Taylor Swift's Birthday, Jonas Brothers's Excellent Jackets, And More Jingle Ball NYC Highlights

The halls are decked. The season, as you know, is intended for jolliness. And there's no jollier place than Z100's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2019, the five-hour mini festival concert marathon that lit up New York City's Madison Square Garden like a Christmas tree on Friday night (December 13).

Every Jingle Ball is special, nevertheless as this year's first act Taylor Swift reminded us while in her set, this one was particularly notable. It doubled as her 30th birthday party, with over 20,000 well wishers singing to her as well as a three-tiered cat cake to create her smile. And that was just the beginning.

The Jonas Brothers rocked out in their yuletide finest. Niall Horan's festive red pants were a big hit. Lizzo literally wore a Santa suit to preach a gospel of self-love and acceptance. Whether you grew up on an actual Christmas tree farm or aspire to celebrate from afar anyway like it's (already) Christmas, each person had something to love at Jingle Ball. Here are the most sizzling moments that heated up this holiday concert.

Taylor Swift took us all to her "Christmas Tree Farm"

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Right after blasting open the show "Blank Space" as well as a sparkly dress, Taylor popped on a Santa hat and dove right into her twee new holiday anthem. Yet before that, the birthday girl spent "the first show of her 30th year" singing "Welcome to New York" acoustically, commanding a twinkling sea of iPhone lights while in "Lover," and laying out exactly how to her, love means equality. Each person who disagrees needs to 'Calm Down,'" she winked. And then with each other, we all collectively shook it off — the driving rain outdoors, our anxieties, the "toxic male privilege" of the music industry — with one sick beat.

Jonas Brothers, meanwhile, transported us back to New Jersey

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Just a stone's throw across the Hudson River from their childhood residence in Wyckoff, New Jersey, a packed MSG must've felt like a homecoming for Nick, Joe, and Kevin. To close out their personalized record-breaking comeback year (which has easily doubled as a menswear showcase), the trio's jacket-heavy Jingle Ball set brought the heat. Flames shot up for classic cut "Burnin' Up." Tempos surged for a pumped-up rendition of "Sucker." Joe's rose jacket really smoked. The brothers likewise donned ceremonial Santa hats for a festive "Like It’s Christmas," because it's the rules, and reflected on how far they've come. "The last Jonas Brothers show on this stage was 12 years prior Nick mentioned. Back then, they surely weren't such snappy dressers. (Just look at that topcoat!)

We Lauv a good surprise

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Though not billed on the official Jingle Ball itinerary, Lauv crashed the show in a great jacket of his own — a wintry pale blue one at that — to twirl around and deliver "I'm So Tired." Sadly, his collaborator Troye Sivan was nowhere to be noticed, nevertheless in that moment, Lauv didn't need him. He just kept dancing on his own.

Monsta X literally took their own breath away

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Monbebe know: Monsta X can really do the damn thing. Right after sprinting through a rather stylized and choreographed beginning number, the six had to stop for some air before they charged back up for another. They intelligently took the possibility to introduce themselves before diving into "Who Do U Love?," Then proposed an eas plea: "This song came out five days back they mentioned about "Middle of the Night." "Please remember us with it!" From breakneck choreo to slo-mo dance-pop along with a grand finale centered simply around their tender voices and their mic stands (and some fantastic berets), Monsta X showcased their versatility. Although Monbebe already know that.

Fletcher lives out her childhood dream

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Like Halsey soon after her and Nick Jonas before her, Fletcher made sure to shout out her New Jersey roots as she ran through her number of decided breakup pop tunes like "Undrunk" and "One Also Several For her, hitting the Jingle Ball stage is a dream come true since she spent so several years in the crowd as a fan. "This is the craziest thing I've ever done!" She mentioned. "I've been in these seats." She also admitted she saw the JoBros years back from section 225 and even attempted to sneak backstage.

Lewis Capaldi Christmas gift to us? An unexpected cover

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Niall's best bud and self-described "chubby young man" Capaldi was given a gift of his own: a burly however nimble voice that can fill arenas with an eas melodic swell. He did just that on "Before You Go," flooding MSG with astounding power. He certainly closed out his brief however memorable set with "Someone You Loved" and even jokingly called it his one-hit wonder moment. Nevertheless the real present to us was his aching take on Vanessa Carlton's indelible piano-pop hit "A Thousand Miles," which Capaldi fully made his own. Christmas came exactly 12 days early this year.

No one bested Niall Horan's spirit — or his red pants

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Lewis's genuine pal hit the stage looking like a White Stripe, zipping right into "On the Loose" and letting his musical group jam on an extended Fleetwood Mac-type groove before getting deep into sad-bastard ballad territory. He also dropped a F-bomb on also Much to Ask" as we crossed into 10 p.M. (FCC safe harbor, baby!) and got MSG rocking with the one-two punch of "Nice to Meet Ya" and "Slow Hands." "Let's tear the roof off this place," he instructed; he also plugged his upcoming SNL music slot. Well played, Niall, yet next time you play a gig with Mr. Capaldi — or, mention, a whole tour — how about a fast duet? Is that... Also much to ask?

Lizzo Claus came to town

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Sure, she wore the Kringle cape in L.A., Nevertheless in New York, Lizzo one-upped herself, donning a full-on Santa suit to give those impressive vocal runs on "Cuz I Love You" added shine. "You gotta listen to Santa Claus," she instructed them crowd before letting us know MSG on her watch was to be a "shame-free zone." At this point, any Lizzo set is a greatest hits romp, although here, they really played like it: "Good As Hell" and "Tempo" and "Juice" and, to a rapturous reception that made the seats around me start vibrating, "Truth Hurts." "I've had things happen to me I never dreamed of," she recommended midway through her set, reflecting on a massive 12 months. Not a bad cap on 2019 — or as we may refer to it decades from right now, the Year of Lizzo.

5 Seconds Of Summer pumped the place back up near midnight

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2019 brought a whole new side of 5SOS, darker-edged and influenced by Nine Inch Nails and New Group. They kept it classic to begin, naturally — "She Looks So Brilliant is an eternal crowd pleaser — although Luke, Michael, Ashton, and Calum ruled the later segment of the evening by turning the volume way the hell up. Their silky Charlie Puth collab "Easier" sounded like a stomper, and "Teeth" live is basically a nu-metal song. Though they didn't team up with Monsta X for the ultimate mash-up of songs called "Who Do You (U) Love," the quartet did reflect the K-pop group's color palette — which is to mention they wore all black. (No berets though. Next time.)

Halsey lit up the place with a final buzzer beater

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The Halsey just hits differently at midnight, you know? Though MSG's curfew cut her dynamic set a little short, H used every second intelligently. She blasted the stage with fire for "Nightmare." She shouted out her Garden State upbringing before and while in "Bad at Love." She brought it down for a moment with "Graveyard," only to close out Jingle Ball 2019 by revisiting, as she mentioned, the No. 1 most-played radio song of the year, "Without Me." As soon as she was a kid, she mentioned, trim pretend to be sick so she may stay residence and attempt to call in for Jingle Ball tickets. Right now, she gets to watch the other performers up close. It's the most good time of the year.