The 2019 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour made its way to the Big Apple for New York’s turn to celebrate the holiday season with Z100’s Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden on Friday (December 16).
The annual radio show featured performances from twelve of 2019’s top hitmakers, including Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, Dan + Shay, Halsey, Lizzo, Camila Cabello, 5 Seconds of Summer, Monsta X, Niall Horan, Lewis Capaldi, Fletcher, and Lauv. Celeb Secrets was there to catch the star-studded lineup and soak in all of the exciting moments at the event, including Swift’s 30th birthday celebration.
Taylor opened the show with an unforgettable compilation of seven of her biggest hits. Performing songs like “Blank Space,” “Me!,” “Welcome to New York,” and “Shake It Off,” the superstar brought holiday cheer to the stage by wearing a sparkly dress and boot coord with her signature red lipstick.
The evening was a special one for Swift, as December 13 marked the “Lover” singer’s 30th birthday. To celebrate, Z100’s Elvis Duran wheeled out a giant cake — covered in images of each of Swift’s cats — and led over 20,000 people to sing “Happy Birthday” to the GRAMMY Award-winning artist.
“That was the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard,” she said with a huge smile.
Another iconic moment from the night came from the Jonas Brothers, who made their return to Z100’s Jingle Ball for the first time in twelve years. Giving fans a taste of their Happiness Begins Tour that stopped by the same venue for two nights in August, the guys brought out all the hits for the sold-out crowd, including “Sucker,” “Burnin’ Up,” “Year 3000,” “Only Human” and their new Christmas tune “Like Its Christmas.” The guys even wore Santa hats while playing the cheeky holiday song, making everyone in the building go absolutely wild.
Dan + Shay are officially the first country act to perform at a Jingle Ball and they did not disappoint. The GRAMMY Award-winning duo proved that they earned their spot on the lineup, showing off their extraordinary singing and guitar playing skills while singing songs like “Speechless,” “All To Myself,” “10,000 Hours,” and of course “Tequila,” which Shay Mooney held his last note for nearly an entire minute.
Performing at Madison Square Garden was a full circle moment for almost all of the artists on the lineup, however, it was extra special for New Jersey natives Halsey and Fletcher and former NYU student Lauv. The three artists always dreamed of performing their original songs at the World’s Most Famous Arena, and doing so on Friday solidified that their hard work is truly paying off.
Other celebrity guests in attendance included Tina Fey and Broadway’s Mean Girls actress Renee Rapp, Olivia Wilde, Drew Barrymore, Katie Holmes, Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Jennifer Aydin and more.
You can catch Z100’s Jingle Ball again on Friday, December 19th @ 8PM ET/PT on The CW, as the entire concert was taped for an exclusive nationwide television special.
Check out all of our interviews from the red carpet at Z100’s Jingle Ball and make sure you’re following us on Instagram at @celebsecrets, as we’re giving you backstage coverage from Jingle Ball in LA, Philadelphia, New York and Miami!