As the doors opened at 6:00, South Floridians started entering the stadium to see the Y100 Jingle Ball.  When it was about a half hour until show time, fans were in their seats apprehensive to see the first performance.  At 7:00, the show kicked off with American singer Demi Lovato.  The crowd roared as she stepped onto the stage and sang one of her most popular songs, Skyscraper, which debuted on Billboard 100, a ranking of songs based on Billboard magazine, in the top ten.  She released her third studio album on September 20, 2011, titled Unbroken, which has made her very popular in the recent months.

Next, an American pop music duo appeared towards the back of the stadium, called Karmin.  They performed their unique cover of “Look At Me Now,” which was originally recorded by hip-hop artist Chris Brown.  Nick Noonan played the resounding chords on the keyboard in this song while Amy Heidemann sang the vocals.

Then, Foster the People took the stage and the crowd went nuts.  The pop band is composed of lead singer Mark Foster, drummer Mark Pontius, and bassist Mark Pontius.  They made sure to play their hit song “Pumped Up For Kicks,” which is on their debut album Torches, which was released in May 2011.  This song hit number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

Cody Simpson came on next, appearing in the back with the spotlight on him.  He is only 14 years old, yet he is an up and coming Australian pop singer.  He has a great voice and sings along with his acoustic guitar.

Gym Class Heroes was the next act and they lived up to the expectations.  They came out with their old classic song, “Cupid’s Chokehold,” from their album As Cruel As Children, which they released in 2006.  There is a story behind their group name, as lead singer Travie McCoy and drummer Matt McGinley met and became friends at their high school’s gym class in ninth grade in Geneva, New York.  They came to be in 1997.  Travie McCoy also has a bit of solo career, as he performed his single “Billionaire” which he recorded with Bruno Mars.  They finally played their latest hit song, “Stereo Hearts,” which is off their album The Papercut Chronicles II.  Adam Levine from Maroon 5 helped to record that song, and it hit #4 on the Billboard 100.

Canadian pop singer Avril Lavigne was next to perform.  Bringing back memories for every teenager in the building, she played her song “Sk8er Boi,” which comes from her debut album Let Go which was released in 2002.  While she played her song “Girlfriend,” she was dancing all over the stage ad made the mood very energetic in the building.  The Script, which we had previously interviewed over the phone, was the next act.  They are a band from Ireland.  Our interview about them can be seen here: http://www.sweptawaytv.com/index.php/2011/09/the-script-interview/.  They ended with “For the First Time,” and really got the crowd into it as they sang the chorus in sync with the crowd.

An American band formed in New York City called Cobra Starship came on next in the back of the crowd.  They are composed of lead singer Gabe Saporta, guitar Ryland Blackinton, bassist Alex Suarez, drummer Nate Novarro, and keytarist Victoria Asher.  They made sure to play their hit song “You Make Me Feel…” off their album Night Shades, and Asher got the crowd “La La La”ing with the chorus of the song. ***Ryland and Alex are Boca Raton natives and graduated from Olympic Hts High School.

Next was Kelly Clarkson, an American pop singer who came onto the scene in 2002, when she won American Idol in its debut season.  She has always been well known but she recently has been popular after releasing her fifth studio album Stronger in October of 2011.  She sang “Mr. Know It All,” which is her first single off the album.  In the background on the screen during the song, criticisms of Kelly Clarkson came on in a montage, one of them saying “Kelly Clarkson is fat.”

The highly anticipated LMFAO came on next, with the people of Y100 saying they did all their previous shows to warm up for this one.  The crowd exploded into screams, and LMFAO came out opening with “Sorry for Party Rocking.” They are an electric pop duo consisting of Redfoo and SkyBlu, who is Redfoo’s nephew. LMFAO is known for their dance moves, and when they ended with their hit song “Sexy and I Know It,” they made sure to “shuffle” and “wiggle” the whole time.  The crowd knew the lyrics to all their songs and made sure to sing along and dance.

Known as the world’s best DJ, David Guetta came out next and got a loud cheer from the audience.  He is a French house music producer and DJ, and is popular all across the world, especially in Europe.  He made sure to mention that Miami always played his records back when he was not as popular, while the rest of America played house music from other artists.  He got the crowd dancing and moving with his rhythms and beats off of his fifth studio album, Nothing But the Beat, which came out in August of 2011.  His performance included many unique designs lighting up the screens in the background.  Flo Rida made an unexpected appearance, and performed in David Guetta’s song “Where Them Girls At,” which also features female sensation Nicki Minaj.

Flo Rida loves to interact with the crowd, as he came out on someones shoulders touching the crowd’s hands.  Lastly, known as Mr. 305 as he is from Miami, Pitbull came out in his standard suit, tie, and sunglasses.  The crowd loved him and sang with him in every song.  He made sure to play hits from his latest album, Planet Pit, which was released in June of 2011.  Songs that he sang from this album included “Hey Baby (Drop it to the Floor),” which he produced with T-Pain, and “Give Me Everything,” which features Ne-Yo, Afrojack, and Nayer.

The show was then over after Pitbull performed “Hotel Room Service,” which hit #9 on the Billboard 100, and all the fans got what they wanted hearing today’s hit songs live.  Overall, the Y100 Jingle Ball was a spectacular show.

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LMFAO Jingle Ball 2011

December 10, 2011 was the day for Y-100’s annual Jingle Ball concert, a night full of today’s top pop and rock artists performing. Live from the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida performed huge musical stars such as Pitbull, Demi Lovato, the Script, Kelly Clarkson, LMFAO , and more. Thousands of South Florida music fans came out to watch their favorite musicians perform their top songs during this annual holiday festival.

Demi Lovato Jingle Ball 2011

The show opened up with Demi Lovato who came out singing her top songs such as Unbroken, Skyscraper, and My Love is Like a Star.  Following Demi was Brookline Massachusetts’ new band, Karmin on a separate stage. The 2 member band came out singing their remake of Look At Me Now, Firework, and more. Foster the People then came out with extreme enthusiasm singing their top single, Pumped Up Kicks. Foster the People also sang Don’t Stop(Color on The Walls) causing the whole building to sing along with them.

Karmin

Back on the second stage came out the love of every teenage girl’s life, Cody Simpson. With his acoustic guitar, Cody sang along with his fans in the arena, causing thousands of people to sing along with the young Australian. Following Cody was American Pop and Rock Band Gym Class Heroes. With Miami’s own, Travie McCoy, the band sang Top songs such as Stereo Hearts, Billionaire, and Cupid’s Chokehold. Next came Y-100’s own DJ Mix Cartel playing some tunes before Canadian Pop Artist Avril Lavigne got ready. Once Mix Cartel was over, Avril came out and sang some of her most famous rock songs such as Girlfriend, Skater Boy, and Complicated. Avril and her rocking band shook the arena with her performance.

After Avril came out Irish Rock Band, the Script. The Script came out singing their top singles Breakeven, For The First Time, and More. The band performed terrifically, with Danny O’Donoghue and Mark Sheehan rocking the show. Next came out Cobra Starship on the second stage singing the top hits, You Make Me Feel.., Good Girls Go Bad, and Middle Finger.  Succeeding Cobra Starship was American Idol Winner, Kelly Clarkson. Singing along with the thousands of girls, young and old in the stands, Kelly sang Stronger, Behind Hazel Eyes, Since U Been Gone, and more.

After Kelly came the most interesting performance of the night, LMFAO. Currently holding the #1 song and #11 song in America, LMFAO sang their top songs, such as Party Rock Anthem, Shots, Sorry For Party Rocking, I’m In Miami B*tch, and of course, Sexy and I Know It. Even though Sky Blue was absent, LMFAO with the help of their mascot robot shuffler and their world famous wiggling and shuffling rock the Bank Atlantic Center.

Once LMFAO left the stage, world famous French DJ David Guetta came out and rocked the room. Playing top songs of the day and some of his own with other artist, Guetta changed the tone of the show from a fun atmosphere with LMFAO to a nightclub atmosphere. With Guetta came out Florida’s own, Flo Rida. Once Guetta left the stage, Flo came out again singing his top new hit, Good Feeling, while moving around in the crowd on the shoulders of his body guard. After Flo came out the closing act of the night, Mr. 305 himself, Pitbull. Pitbull came out in his suit and shades singing his top hits such as Hotel Room service; Shut it down, Calle Ocho, and Rain over Me. With the crowed with him, he closed the show with his former #1 hit, Give Me Everything. The song was a great way to end a great, star filled night.

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NEW ALBUM by Florence + the Machine: Ceremonials

By: Laura Saker

Florence + the Machine have just released their newest album, titled, Ceremonials. This is the band’s sophomore album. The most popular tracks on this album are: “Only If for a Night”, “Shake It Out”, and “Never Let Me Go”.  The album all together is very creative, passionate and blissful. Florence Welch’s voice is unique and really makes the lyrics come to life. All of the tracks are very alike in a way; however this makes the whole album appear very peaceful and easy to listen too. The album is appealing to a variety of people and has received excellent feedback from people of all ages. I would recommend this album to anyone that likes soothing music and meaningful lyrics. Ceremonials already hit stores on November 1, 2011. Go pick up your copy today!

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SALMA AND ANTONIO INTERVIEW

By Ben Pawliger and Alex Goldstein

Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas have worked together multiple times in movies, including Frida, Spy Kids 3D, Desperado, and now Puss in Boots. We recently had the opportunity to talk to them about Puss in Boots.

What motivated you to participate in Puss and Boots?

Antonio- “The first motivation is that I saw Shrek and I was very blessed with the new approach to animation movies…And then when they called me, I couldn’t believe it.”

Salma- “I was in Paris and I got a call, and they said would you like to do this, and life couldn’t have been more perfect. I love the Shrek films and I love Antonio and how he skyrocketed and what he did with it and I was so honored I had this opportunity.”

You have worked together so many times, what do you like about working with each other?

Salma- “I have never worked with somebody who is so enthusiastic about what they do. He really is such a storyteller by nature and he loves what he does.  He is also very generous and he makes you better as a performer.”

Antonio- “In a good love story, I tend to think that when you think about things that are working, you have a tendency to lose it. I prefer to not know those things that are making us work.”

If you could give some motivational or inspirational statements to today’s parents and those watching the movie, what would you say?

Salma-“I think it’s important for parents to indulge children’s imagination so their brain can be malleable and so it has no limits to what it can believe.”

Antonio-“In a world like today where everything is so unpredictable and tough, to get the opportunity to make kids laugh, and to give them a few hours of great time together, and go home with a smile and learn some of the values that the movie has, its priceless.”

Who would win a dancing contest between you two?

Salma- “Well it definitely depends on the kind of dancing.  If its flamenco, him, but if its salsa, get out of my way.”

Antonio-“I would definitely win, but 2^nd place is not bad.”

You said that both of you have children, how do they feel about you being in a children’s movie?

Salma-“Well my daughter who saw it once is obsessed with it. She loves the character but is very critical. She continually asks me why I don’t have a hat, which I find hilarious.”

Antonio-“My son is 26 now so he usually has comments like ‘it’s cool pop’ and my daughter finds it to be pretty cute.”

How would you compare working on an animated movie to a normal movie which involves acting and which do you prefer?

Antonio-“It is way easier because you are totally free. You can do it completely on your schedule. The best part is when I record the audio, I have a hat on with a plastic sword to imagine myself as Puss when I record.

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Over the years, they have became more into the hip-hop genre of music. They have just released a new song this summer, called “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win. It is a very good song, in my opinion, but it is for a special listener. I know for a fact if i asked my relatives to listen to this song, they wouldn’t like it, because they are simply not used to listening to this type of music.

The Beastie Boys are very special in that they can rap, sing, and play instruments while all mesh to make fantastic songs. The music video for this also shows an episodic of action figures. It is probably one of the coolest music videos i’ve ever seen. Although the beastie boys aren’t on the radio that often anymore, they are still an extremely popular music group, and have received an extravagant amount of awards for their music, which consist of: best rap performance; best hard rock performance; best alternative performance;best rap album;best pop instrumental; etc.

As you can see, they produce all different types and kinds of genres in the music industry, and i would like to see even more out of this very talented group!

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by Jake Wasserman

Twenty-eight-year-old Lil Boosie has been a rapper since 2000.  He is not very popular in comparison to other rappers.  He did feature in a once very popular rap song with multiple artists, “Out Here Grindin’,” by DJ Khaled.  Currently, he is serving a 4-year jail sentence.  He presents rap music with a very simple beat to rap over.  His rhymes are right on.   In “Dime Piece,” he likes to reiterate his chorus.    In the music video for “Dime Piece,” many camera shots are at a strip club with him dancing with the girls.  Also, many shots are shown with him reading lyrics out of a notebook.  By depicting this image of him reading lyrics out of notebook, he is showing is everyday life: writing lyrics.  To enjoy this artist, you have to really enjoy rap, since his music really is not about the beat and instruments, even though the snare drum is used constantly which is a great addition to a rap song.  His music is more about the lyrics and style of rap.

David Guetta, a 43-year-old French House music producer and DJ, has been popular all over the world.  His music has been topping the charts and people cannot stop dancing to his music.  One of his newest hits, “Where Them Girls At,” has been a hit all over the radio.  This tune is very upbeat and gets people stomping their feet and bopping their heads.  The beat that David Guetta gives to the song is simple, yet listeners never get bored of it.  In the music video, he features the two artists singing in the song, Nicki Minaj and Flo-Rida, who nail their lyrics down.    It starts out with a camera shot over a city with skyscrapers with bubbles everywhere.  David Guetta is featured on top of a skyscraper as a DJ.  Overall, David Guetta keeps on topping the charts in Hip-Hop and Dance music.  He is one of the best artists today that produce dance music.

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Baby missiles & come to the city

Baby missiles

Baby Missiles is an upbeat, catchy, alternative rock song by the American Indie rock band, The War on Drugs. The Music video is clips of videos taken by the band on tour. Some of the videos include clips from on the bus, views of American farmland, and even some sights in Rome. Throughout the video though are some odd-looking shapes and patterns. The clips fit perfectly though with the video, creating a gentle and exciting tone throughout the video.

Come to the city

Come to the city is one of the War on Drug’s most popular hits, due to its catchy tune and its feel good attitude that results from listening to it. The music video shows clips of girls throughout and in between the clips are moving red lines. The tone of the video fits great with the music selection. Philly’s Indie group has once again created a great music video.

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