The Jingle Ball made its way to DC with ten artists and 56 songs across a four-hour show.
December 17that iHeartRadio Hot 99.5’s Jingle Ball 2024 presented by Capital One, the stars hit the stage for the eighth stop of the national iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The event featured iconic performances from today’s biggest artists including Tate McRae, Meghan Trainor, The Kid Laroi, Teddy Swims, Kesha, Jason Derulo, Gracie Abrams, Dasha, Isabel LaRosa, and P1Harmony.
In a win for authentic singer-songwriter fare, Gracie Abrams received the loudest reception of the night inside the Capital One Arena. That, by the way, is synergy; the Ball is sponsored by Capital One, so a stop at the namesake arena was inevitable.
Teddy Swims is making waves—pun intended—as the newest, most powerful vocal in music. Making noise in both pop and country with “Lose Control,” he’s walking through the door Jelly Roll smashed open. And if his 5-song set at Jingle Ball is any indication, 2025 is going to be a banner year for him.
The Kid Laroi has a surprisingly supple voice. His Australian accent turned into a longing warble on “Without You,” and he delivered a strong version of his hit with Justin Bieber, “Stay.”
Jason Derulo ran through a lighting-fast 11 songs during his 20 minutes. He has a surprisingly incredible voice—but his self-styled autotuned pop masks a talent many would envy. A moment towards the end of his set—not sure which song—where he stripped everything back and just sang left the audience in stunned silence. Derulo should do more of that.
Meghan Trainor and Kesha each brought campy pop fun to the Jingle Ball stage. Kesha’s set, in particular, took this aging millennial right back to high school, when her bangers “Tik Tok” and “Blow Up” were inescapable. Trainor ran a few of her hits dressed in a shimmering Mrs. Claus dress and hat
It is here where I’d like to shout out the Jingle Ball crew. Each artist had their own set up—risers, bandstands, even consoles at the back of the house. The crew did their tightest changeovers this chronically-at-a-concert music journalist has ever seen. Sides by a turn table that allowed one set to be prepped while the other was on stage, the crew made a very hard job look effortless.
The environment at Jingle Ball proves what I’ve been saying all season long: Christmas and the holiday season is about togetherness. Fans of all genres—country, pop, rock, and more—gathered under one roof to rock out. Music truly is the strongest force for bringing people together.
HOT 99.5 Jingle Ball 2024 is part of the national iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour Presented by Capital One, the season’s biggest annual holiday music event that captures the music and holiday spirit of the iHeartRadio app with performances by this year’s biggest artists in Dallas/Fort Worth; Los Angeles; Chicago; Detroit; New York; Boston; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; and Miami.
iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour stops will be part of the exclusive network special airing December 18th at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC, and the next day on Hulu.
