The 7 Best Moments of the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival, Friday

(photo: Al Powers/Powers Imagery/Invision/AP)

Night one of the fifth annual iHeartRadio Music Festival saw the return of Kanye West to the scene of one of his many musical crimes: Las Vegas’s MGM Grand, where back in May at the Billboard Music Awards, he gave an infamous performance of “All Day” overpowered by smoke machines and disgruntled spectators’ booing. This Friday, his appearance went much more smoothly (he even asked for the lights to be turned up a bit, so that the audience could actually see him this time), but it was a largely uneventful show. The most notable moment came when a pastel-pink-haired Jared Leto introduced Kanye as “possibly your next president.” Hmmm. Perhaps we’ll see a West/Leto ticket in 2020?

That being said, Friday’s fest offered an array of A-listers, including Lil’ Wayne, Kenny Chesney, David Guetta… and surprise performer Shaggy, if he’s still considered an A-lister. But the iHeart moments below were the ones that we hearted the most.

7. Sam Smith Gave Us Full Disclosure

Playing his first-ever Vegas show, the Grammy-winning crooner went back to his roots by teaming with Disclosure, the English house duo that gave him his start. “These guys completely changed my life,” he gushed, recalling how Disclosure brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence discovered him when he was working in a bar at age 18 and drafted him for the breakout single “Latch.” Smith and Disclosure not only performed that crowd-pleaser, but also gave their first live performance of their new hit collaboration, “Omen.” We wish Smith had also debuted his upcoming James Bond theme, “The Writing’s on the Wall,” but this was still a fabulous kickoff to a star-filled night.

6. Coldplay Made a Beautiful Mess

Everyone loved Coldplay’s greatest-hits set… everyone, of course, except probably the poor janitors who had to clean up Chris Martin and company’s beautiful mess. We bet there will still be scraps of star-shaped confetti, which snowed from the ceiling during “A Sky Full of Stars,” littering the MGM Grand floor at iHeartRadio 2016. It. Was. Everywhere.

5. So Jason Derulo Thought He Could Dance

…and he was right! The So You Think You Can Dance judge and pop heartthrob broke out the Michael Jackson-inspired moves (and tore off his shirt, of course) during one of Friday’s most high-energy sets.

4. The Who Reigned O'er iHeart, Virtually

Sadly, the rock legends had to cancel their festival appearance (and postpone their entire North American tour) due to singer Roger Daltrey’s viral meningitis, but they were still there in spirit. Guitarist Pete Townshend delivered a heartfelt pre-taped apology for the band’s no-show, then footage of the Who’s recent Hyde Park “Baba O'Reilly” performance played on the big screen. Honestly, it was a more enjoyable moment that some of the actual live performances that took place at iHeart’s teenage wasteland this Friday.

3. Demi Lovato Jumped Back to the ‘90s… With Stephan Jenkins

“How many ‘90s kids are out there?” asked pop starlet Demi Lovato – a girl who, it should be noted, was born in 1992. And then out sauntered Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins, for what was surely Friday’s oddest odd-coupling duet. “This could be the peak of the night, right here, right now,” Jenkins joked. Some spectators may have wondered why Lovato would want to sing 3EB’s 1998 ballad “Jumper” during her set, but anyone actually paying attention to the song’s lyrics – about suicide and Jenkins’s own difficult childhood – likely understood why Lovato (who has been vocal about her own struggles with self-harm, disordered eating, and addiction) would connect to this confessional '90s classic.

2. The Wild Boys Proved They Always Shine

Comeback kings Duran Duran – the oldest act on this weekend’s bill after Janet Jackson and the Who dropped out, but looking pretty damn ageless – thrilled with a hits-packed set that included “Wild Boys,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Ordinary World,” and “Rio,” along with new tune “Pressure Off,” their best single in years. Another highlight was a dedication of “Notorious” to producer Nile Rodgers, whose birthday was Friday. Rodgers wasn’t there to collaborate in person, but the mood in the venue was still celebratory. It meant so much to us, like a [Nile Rodgers] birthday or a pretty view. We just wished DD had had time to perform the Rodgers-associated “The Reflex,” too.

1. The Killers Totally Killed It

The '90s nostalgia started by Lovato continued with an introduction by alt-rock icon Courtney Love, who declared that despite the influx of superclub DJs in recent years, Sin City “has always been a rock town!” Then the Vegas-bred Killers proved her point – not only representing rock with anthems like “Mr. Brightside,” “When You Were Young,” and “All These Things That I’ve Done,” but repping their hometown by opening with Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas.” They even played in front of a slot-machine backdrop while flanked by feathered showgirls. The Killers totally hit the jackpot with this awesome set. (Side note: And then there was more confetti. Sorry, MGM Grand custodial staff.)

The iHeartRadio Music Festival continues Saturday with Jennifer Lopez (and her ex, Puff Daddy, a last-minute addition to the bill), the Weeknd, Blake Shelton, Fall Out Boy, and many more. Stream all the Saturday shenanigans starting at 7 p.m. PT/ 10 p.m. ET HERE.

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