Jingle Ball’s Return to Fort Worth Was Joyful and Triumphant

iHeart Radio’s Jingle Ball returned to Dickie’s Arena on Tuesday to kick off another year of star-studded yuletide merriment. Fans donned their gay apparel (some were dressed in full Christmas tree suits and others looked straight out of that talent show scene in Mean Girls) to watch pop radio darlings roll out the hits.

U.S.-born K-pop singer AleXa opened the show with a bang by debuting two unreleased songs, “Sick” and “I’m Okay.” The singer also recounted the story of how she grew up in Oklahoma before relocating to South Korea to pursue music. She finished her set with the single “Wonderland.”

Singer and rapper Paul Russell, known for his breakout single “Lil Boo Thang,” went on next and right off the bat made known his local bona fides as a graduate of Allen High School. He asked if anyone else from Allen was in attendance and a surprising number of people cheered. Either the people of Allen go hard for their hometown heroes or someone was lying for attention.

Next up was Big Time Rush, a boy band that had a TV show on Nickelodeon in the early 2010s and reunited earlier this year. Even if you weren’t plugged into the teeny bopper scene back then, you probably still heard a song of theirs such as “Boyfriend” or “Music Sounds Better” and confused them with the Jonas Brothers or something. Their whole schtick seems pretty cynical on paper, but they’re actually a lot of fun and their music holds up better than most of what their network was putting out at the time (we don’t foresee the musical return of Miranda Cosgrove anytime soon).

Big Time Rush’s comeback is thanks in no small part to their dedicated cult following, and they received some of the loudest cheers of the night.

Los Angeles indie pop band LANY performed next and as the only rock band on the bill, they were standouts by default. Frontman Paul Jason Klein joked that this performance was the first time they’d ever be on the radio. They have established a devoted fandom over the years with many traveling to Fort Worth just to see them. Klein recognized some familiar fans at the barricade and gave them a special shout-out.

Jelly Roll, one of the biggest draws of the lineup, performed a set that was a treat to live through vicariously. He’s had an absolutely meteoric 2023, having won Best New Artist at the Country Music Awards, and he’s now nominated for two Grammys. He listed these accolades and topped them off with the most enviable of them all: meeting Shaggy backstage moments before coming on.

In addition to his biggest hits including “Need a Favor,” he performed some crowd-pleasing rap covers such as  Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend.”

The second and final K-pop act of the night was P1Harmony. We’re not sure if they had the most fans in attendance, but they definitely had the loudest. And who could blame the fans for screaming? The group’s dapper suits and slick dance moves were pretty dreamy. Their performance easily takes the prize for best choreography of the night.

Next up was the aforementioned Shaggy, Mr. Boombastic himself. On a lineup that overwhelmingly catered to Gen Z, Shaggy had the dubious privilege of being the official throwback act of the evening. His performance was fun, and his hits are well remembered, but the highlight of his set was, of course, “It Wasn’t Me.” This timeless classic is infectious enough to bring out the gaslighting adulterer in all of us and is a welcome addition to any party playlist until the end of time.

Singer and rapper Doechii performed next. We just saw her three weeks ago when she opened for Doja Cat’s Scarlet Tour at the American Airlines Center, but we’re not complaining. We enjoyed this set just as much as the last one and will happily see her again next time the opportunity presents itself.

The final performer of the night was Flo Rida, who ended the show with a bang by taking us somewhere we haven’t been in far too long: the club. Yes, we know that clubs still exist in a physical sense. We’re talking about the state of mind that dominated late 2000s and early 2010s pop radio. It was all pumping dance beats and nonsense lyrics about tonight being the night to be who you are because you only live once.

Pop music seems to skew more downbeat these days, so a trip back to a simpler, dumber time with Flo Rida was a welcome early Christmas present.