Preview: B96 Pepsi Jingle Bash 2018

Jingle Bash, Jingle Bash, Jingle all the…wait. Yup, it’s that time of the year once again. The 2018 B96 Pepsi Jingle Bash is back, and it’s only a few months away.

Taking place on Saturday, Dec. 8, the Jingle Bash returns to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., and the show kicking off promptly at 7:30 p.m.

This year, the lineup consists of some of the biggest artists in pop music. Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Cardi B, Mike Posner, Why Don’t We and Lauv will all be taking the stage.

Headliners Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes and Cardi B have all seen massive success this year. Camila’s debut solo album CAMILA debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart. In the same week, her smash hit “Havana” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Camila is the first female artist since Nelly Furtado in 2006 to top both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts simultaneously.

As for Shawn Mendes, he released his third studio album Shawn Mendes, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart and gave him the smash hit single “In My Blood,” which currently has over 200 million streams on Spotify.

Cardi B has also had an outstanding year. She released her debut album Invasion of Privacy, which also debuted at No. 1 and gave her two No. 1 hits “Bodak Yellow” and “I Like It.” “Girls Like You,” which Cardi is featured on, also went No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, making her the first female rapper in history to score three No. 1’s on the Hot 100 in less than a year.

Artists like Mike Posner, Why Don’t We, and Lauv are all newer artists who seem to be on peoples’ “artists to watch radar-” Mike is back with a new single titled “Song About You.” Why Don’t We is making a strong debut with their smash “8 Letters,” And Lauv has proven himself to be a star with his summer smash “I Like Me Better.”

Personally, I am only looking forward to seeing a couple of these artists. Regardless, this is a show I will still be attending.

Camila Cabello is definitely a stand out artist for me. After seeing her live for her first debut performance as a solo artist at last years Summer Bash, I instantly became a fan. Camila was apart of the girl group “Fifth Harmony” for 4 years, until Dec. of 2016 when she announced she was going solo. Even though she was still finding her sound and discovering who she was as a solo artist, Camila clearly knew exactly how she wanted her first solo show to go. Her vocals had definitely already matured since leaving Fifth Harmony, and she knew exactly how to hype up the crowd, despite the fact that at the time, not many people knew who she was. Since the 2017 Summer Bash, Camila had come a long way. I ended up attending her very first solo tour, where her stage presence had significantly improved, as well as her choreography. In less than a year of debuting as a solo artist, Camila already seemed like she had been performing solo for years. In addition, I was able to catch her set at Lollapalooza 2018. Headlining the Lakeshore stage on day 1 of the festival, Camila had the park filled from the front row to the very back. She was officially a superstar. Even though it had only been 4 months since I last saw her, I can honestly say that she had clearly been busting busting her butt to be the best performer she can possibly be. Her vocals had improved even more, her high notes had definitely improved, and she had officially mastered her dancing skills. I look forward to seeing even more progress from Camila at Jingle Bash.

Cardi B is definitely an artist I am interested in seeing, as she has become a worldwide star in just a year. Normally, female rappers don’t catch my attention, but her verses are extremely catchy and the tracks she hops on end up becoming major hits. The Jingle Bashes are normally all about pop music, but Cardi will definitely add some variety to the show, something the Bashes have been lacking for quite some time now. Not to mention, the Jingle Bash will be the first arena show Cardi has ever played. I look forward to seeing her set at this years Jingle Bash.

As for Shawn Mendes, I am not as interested. I have seen Shawn live at previous Jingle Bashes, and although he is admittedly talented, he is very boring to watch. Shawn typically just stands at the microphone with a guitar, something that I have never been a fan of.

Mike Posner, Why Don’t We, and Lauv are all just “fillers” to me, artists that B96 is just booking because they couldn’t get anyone else to perform. In my opinion, none of their songs have any appeal, and they are simply just one hit wonders. After the Jingle Bash, I will probably never seen any of these artists live again. Regardless, I wish them all success in the industry.

As always, I am looking forward to attending this years Jingle Bash. That being said, I do wish B96 had booked more appealing and entertaining artists. Look out for a further review on the Jingle Bash in mid-December!