2-Day iHeartRadio Festival Kicks Off On Las Vegas

Swift, dressed in a bedazzled, bubble gum pink skirt and top, opened for the 4th annual festival Friday with hits including “Love Story” and “I Knew You Were Trouble.” A parade of chart-toppers followed her in the nearly five-hour program, including Coldplay, Usher, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande.

The two-day festival – an ode to Top 40 music that shares a name with a popular radio app and is backed by the pre-eminent name in broadcasting – continues Saturday with performances by Lorde, Iggy Azalea, Ed Sheeran, One Direction and more.

Friday brought a steady dose of hits ranging from Coldplay’s classic “Clocks” and “Viva la Vida” to Nicki Minaj’s “Superbass.” Ariana Grande, the former Nickelodeon star whose music has dominated airwaves this summer, performed “One Less Problem Without You” and other hits in a cat-ear headband and thigh high stiletto boots.

There were a few surprises. Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas came to back up DJ Steve Aoki, who worked in his signature gag by hurling a sheet cake at four volunteers in party dresses and button-downs.

Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy crowd surfed from the comfort of a raft, and Jason DeRulo showed up to perform an unannounced set.

Performances got rowdier as the night went on. Mötley Crüe’s rendition of “Girls, Girls, Girls” was a frenzy of motorcycles, pyrotechnics and pole dancers. The Zac Brown Band, a country-folk group, covered Queen’s raucous “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

A more poignant moment came in a surprise appearance by Alicia Keys, who performed her new song, “We Are Here.” A rallying cry for peace, the song encourages listeners, “let’s talk about Gaza … let’s talk about Israel, cause right now it is real.”