27 Surprising Facts About Our 2022 Power 96.1 Jingle Ball Lineup

This year’s iHeartRadio Power 96.1 Jingle Ball presented by Capital One is going to be EPIC! With a lineup of superstar artists taking over the stage at State Farm Arena on December 15, it will be the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season.

Performing at the 2022 Power 96.1 Jingle Ball is Sam Smith, Pitbull, AJR, Macklemore, Khalid, Tate McRae, Lauv, Ava Max and Nicky Youre.

Capital One is the national presenting partner of the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour for the eight straight year, and Capital One cardholders will get first access to high-demand tickets and exclusive experiences through a special Capital One Cardholder Pre-Sale in each city. The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Capital One Cardholder Pre-Sale begins Tuesday, October 4th at 10am local time and runs through Thursday, October 6th at 10am local time, or while pre-sale tickets last. Pre-sale info & tickets will be available at iHeartRadio.com/CapitalOne.

Capital One Cardholders can also add a Capital One Access Pass to any pre-sale ticket purchase (while supplies last) to attend an exclusive pre-show event at the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. stops, which includes a private performance by iHeartRadio Jingle Ball artist Ava Max complimentary food and drinks, and more.

All other tickets go on sale to the General Public on Friday, October 7th at 12pm local time and will be available at www.iHeartRadio.com/JingleBall.

Keep scrolling to learn everything you need to know about our Power 96.1 lineup!

Sam Smith

1. Sam Smith is a huge Lady Gaga fan, and they even once skipped school to lineup for her album The Fame Monster. "Oh, yes! I am a huge fan of Gaga," they revealed. "Gaga, when I was 16, was my everything. Fame Monster, bunked school, queued overnight, did the whole thing."
2. They’ve also gone on the record saying that “We Found Love” by Rihanna and Calvin Harris is their favorite pop song ever. “When I moved to London, I remember that being the song that just changed my life. And still, to this day, I feel like, I think my favorite pop song of all time.”
3. Sam and Normani performed their hit “Dancing With A Stranger'' together for the first time ever at the 2019 Jingle Ball Tour.

Pitbull

1. Pitbull knows how to get the party started. The Miami icon recently served as the powerful opening act for the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival. He performed a handful of his hits from “Hotel Room Service” to “Timber.”
2. Last August, he released his song "I Feel Good," which inspired the name of his sixth solo tour. Mr. Worldwide hit up 32 major cities across the country from August to October, and raked in at least $20 million from the tour.
3. Pitbull just dropped his new single “Mamasota” on the night he performed at the 2022 iHeartMusic Festival. The song, which was produced by IAmChino & Manybeat, is his latest single following other songs like “Cafe Con Leche” and “Can’t Stop Us Now” featuring Zac Brown.

AJR

1. Earlier this year, AJR confirmed that they were making their long-awaited dream come true of writing music for a Broadway musical. The trio of brothers teamed up to compose new, original songs for a production based on the beloved children’s book, Harold and the Purple Crayon.
2. AJR — Adam, Jack and Ryan Met — shared with iHeartRadio last year that Blue Man Group was an inspiration to them as performers, particularly on their tour this year: “We remember seeing the Blue Man Group when we were really young, and being really confused… and thinking, ‘I don’t know what they could possibly do next,’ and then they do it, and it relates back to something that they did earlier, like ‘oh my god, how’d they even think of this stuff?’ I’m glad I was confused because now it’s amazing how it’s paid off.”
3. AJR often break down all the unique sounds that come together to build the hit songs their fans know and love, including a New York City subway conductor's announcement. The brothers spotlight each unique sound on their social media channels, and even took time to do it on stage during the 2021 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball.

Macklemore

1. Macklemore just released his new single "Maniac" featuring Windser. With Ryan Lewis behind the boards, the Seattle native recently described the song as "a relatable record" that has some "throwbackness to it."
2. The "Can't Hold Us" rapper just wrapped up his North American tour with Imagine Dragons earlier this month. Mack hit up 19 major cities, beginning in Salt Lake City and concluding in Los Angeles.
3. Macklemore recently launched his own line of apparel for the golf course. His new brand Bogey Boys features a refreshing line of Cheetah print knit vests, pinstriped sweaters, and multi-colored polos. Mack said his new clothing line is targeted to both golfers and high-fashion connoisseurs.

Khalid

1. Khalid has yet to slow down after he dropped four new singles this year. He kicked things off with “Last Call,” which dropped on the 5-year anniversary of his debut album American Teen. He followed up with “Skyline” shortly afterward.
2. During the summer, Khalid teamed up with Marshmello for their latest collaboration “Numb.” Both artists reunited five years after serving up their first joint effort “Silence.” The duo joined forces on stage to perform the song at the 2022 MTV VMAs last month. “I’m so excited about the song with Marshmello. Every time we work together it’s just like we never left,” Khalid said.
3. Khalid recently provided some context about his upcoming album. He told Elvis Duran and Diamond that he wants his album to give nothing but “happy vibes.” He also won’t have any other features on the album.

Tate McRae

1. One of Tate McRae’s biggest songs is “she’s all i wanna be,” and it almost sounded completely different. Tate told iHeartRadio earlier this year that the upbeat song we all know and love “initially started as a really sad ballad, and then we did a full 180 and changed it into this punk song, which is cool.” Now, it’s “the most satisfying feeling” that listeners can relate to it: “Everyone’s going through the same thing, they just don’t even realize it.” 
2. Tate’s latest album, i used to think i could fly, almost released a week sooner than it actually did. She revealed on TikTok that she pushed her album’s release date back one week so she “could fully enjoy” Harry Styles’ highly-anticipated third studio album, Harry’s House. Tate confidently added later: “not even kidding, ask my label.” 
3. Tate previously pointed out two “Leading Ladies” as role models to her: Zendaya and Jennifer Lopez. Tate said Zendaya is “honestly, one of the classiest, most bad-ass people I've ever seen,” and Jennifer is “the type of woman that I want to be when I grow up, is someone who can touch around in all realms [and] still be fire at everything. She's incredible.” 

Lauv

Lauv just hit the Daytime Stage at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival. During his set, he shared the background story of his hit "Modern Loneliness.” Lauv said the song has a special meaning to him because he felt like he was isolated and lonely when he was growing up.

Right before the iHeartRadio Music Festival, Lauv put on a once-in-a-lifetime performance at the launch of iHeartLand's State Farm Park on Roblox. He delivered several fan favorites like "I'm So Tired" and "I Like Me Better.” The pop singer also spoke with iHeartRadio's JoJo Wright in between songs and answered questions about his latest album All 4 Nothing

Lauv celebrated the release of his All 4 Nothing album last month. During his album release party, he debuted new songs like "Stranger" and "Kids Are Born Stars." A few days later, he kicked off his North American tour in Minneapolis and wrapped up in Las Vegas last Saturday.

Ava Max

1. Ava's real name is Amanda Koci, but she gave herself the nickname Ava when she was 13. 
2. Ava Max is flattered by Lady Gaga comparisons."It’s funny, people compare me to her, but I think she’s such a legend, and she’s untouchable to me. I think she’s as– I see her as iconic. So that’s such a compliment every time I hear that."
3. After releasing "Sweet but Psycho" in August 2018, the song peaked at number one in 22 countries.

Nicky Youre

1. “Youre” is Nicky’s stage name, but it's not too far off from his real name, which is Nicholas Ure. 
2. Nicky quit his job selling computers and hardware for Dell to pursue a career in music. His coworkers were very supportive of his decision telling him, “Dude, you have to do this. Like, you’d be so dumb not to quit right now,” after his song “Sunroof” took off. 
3. Youre played water polo while attending Aliso Niguel High School. He even played in the 2016 CIF Southern Section Division 3 Championship Game and was recognized as Play of the Week in 2016. He continued playing water polo at Golden West College.