The holiday season is arguably the most wonderful time of the year.  One of the highlights of December is the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball, which is a national concert tour sponsored by iHeartMedia.   The most famous show is the Z100 Jingle Ball, which is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  Every year, tens of thousands of fans go to this stadium to see their favorite artists perform.

This year, Jingle Ball came to New York City on Dec. 8.   The singers performing at Madison Square Garden included Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, The Chainsmokers, Sam Smith, Halsey, G-Eazy, Fall Out Boy, Demi Lovato, Cheat Codes, Logic, Charlie Puth, Niall Horan, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We.

The concert began with a calming performance by Ed Sheeran, in which he  sang “Castle on a Hill,” “Thinking Out Loud,” and his new version of “Perfect.”  To top it off, he sang “Shape of You,” which had fans dancing and singing in the stands. Ed Sheeran performed exceptionally well at Jingle Ball and even joined Taylor Swift on stage to sing their new song, “End Game.”

Previous One Direction member Niall Horan has gone in his own direction. Over the past few years, he has focused on his own music, and at Jingle Ball he performed a number of his original pieces, including “This Town,” “Too Much To Ask,” and “Slow Hands.” Fans were ecstatic to see how far along Horan has come since the band’s breakup last year.  Horan has been a solo artist for quite some time and his performance at Jingle Ball showed fans that he is doing just fine on his own.

Julia Michaels, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter,  also performed at Jingle Ball, singing not only her songs but also some songs she wrote that other artists sing on the radio.  She performed “Uh Huh,” “Miss You,” “Bad Liar,” “Love Myself,” “Good For You,” “Sorry,” and her new hit song, “Issues.”

“I liked hearing Julia Michaels perform songs that she wrote but does not sing on the radio.  She is really talented, and it was very interesting to listen to her singing songs that she usually doesn’t,” said senior Maddy Wiener.

Popular pop-punk band Fall Out Boy also made an appearance at the concert. They performed “Centuries,” “Tell Me You Love Me,” “Light ‘Em Up,” and “Hold Me Tight or Don’t,” their new song.

“I went to a Fall Out Boy concert not long ago and I love them so much.  I wish I could have seen them at Jingle Ball because they are so amazing live,” said senior Kathryn Pizzuti.

The Chainsmokers performed starting backstage and then made their way to the front. It was a very unusual performance that kept fans excited throughout The Chainsmokers’ time on stage. They progressed their way to the front of the stage and incensed the crowd with their amazing performance. They sang “Closer” with Halsey, “Paris,” “Something Just Like This,” and “Don’t Let Me Down” with Emily Warren.

Finally, Taylor Swift rocked the stage when she sang “Ready For It” and “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” two songs from her new album. Many people have mixed opinions about Reputation, her unconventional new album, yet die-hard Swift fans went crazy for her performance at Jingle Ball.   Then she jammed out to “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off,” and “End Game” with Ed Sheeran who came onstage again for a few minutes. The last song of the night, “Look What You Made Me Do” was the highlight of the night. The noise of the Garden was at an all time high when Swift came on to close the amazing night off. Swift’s transition from a guitar-strumming ingenue to a hardcore pop star has kept fans interested on what she is going to do next. All in all, the iHeartRadio Z100 New York City Jingle Ball was a huge success.  Each artist’s performance was truly incredible and fans were so thrilled to see their favorite singers perform.