Pink, Harry Styles, The Weeknd Get iHeartRadio Music Festival Off To A High-Flying Start

Harry Styles (Joel Denver)

PINK got this year's 2017 iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL at the sold-out T-MOBILE ARENA in LAS VEGAS off to a rousing start with a rocking "Raise Your Glass," setting the tone by asking, "Why so serious?" before showing her range by performing "What About Us," the anthemic first single from her upcoming album, "Beautiful Trauma" (RCA). She interspersed a cover of NO DOUBT's "Just a Girl" in the middle of a rollicking "Funhouse" before tackling the rap-inflected "Just Like Fire," the GRAMMY-winner from the "Alice Through The Looking Glass" soundtrack. She got her "rock moves" on with the high-flying antics of "So What," delighting the crowd with her dizzying trapeze act, showing any potential SUPER BOWL scouts she's more than worthy of a halftime bid. For a Top 40 show, this one certainly got off to a rock and roll start.

HARRY STYLES, resplendent in a checked purple-and-red suit and EDWARDIAN shirt, held his GIBSON electric guitar like a long-lost member of THE BEATLES on the ED SULLIVAN show for "Carolina," with its aching refrain, "She's a good girl," eliciting the first screams of the night. A plaintive "Two Ghosts" was next, with HARRY delivering a heartfelt '70s singer-songwriter vibe.  He showed off some impressive dance moves on the gritty SMALL FACES-esque blues-rocker "Only Angel," further making his case for an impressive crossover from boy band to rock star. He closed with his first solo single, "Sign Of The Times," a yearning song that incorporates his falsetto.and somehow recalls MOTT THE HOOPLE's "All The Young Dudes" and a rousing, rockabilly-meets-metal "Kiwi," in which he urged the crowd to "go nuts," though he didn't really have to.

iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL perennials COLDPLAY opened with a confetti-strewn "Sky Full Of Stars," with CHRIS MARTIN in full crowd-pleasing mode, sitting behind the piano then spinning, twirling, somersaulting and falling to the floor on "Hymn For The Weekend." He then leaned into an epic "Fix You" on bended knee, leading a crowd singalong before launching ithe always-energized "Viva La Vida."  The disco-inflected, synth-driven jig "Adventure Of A Lifetime," was next, as the balloons fell and MARTIN strutted like a self-described "monkey man... the worst dancer in all of LAS VEGAS," arms akimbo. "Something Like This," their collab with CHAINSMOKERS, a hook-filled hit that proved they could make a successful crossover to Top 40 radio, was followed by "Up And Up," offering a poignant message for these tumultuous times: "I know we're gonna get it together, get it together somehow," giving a nod to HARRY STYLES by quoting "sign of the times."

The evening took a country/Americana turn with on-air personality BOBBY BONES' introduction of CHRIS STAPLETON, a true hallmark of these eclectic iHEARTRADIO shindigs, reminiscent of the classic Top 40 melting pot of yore. SINGLETON proved his own rock rebel bona fides by opening with the cheeky, bluesy "Might As Well Get Stoned," one of his working man "what me worry" plaints about the foibles of the modern world. The matter-of-fact honesty of "Nobody To Blame" brought some flesh-and-blood vulnerability and a welcome confessional to the most unlikely setting -- Sin City. And darn if he doesn't sound like SPRINGSTEEN himself on the soulful "Broken Halos" ("that used to shine"). By the third song, "Second One To Know," he's channelling MOUNTAIN's LESLIE WEST and the delta swamps of CREEDENCE CLEARWATER, effortlessly connecting the dots between country, blues and rock. By the time he gets to the AL GREEN-meets-VAN MORRISON slow R&B preach of "TENNESSEE Whiskey," he's touched all the stylistic bases for a PLATONIC ideal of a roots-lovers' dream Top 40 radio station. 

JARED LETO's THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS was up next, opening with an unexpectedly stirring PRINCE/DAVID BOWIE/CHRIS CORNELL "Purple Rain"/"Heros"/"Black Hole Sun" mash-up tribute backed by a full gospel choir.  Say this for Mr. Joker, he has a welcome sense for the intersection of the grandiose and the ridiculous. A roaring  "Kings And Queens" followed, A bearded LETO -- in rainbow poncho festooned with a tiger's head and glittery gold pants, a cross between JESUS and JIM MORRISON -- was in full rock messiah mode, making sure the music's theatrical roots were fully exposed as he ventured into the crowd for benediction. Taking that analogy to its logical conclusion, LETO introduced the band's new single, the U2-ish "Walk On Water," which echoed another of the evening's themes in its chorus "Times are changing." For the closer, LETO brought several dozen "crazy people" on-stage for "Up In The Air," and while he didn't soar across the arena like PINK, he managed to levitate a good number of those that joined him. "i'll wrap my hands around your neck...with love."

THE WEEKND took the stage with "Starboy," the title track to his  most recent album, and immediately demonstrated his skills at mesmerizing a crowd. "100 on the dash/Get me close to God," he sings, testing the speed limits with aplomb. "Party Monster" followed... "I just need a girl who gon' really understand." "Reminder" proved just that, a soul showcase that suggests you not sleep on ABEL TESFAYA if you know what's good for you. "Secrets" has an infectious FLEETWOOD MAC-ish hook that won't quit, as THE WEEKND puts the pop in post-hip-hop as the consummate ladies' man. Of course, he can't get off the stage without "Can't Feel My Face," the second PRINCE "tribute" of the night and still fresh . "I Feel It Coming" has an almost reggae lilt to it, with THE WEEKND's sweet, buttered croon melting over a hot corn on the cob, complete with a faux DAFT PUNK interlude. "The Hills" is the closer, his drug-addled apologia for bad behavior, "When I'm f***ed up/That's the real me." Dude's a stone rock star and still capable of taking over a room of any size. Super Bowl halftime, anyone?

EDM superstar DAVID GUETTA was the night's final performer, and he had some tough acts to follow. Still, with a spectacular stage set and light show, the FRENCH DJ-turned-songwriter-turned performer built up the momentum with the aptly named "Ain't A Party," before repurposing the riffs from WHITE STRIPES' "Seven Nation Army" and SPRINGSTEEN's "Tunnel Of Love" around the helium-pitched chants of "Bad." His JUSTIN BIEBER collaboration, the tuneful "2u" (AFROJACK remix), followed and got the crowd into a laser-induced frenzy. "Hey Mama" featured special guest BEBE REXHA, who revved up the audience. After a snippet of TAYLOR SWIFT's "Look What You Made Me Do," GUETTA segues into "Play Hard" and "I Wanna Go Crazy" before dropping the bass, then launching into "Titanium" (piping in SIA's vocals) and his FLO RIDA joint, "Club Can't Handle Me." GUETTA's take on "Gotta Feeling," the song he produced for BLACK EYED PEAS upped the ante, leading into "Sexy Bitch," originally done with AKON. "Without You" pulled out all the stops, streamers engulfing the crowd, who fill in the gaps by singing along. On a night celebrating radio, it was appropriate for a DJ to have the final spin of the night. 

This was the first of two nights of the iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL, with tomorrow (9/23) afternoon's DAYTIME VILLAGE being live-streamed for the first time, starting at 11a (PT).

The show is being streamed on www.CWTV.com, is available on THE CW app and being broadcast on 150 radio stations around the U.S. To interact on social media, go to #iHeartFestival. 

LORDE, KINGS OF LEON, BIG SEAN, MILEY CYRUS, DJ KHALED, NIALL HORAN, THOMAS RHETT and KESHA are among the acts scheduled to perform tomorrow night.

MACY's RISING STAR winner JAMES MASLOW warmed up the crowd with a solo ballad on piano that evoked the pop soul of ADAM LEVINE, before he seamlessly segued into an uptempo MICHAEL JACKSON ish funk number.that eventually turned into a cover of "Billie Jean." 

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