The 2020 iHeartRadio ALTer Ego was one for the books.
The alternative music event, now in its third year, had a little something in it for everyone. Fans of all ages were able to share one live for a few hours at the “Fabulous” Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday (January 18) with unforgettable performances from Coldplay, Billie Eilish, The Black Keys, blink-182, The Lumineers, Rex Orange County and SHAED.
As the only female solo artist on the lineup, Billie Eilish kicked things off with her biggest single, “bad guy” and “My Strange Addiction.” The 18-year-old had the whole crowd on their feet throughout her entire epic 40-minute set, encouraging them to jump, scream, and sing along to her chart-topping hits. The GRAMMY nominee ended her set with “bury a friend.”
Next, bringing the nostalgia back to the stage was blink-182, who have been a band for over 20 years. Travis Barker, Matt Skiba, and Mark Hoppus made generations of fans happy by featuring singles from their first album to their last, including classics like “All the Small Things,” “What’s My Age Again,” “I Miss You,” and “First Date.” Along with the classics, blink brought the humor on stage, especially with Hoppus, who joked about playing a song that was in the “Alvin and Chipmunks” movie. The band ended their set by mixing TLC’s iconic “No Scrubs” with their 1997 single “Dammit.”
“Because this is a festival, we chose a bunch of singles. We wanted to come out and put our best foot forward and play songs that people who wouldn’t necessarily listen to blink-182 would recognize and get into,” blink-182 band member Mark Hoppus told Celeb Secrets on the red carpet. “We have some deep album cuts for the hard core fans and will blaze through the 40 minute set and have a good time.”
Next was rising star, Rex Orange County, who took a break from tour to take the stage and perform two songs of his new album Pony as well as a few singles off his previous album, Apricot. He ended the show with fan favorite, “Loving is Easy.”
The most talked about performance of the evening was Coldplay’s, as the band returned to the stage amid the release of their eight studio album, Everyday Life. The platinum-selling band brought a mix of new sounds from gospel, to having a Nigerian band on stage, to performing fan favorites “Fix You” and “Vida La Vida.” Coldplay are performers, storytellers and full of life, it explains why the iconic group still sells out tours today.
The Lumineers’ appearance at ALTer Ego marked their first stop ahead of their III world tour and they did not disappoint. The band sang beautiful songs with ladies names in them from each of their albums from “Ophelia” to “Gloria” and “Angela.” In addition, the band riled the crowd with “Ho Hey,” having every single audience member singing at their top of their lungs.
The Black Keys followed with an epic closeout by bringing back real rock n’ roll to the stage. The band sang songs off some of their 9 albums, including fan favorites such as “Lonely Boy” and “Howlin’ for You.”
For more behind-the-scenes content from iHeartRadio’s ALTer Ego, click here.
