Jingle Ball is one of the most anticipated concert events of the year. Held in many locations across the country, popular singers and bands of all different genres perform top songs. This year, I went to Madison Square Garden and was met with an amazing concert.

The seats I purchased were behind the stage, which made me less excited about the concert. Luckily, they had three screens, making us feel more included in the experience. 

Sitting behind the stage can actually be a positive experience because we got a sneak peek into who was going on stage, and we got to see how hard the backstage crew was working. Additionally, we got to see how long each set was. The more popular artists closed the night, so the length of each set progressed as the night went on. The first few artists were around 15 minutes, and the last approached 30. 

Music legend Cher had a special guest performance, which was very fun. She sang a Christmas song, and her hit song Believe. My top four favorite performances of the night were Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, and One Republic. 

One Republic blew me away especially because I did not have high expectations for their set. The lead singer Ryan Tedder is an amazing performer and has written many other artists songs, including “Halo” by Beyoncé, which he sang at Jingle Ball. 

SZA was so fun, dedicated, and gave a very energetic performance overall. The crowd knew all of her music, and halfway through the set, I could feel the stadium shaking. I was most looking forward to Sabrina Carpenter who did not disappoint. For being 5 ‘0, her stage presence was amazing and it was so fun to sing along to her music.

Olivia Rodrigo closed out the night, and her set was amazing. Everyone in MSG knew her lyrics, making the experience of singing her music live a memorable moment.

One negative about the concert is the length. It started at 7:00, and I did not get out of the stadium until 12:00. I did not have a big issue with the time I got out, but I can see how the length could be excessive for others. 

On the plus side, the concert had breaks between sets. It gave the audience a break to relax, and the crew could clean the stage. After that, the radio hosts of iHeart radio went on stage to announce the next guest.

If you are a lover of concerts I would highly recommend Jingle Ball. Overall it was a great night where I got the opportunity to see some of my favorite artists and discovered new music.