Every year, thousands of people race to get tickets for radio station iHeartRadio Hot 99.5’s annual musical performance, Jingle Ball. Top artists perform at popular venues all through the country, making Jingle Ball both appealing and accessible for music fans. This year, the lineup for the D.C. Jingle Ball includes famous artists ranging from Pitbull to Tate Mcrae to Sam Smith.

This year’s Jingle Ball on Dec.13 was incredible due to its notable performances and the crowd’s enthusiasm. I can confidently say that the concert’s growth is linear as I have attended the 2017 and 2021 performances as well. It was held at Capital One Arena, and approximately 15,000 people attended the DC show this year. 

The concert opened with the upcoming artists and slowly led up to top charters. The show was opened by artist Nicky Youre who is most known for his hit song “Sunroof.”  His performance was stellar as he was interactive with the audience, and his upbeat bop was a great way to start the concert. 

Next up was Jax, a TikTok content creator who famously sings “Victoria’s Secret.” Before she performed, she discussed the importance of positive body representation in the media, and how she struggled with body image as a child. This powerful message made the experience of hearing her song live all the more meaningful.  

Following was Tate McRae, who was one of my favorite performers of the night.  She played a range of songs from her different albums but my favorite song was “she’s all I wanna be.”  As an artist, she has such a strong stage presence and used her dance background and backup dancers to not only wow the audience, but truly convey the lyrics of her songs. 

Sam Smith is the first ever nonbinary person to perform at Jingle Ball, which was a big theme in his set. While Smith was an overall engaging performer, I particularly enjoyed his performance of “Unholy.” They brought co-singer Kim Petra on stage and their chemistry and harmonization was incredible, making his performance all the more engaging. 

The long awaited performance of pop star Pitbull was not one to miss. When Pitbull came on stage, the crowd went wild and that energy continued throughout the entirety of his performance. He opened with the hit song “Don’t Stop the Party” and followed up with other hits like “Hotel Room Service” and “Timber.” His performance ended with confetti shooting upwards towards the crowd, which emulated the energy of his performance. 

Jingle Ball is the perfect concert to attend with friends if you have varying music tastes. Every year, the concert gets better and I can’t wait to see what iHeartRadio has planned for 2023.