On Tuesday, September 6th, 2016, Pop-Tarts hosted a college-student filled concert at the House of Blues in Chicago to celebrate the end of summer.
The event celebrated mash-ups — not only in music, like their headliners DNCE and NE-YO, but also in food. Pop-Tarts unveiled their new flavors inspired by classic sodas: Root Beer and Orange Crush.
DNCE, made up of Joe Jonas, JinJoo Lee, Jack Lawless, and Cole Whittle, opened the show the way they do best — with energy, fun outfits, and summer jams. The set list was mostly from their debut EP SWAAY like “Pay My Rent” and “Toothbrush”, but they also performed “Body Moves” from their long-awaited studio album.
The new pop rock band did some covers in their set: including a nostalgic take on “No Scrubs” by TLC and a tribute to Prince’s “Kiss”. They debuted a new single live to the House of Blues audience called “Be Mean” and closed the show with their summertime hit “Cake by the Ocean.”
Just when it couldn’t get any more nostalgic, NE-YO blew the crowd away with a set list full of hits, accompanied by live jazz musicians. “Miss Independent,” “Let Me Love You,” and “Closer” were songs that reigned supreme during the evening.
NE-YO’s showmanship was one of the highlights of the event. Music videos played in the background of each song, and you could tell that the R&B singer and producer loved being in front of a crowd.
While most of his set consisted of older songs, he sang songs from his most recent album Non-Fiction and assured the audience that he was coming back to music with a vengeance.
The Pop-Tarts Soda-Mazing flavors are in stores right now, but they’re only here for a limited time. And even though school is back in session, you can transport yourself to summer with some new (and old) summer hits.
You can find more photos from this event here.