The black eyed peas Just can't get enough
The foursome opened the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena last night with laser lights, a cadre of jailbird-themed backup dancers (in a word: divine), and one of their biggest hits in “Boom Boom Pow.” It’s almost needless to say, but the party-rocking vibe the show’s producers were probably dying to launch coalesced perfectly, as the crowd spiraled into dancing through the group’s biggest hits, including “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Don’t Stop the Party,” “The Time (Dirty Bit),” and the perfect set-ender: “I Gotta Feeling.” (Personally, I was hoping for “Shut Up,” but no one ever seems to be into that song as much as me.) Of much interest (at least to me) was Fergie’s delightful getup, which included glittery knee-high boots, a glittery onesie, and fascinating, gold fingernail/cap things that contributed to her overall drag queen look. She was Vegas to a T! (But then again, she always kind of is.)
The tone was set from the first act: This show was definitely all about the hits. But did anyone really expect anything different at a show from iHeartRadio? The 12,000 fans in the audience at the MGM Grand Garden Arena got just what they wanted, believe me. From top to bottom, the show was quite the Vegas production with huge screens flanking the stage, more than one confetti blast (literally, the first one came at the almost-still-daylight hour of 8:01 p.m., no joke), and, yes, Ryan Seacrest as host. He first appeared after the Black Eyed Peas left the stage to introduce the show: “This weekend,” he said, in trademark way that’s both overly dramatic and overly bombastic, “all roads lead to Vegas.” Well, all roads carrying the biggest pop radio stars, at least. And it was during this interlude he announced something that made the crowd go completely wild: Lady Gaga—already confirmed to be performing during the festival—would appear on Saturday night with Sting. In two words: Instant death!
The show steamrolled on, literally: The first set change from the Black Eyed Peas to Kelly Clarkson took only the two minutes that Seacrest was on stage, mostly because there was a revolving stage that allowed Clarkson’s band to be at the ready. (And that device helped the whole show stay amazingly on schedule.) That says a lot about the show: It was all about instant gratification. They weren’t messing around with getting the next person on the stage or doling out only (well, mostly) the hits.
Clarkson was divine, as you might imagine. She launched with “Walk Away,” and despite the much-less-elaborate staging (no jailbird backup dancers!), she held her own after the Black Eyed Peas. Next up was my favorite Cutter’s Anonymous (of which I’m the president) song: “Because of You,” which sent me into chilly spirals. That song is deadly in all the right ways, and Kelly sang it with all the gusto you wanted. Then, she brought her new radio offering: “Mr. Know It All,” which was a thrill to hear live finally, but large parts of the crowd (not surprisingly) didn’t seem to be familiar. And her final song, “My Life Would Suck Without You,” capped her set perfectly.
Bruno Mars took the stage next, and served up everything you wanted: “The Lazy Song,” “Grenade,” and “Just the Way You Are.” And just like on the VMAs last month, Mars did his tribute to Amy Winehouse, with his rousing cover of “Valerie.” The whole performance came together with photos of Winehouse on the screens behind him.
Then came the most robotic, but still driving performance, of the evening: Carrie Underwood. This girl can sing, but with her coming just two sets after Clarkson, it’s easy to see which of the two former Idols has more heart, and it’s not this one. Still, her performances of “Cowboy Casanova,” “Last Name,” and crowd-fave “Before He Cheats” got everyone on their feet. Also: Carrie debuted new bangs last night. The jury is still out on them, but they were the buzz of the MGM Grand Garden Arena during her set.
Read more: music-mix.ew
