronger performer will come out of the experience. Overall, Jingle Ball was very impressive and a great experience. It will be interesting to see the up and coming artists that 2017 will bring to Minneapolis.