Cr. Ericka P.
Kicking off the holiday season with a bang, Los Angeles’ KIA Forum hosted the highly anticipated 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concert on December 1. Organized by iHeartMedia, the annual event has become a staple in the City of Angels for bringing together some of the year’s hottest musicians together on one stage. This year’s star-studded lineup consisted of Olivia Rodrigo, Niall Horan, AJR, Sabrina Carpenter, Miguel, Doechii, Flo Rida, and K-Pop acts (G)I-DLE and P1Harmony. Despite being a sold-out event, music enthusiasts flocked to the KIA Forum Parking Lot for a chance to score free tickets at the 102.7 KIIS FM Jingle Ball Pre-Show Village. The free, open-to-public event served as a lead-up to the main event, providing attendees with additional activities, entertainment, and even live performances from a diverse mix of artists.
Around the Village
Around the Village, activations with photo opportunities and freebies awaited attendees. At the It’s Boba Time tent, fans quenched their thirst with two different boba drink flavors while at BumBumz they were challenged to win adorable, sushi-themed beanie toys in a toy toss game. For beauty enthusiasts, LA Girl Cosmetics allowed fans to spin a wheel to win free cosmetics. The freebies were abundant, and several activations offered opportunities to win tickets to the main show or guaranteed seats to next year’s Jingle Ball. Many K-Pop fans, however, could be found at the Village’s stage, armed with their lightsticks and fanmade signs, eagerly anticipating their favorite acts to take the stage. At the Village stage, (G)I-DLE and P1Harmony both made onstage appearances alongside YouTube sensation singer-songwriter Teddy Swims, rapper and singer-songwriter charlieonafriday, rock musician GUNNAR, and TikTok rising artist Paul Russell.
Interview with (G)I-DLE
Local radio host Jojo Wright (AKA JoJo On The Radio) welcomed (G)I-DLE to the stage for a quick Q&A interview. Despite having arrived in LA just the day before, Yuqi, Soyeon, Miyeon, and Shuhua (Minnie was absent from the Village appearance) were all smiles as they happily greeted their fans, called Neverlands. When discussing their latest album ‘HEAT,’ Shuhua selected the laid-back track, “Tall Trees” as her favorite while Soyeon and Miyeon expressed their love for “Flip It” and “Eyes Roll” respectively. Yuqi, sharing the members’ growing excitement for their main stage performance that evening, said that performing at the Jingle Ball mainstage was a dream come true. “As a fan of Jingle Ball for a while, we are honored to attend. So thank you for inviting us!” she stated. Turning back to the crowd she added, “For tonight, we prepared a lot of surprises and something that you have never watched before, so please stay tuned for tonight!”
Next Year and Future Plans
As the year is drawing to a close, (G)I-DLE admitted that they will be making big moves in the new year — starting with a new album. “Next year’s gonna be amazing because we have a lot of stuff to show you guys, so please wait for us!” Yuqi assured the screaming crowd. After a quick ending fairy pose to the crowd, the girls bid farewell to the audience and wished to see everyone later that evening for their main stage performance.
P1Harmony’s Performance
As the sun began to set, P1Harmony lit up the Village stage with their high-energy set. After a brief introduction from JoJo, members Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul, and Jongseob burst onto the stage with the opening guitar riffs of “Doom Du Doom,” the title track off of their ‘HARMONY: ZERO IN’ EP. Pounding their lightsticks up in the air to the beat, their fans called P1eces belted the lyrics along to the rhythmic chorus before switching to cheers as Soul showcased his breakdancing in his dance solo. After individual introductions, P1Harmony slowed things down with their latest single, “Fall in Love Again.” Released on November 8, the bilingual pop track, produced by Grammy award-winning producer C. “Tricky” Stewart and Believve, charmed everyone with its sweet lyrics about love. The group paced up and down the stage, waving and serenading their P1eces in the audience. As the sun dipped below the horizon, P1Harmony closed out their set with a passionate performance of “Jump” from their ‘HARMONY: ALL IN’ EP. Together, P1Harmony and P1eces jumped in their spots, hyping themselves up while simultaneously raising their body heat to fight off the chilly night breeze. From (G)I-DLE’s Q&A session to P1Harmony’s electrifying set, the K-Pop fans in the Village left feeling satisfied and looking forward to both acts’ highly anticipated Jingle Ball performances. While the Jingle Ball Experience in LA has come to a close, K-Pop fans can look forward to more as (G)I-DLE and NCT Dream take the stage at upcoming stops on the 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour.
PHOTO GALLERY
