And just like that, the 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour is officially over!
On Saturday (December 16), Celeb Secrets headed to The 305 for Y100’s Jingle Ball at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL for one last concert of 2023. With a lineup including Nicki Minaj, Marshmello, AJR, Flo Rida, Ludacris, LANY, Nicky Jam, Shaggy, David Kushner, Kenya Grace, Kaliii, Paul Russell and AleXa, we knew we were in for a high-energy night filled with this year’s chart-topping hits.
The nostalgia was real during Saturday’s show, as artists like Shaggy had the crowd on their feet to his iconic hits “Angel” and “It Wasn’t Me” before Ludacris sang a collection of his timeless tracks like “All I Do Is Win,” “Stand Up,” “Yeah!,” “Baby” and “Glamorous,” noting that this year marked his 20th year in music and 50 years of hip-hop. Every seat inside South Florida’s Amerant Bank Arena was taken with eager fans vibing and singing along to Kenya Grace’s “Strangers;” Paul Russell’s “Lil Boo Thang;” Kaliii’s “Area Codes;” David Kushner’s “Daylight;” LANY’s “ILYSB,” “YOU!” and “XXL;” AJR’s “Weak” and Marshmello’s “Happier.”
The biggest moment of the night came from Flo Rida, who rode on Santa’s shoulders into the crowd to be closer to his hometown audience for an explosive version of his smash hit “Wild Ones.” The 44-year-old rapper, singer and songwriter proved that he’s the entertainer of this generation and his music is absolutely timeless, as fans of all ages were singing along to songs like “Right Round,” “Low,” “Good Feeling” and “My House.”
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Nicki Minaj — who closed the show and tour — was a recent addition to the Y100 Jingle Ball lineup. Since pulling out of her set due to other obligations at Chicago’s Jingle Ball on December 4, the award-winning rapper returned to the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball stage the previous night in Atlanta where she performed songs off her latest release Pink Friday 2. The bar was set high for the “Superbass” rapper, however, on Saturday, Minaj arrived over an hour late to the Amerant Bank Arena, which led to a mediocre, extremely short set that included songs like “FTCU,” “Beez In The Trap,” “Chun-Li” and “Moment 4 Life.” The crowd had mixed reactions as the confused-looking “Queen of Rap” mumbled lyrics into a microphone in the early hours of the morning with a very loud backtrack. They hoped to see their favorite female rapper deliver an out-of-this-world performance that featured some of her most iconic songs, but unfortunately left tired and disappointed.
The 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour kicked off in Tampa on November 26 and made stops in Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Atlanta with its final show on December 16th in Miami/Fort Lauderdale. You can relive some of the best moments from the tour this Wednesday (December 21) when ABC airs a two-hour TV special showcasing the iconic holiday tour beginning at 8PM ET/PT. The event will also be available for streaming beginning next day on Hulu.
For more coverage from the 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, click here.
