iHeartRadio Music Festival again showcases acts from across genres, generations

Radio and TV personality Ryan Seacrest, who served as emcee for last weekend’s iHeartRadio Music Festival, opened the second edition of the two-night festival by promising a “one-of-a-kind” show to those attending Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

While the ensuing four and a half hours easily delivered on Seacrest’s vow, a more apt promise could have been “something for everyone.”

Saturday night’s lineup included pop from the New Kids on the Block and Halsey; Doja Cat and Big Sean’s takes on hip-hop and rap; pop-influenced country offerings from Keith Urban; a lively set of R&B, pop and soul selections performed by Victoria Monét; Hozier represented the alt-rock/indie industry; Coldplay’s Chris Martin wowed the crowd with post-Britpop melodies; and The Weeknd’s set packaged his brand of R&B, new wave and alt-pop.

And in their own way, each was outstanding.

New Kids on the Block, the boy band that rose to fame in the mid-1980s, opened the show. A day after they announced their first Las Vegas residency (June 20-July 5 and Nov. 1-15, 2025 at Park MGM), band members Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood took the crowd back to 1988 with their hit “You Got It (The Right Stuff).” A little longer in the tooth than they were 40 years ago, the “kids” still glided across the stage with crowd-pleasing choreographed moves. Just before their set ended, Wahlberg thanked the audience for their help in NKOTB getting their first top-20 chart hit in 20 years, “Kids,” which they performed with guest artist and uber U.S. women’s water polo team fan Flavor Flav as their walk-off.

It was the start of a night filled with memorable moments. Among the biggest was when Martin, appearing without his Coldplay bandmates, took to the stage. He mesmerized the now-standing crowd playing an acoustic guitar and singing an abbreviated version of the 2014 hit, “A Sky Full of Stars.” Next up, Martin traded his guitar and took a seat at a piano for “Hymn for the Weekend,” and a cover of the Chainsmokers’ “Something Just Like This,” a song that led Martin to graciously tell the crowd, “I can’t sing it very well; you sing it better than me.” He then returned to Coldplay’s catalog, singing “Viva La Vida” while playing the acoustic guitar, and a piano-backed rendition of “Yellow”that absolutely captivated the arena. For his finale, Martin brought out Palestinian-Chilean singer-songwriter Elyanna to add vocals to “We Pray,” which Coldplay released last month and will be released as a single on their upcoming album, “Moon Music.”

Other standouts from the night included Doja Cat, who enticed the crowd dancing and twerking to several of her pop anthems, “WYM Freestyle,” “Demons,” “Need to Know” and “Paint the Town Red.”

Irish singer-songwriter Hozier, backed by his full band, rocked the night with his set that included his newest hit “Too Sweet,” and his debut single from 2014, “Take Me to Church,” a song that was punctuated with special effect-lighting that appeared to set the stage ablaze.

Urban, who begins a five-night residency Oct. 5 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, performed three songs — “Messed Up As Me,” “Straight Line” and “Wildside” — from “High,” an album he released Friday. The talented guitarist also sang a pair of hits from his 2016 album, “Ripcord”: “Blue Ain’t Your Color” and “Wasted Time.”

Halsey, whose live-performance schedule has taken a backseat the past couple of years while plagued by a form of lupus and a rare T-cell disorder, performed a set that included “Nightmare,” “You Should Be Sad,” and “Closer.” In an emotional conversation with the audience, Halsey admitted their love of performing, saying, “I fought my way through a very long hell to be on this stage right now. It just hits different.”

Big Sean was emotional for a different reason. The hip-hop artist’s father was in the arena for the evening, and in addition to giving a shoutout to his father, Big Sean also dedicated “On Up,” from his new album “Better Me Than You,” to his year-old son. The audience joined in with him on hits including “My Last,” “Dance (A$$)” and “Bounce Back.”

Victoria Monét’s “Jaguar” series was the exclusive focus of the Atlanta songstress’ set. She began her high-energy, dance-filled set with “Alright” and “Cadillac (A Pimp’s Anthem)” from her “Jaguar II” album, then segued to three songs from “Jaguar,” “Ass Like That,” “We Might Even Be Falling in Love,” and the title track before closing out with “On My Mama,” from “Jaguar II.”

But in a night filled with shining moments and over-the-top performances, none came close to the finale served up by The Weeknd. Standing atop a multitiered, wedding cake-like mise-en-scène, with a legion of at least 60 dancers clad in red veils and red bodysuits below his perch, The Weeknd delivered a feverish set introduced by his new single, “Dancing in the Flames.” Dressed in an elaborate hooded robe, motioning from above the spectacle as if he were a high priest and backed by a dazzling light show, the artist followed up with “Take My Breath,” “Sacrifice” and his 2020 megahit, “Save Your Tears.” The Canadian-born superstar ended the night with “São Paulo,” “Blinding Lights” and a reprise of “Dancing In The Flames.”

Reports were just as ebullient from the Friday night edition of the music festival, with performances by the Black Crowes, Camila Cabello, Gwen Stefani, Thomas Rhett, Shaboozey, Paramore and Dua Lipa.

Celebrating its 14th year in Las Vegas, the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the “biggest multigenre musical event anywhere,” lived up to its billing.

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