-
Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Journey Stand Out At 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival
by Roy Trakin
September 20, 2021 at 1:20 AM (PT)
What do you think? Add your comment below. -
This year's iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL made its epic return to LAS VEGAS' T-MOBILE ARENA over the weekend, with two star-studded nights.
DUA LIPA, CHEAP TRICK, WALKER HAYES, FINNEAS, DARIUS RUCKER, WEEZER, J. COLE and NELLY with FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE got the party started on FRIDAY night, while BILLIE EILISH, SAM HUNT, THE KID LAROI, COLDPLAY, LIL BABY, JOURNEY and KHALID with special guest TATE McRAE hit the stage SATURDAY night.
DUA LIPA kicked things off, giving everyone a touch of "Future Nostalgia" and had everyone on their feet and dancing along to hits like "Physical," "New Rules," "Love Again," "Levitating" and more. Country star WALKER HAYES had everyone singing about APPLEBEES on a date night and OREO shakes with his hit song, "Fancy Like." FINNEAS is dropping his debut album, "Optimist," next month, and previewed the project with his set, rocking the house with his closing song "The 90s." RUCKER not only performed some of his Country hits, he brought back HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH with "Only Wanna Be With You." And, what's more iconic than closing with fan favorite "Wagon Wheel?"
Rock cult icons WEEZER's set boasted favorites like "BEVERLY HILLS," "Hash Pipe," "Holiday In The Sun," their cover of TOTO's "AFRICA," "Say It Ain't So" and "BUDDY HOLLY" ... all with RIVERS CUOMO boasting his patented mullet and mustache. Fresh off the basketball court, J. COLE took over the stage to perform songs including "LONDON," "Power Trip," "No Role Modelz" and even brought out BAS to perform "The Jackie." The night concluded with NELLY and FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE busting out their collaborations, like "Lil Bit."
EILISH kicked off night two with FINNEAS, performing an eclectic set list consisting of hits from her 2019 album. "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" and her recent, sophomore release, "Happier Than Ever," including "Oxytocin." iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL faves COLDPLAY were next, performing their latest single, "Higher Power" and some old hits, like "Viva La Vida" and "Fix You."
LIL BABY dipped into his 2017 bag and gave the audience a dose of nostalgia, performing "My Dawg" and his 2020 TIKTOK anthem, "Woah,"which he performed alongside a few young TIKTOK dancers. KHALID vibed out along with fans to his hit records "Talk," "Young, Dumb & Broke" and "OTW." He also surprised the crowd by bringing out TATE McRAE to perform their SUMMER anthem, "working."
Red-hot SCOOTER BRAUN management client THE KID LAROI, after hitting the DAYTIME STAGE earlier in the day, returned to the night two stage to deliver several of his hits. The two-night festival drew to a close with JOURNEY, which got the crowd off their feet with striking vocals from ANREL PINEDA and indelible performances from NEIL SCHON, JONATHAN CAIN, DEEN CASTRONOVO and MARCO MENDOZA. "Don't Stop Believin'" was the big finale, of course, and the crowd was showered with confetti as the final notes played.
The SATURDAY afternoon DAYTIME STAGE at AREA 15 featured performances by OLIVIA RODRIGO, THE KID LAROI, SAWEETIE, ALL TIME LOW, 24KGOLDN, RUSSELL DICKERSON, YUNGBLUD, GABBY BARRETT, TATE McCRAE and CONAN GRAY.
DUA LIPA and 24GOLDN received their TITANIUM AWARDS, celebrating songs that hit one billion audience spins across iHEARTRADIO stations.
The 2021 iHEART RADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL will air on THE CW NETWORK on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2nd and SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3rd from 8-10p (ET/PT).