Friday News: iHeartRadio Music Festival To Stream Live (Motley Crue Is Playing!)

New York, NY – September 17, 2014 – The iHeartRadio Music Festival, the history making weekend-long concert event hosted by Ryan Seacrest on September 19 and 20 in Las Vegas, will broadcast live on more than 150 iHeartMedia radio station across the country and will video stream live exclusively on Yahoo Live www.yahoo.com/iheartradio for fans nationwide that cannot attend. The legendary concert event will also air as an exclusive two-night special on The CW, September 29 and 30 from 8 -10 p.m. ET/PT.

Back for year four, the iHeartRadio Music Festival brings to life the music of the iHeartRadio app and celebrates the success of the industry leading digital music service.  The extraordinary lineup which features artists across all genres includes Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Usher, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Mötley Crüe, Zac Brown Band, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Paramore, Iggy Azalea, Train, Eric Church, Lorde, Calvin Harris, Bastille, Steve Aoki, 50 Cent and Weezer, this year's Macy's iHeartRadio Rising Star winner, Before You Exit, and other special surprise collaborations.

The iHeartRadio Music Festival also welcomes celebrity presenters and guests from across the entertainment industry including Fergie, Hilary Duff, Nick Jonas, actor Jamie Foxx, actor Chris Pratt, actor Craig Robinson, Johnny Galecki of "Big Bang Theory," actress Sophia Bush, "Orange is the New Black," stars Taryn Manning, Laverne Cox, Pablo Schreiber and Dascha Polanco, Cecily Strong of "Saturday Night Live," actor Adam Devine, actress Janel Parrish, actor Randy Couture and Karina Smirnoff and Val Chmerkovskiy of "Dancing with the Stars." Guest presenters from The CW series include Gina Rodriguez of "Jane The Virgin," Colton Haynes of "Arrow," Phoebe Tonkin of "The Originals" and Adelaide Kane of "Reign." Clear Channel's own Elvis Duran, Ellen K, Nikki Sixx, Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, The Breakfast Club, Kane, Romeo, Nessa, Cody Alan, Johnjay and Rich, Mario Lopez, Jenn Marino and more to also make special guest appearances.

Fans nationwide can visit www.yahoo.com/iheartradio on September 19 & 20 at 7 p.m. PT to watch the live webcast of the iHeartRadio Music Festival as all the action and amazing musical performances play out onstage. Listeners can also tune-in to their favorite iHeartMedia radio station to hear the live audio stream.  Tune-in on September 29 and 30 from 8 -10 p.m. ET/PT for the two-night special on The CW, featuring live performances and exclusive not yet seen Festival moments straight from Las Vegas. Line up is subject to change or cancellation without notice.

The iHeartRadio Music Festival Village returns Saturday afternoon with live performances by Iggy Azalea, Neon Trees, Kacey Musgraves, Childish Gambino, Magic!, The Pretty Reckless, Nico & Vinz, Lil Jon, 5 Seconds of Summer, Jake Miller and just announced Meghan Trainor at The Lot across from Luxor Hotel & Casino.  Tickets available throughticketmaster.com.

Through a national text-to-win contest more than 370 lucky winners from across the country have been awarded exclusive VIP trips to the two-day concert event.  The Grand Prize winner, Kelli Pankratz from Wichita, Kansas and three friends will receive a weekend-long fantasy all-access experience at the iHeartRadio Music Festival and Village.  They will be flown to Las Vegas on a private jet and upgraded to a Sky Loft suite at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.  Pankratz will then be given the celebrity treatment, with her picture on a digital billboard in Las Vegas and by introducing an act onstage at the Festival with Ryan Seacrest, which will also be included in the CW television special.  The Grand Prize also includes dinner at Yellowtail; a private car and driver; a personal stylist and wardrobe; hair and makeup at an MGM Spa; a private dressing room at the Festival; and access to the official iHeartRadio Music Festival parties. In addition Pankratz will meet her favorite performers and receive a behind-the-scenes tour.

Comments

[Him]

Okay, several days after the initial post, I am going to comment. I had some hope that a one off event, staged for a large audience, might show MC in finer form than some reviews have suggested as of late. VN, cucumbers on his eyes and honey on his pipes, would wipe away years worth of odd singing. VN would, in other words, slough off the Decade of Decadence and sound, at least in part, equal to his three peers (putting aside any well-documented issues I have with some of them as public figures). Alas, I am too optimistic.

After they are announced, do you all see VN stumble onto the stage like a leather-clad Yeti? Right there, behind TL on the piano. It is live and it is . . . "going out on top."

Now, I am kidding some of the posters here (not really taunting, because we have all made our opinions clear).

Thing is, VN sounds like he is really trying (and, recall, he always sounded like he was trying live). So I give him his props. But his instrument--unlike MM, NS, or TL--is on the wane (and I think I am being more than fair). They really don't need backing tracks. His old vocals now follow him around the stage . . . and they are female, and they aren't the Nasty Habits! Call them Fella-prompters.

And listen to the songs (if the smoke and fire don't distract you): (a) does "Home Sweet Home" sound like it is sung way slower than you recall (even if it is played at the same speed as it was originally); (b) note how he strains to say "Body Shop" without gasping for air before "Marble Arch"; (c) would "Kick Start My Heart" sound better if the backing vocals were the only ones you heard . . . or do you want to tell me what he said where the "aeroplane" line occurs . . . and does he say "hiring a band" or "started this band"?

I'm not trying to shoot large fish in a small barrel. Fact is, I Heart MC. But I think this is a bracingly clear example of what some fans have said for a few years now, and other fans have denied. As a spent force, MC needs to pack it in. And they are. But, objectively, the majority of that force is spent when it comes to writing music that grabs you and singing songs that approximate "the top" of what this band created.

"Take Me to the Top"? You'd need a chairlift to get VN anywhere near there nowadays.