IHeartRadio Music Festival 2014 Taylor Swift Ariana Grande, Coldplay

The hottest names in popular music once again came together for the iHeartRadio Music Festival, a spectacle that continues to create must-discuss moments in its fourth year. From rising rock artists like Bastille to hip-hop pros like Nicki Minaj, from Coldplay's stage return to Taylor Swift's 1989 preview, the first night of the annual musical extravaganza at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas promised a one-of-a-kind live music experience,Taylor Swift (and the other acts and groups like Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Usher, Chris Brown and Coldplay) and the iHeartRadio Music Festival, Swift is dressed in a sexy pink two-piece number that shows off her toned abs. The saxophone player is great, as is the entire horn section. Behind Swift, the title of her latest album, 1989, is lit up. As she finishes singing, she thanks the audience and iHeartRadio Music Festival. Also exciting the sell-out crowds were acts like Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, who performed a 5-sgon 30-minute set. Bang Bang was one of the highlights. Jesse J, unfortunately, was not there to participate in the performance, but Ariana and Nicki were terrific. The rapping in Bang Bang was rapid-fire.One Direction kicks off the night at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival by walking the red carpet before their performance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night (September 20) in Las Vegas.5 Seconds of Summer, the hot new band that is opening up for 1D on this summer’s tour, performed at the festival’s village stage earlier in the day. Ed Sheeran, who has worked with both of the bands, also was in attendance that night!Performances got rowdier as the night went on. Motley Crue's rendition of "Girls, Girls, Girls" was a frenzy of motorcycles, pyrotechnics and pole dancers. The Zac Brown Band, a country-folk group, covered Queen's raucous "Bohemian Rhapsody." A more poignant moment came in a surprise appearance by Alicia Keys, who performed her new song, "We Are Here." A rallying cry for peace, the song encourages listeners, "let's talk about Gaza ... let's talk about Israel, cause right now it is real." Usher closed off the night by bringing a crowd-pleasing special guest on stage — Chris Brown, who performed his new single, "New Flame." Their duet ended with a dance off before Usher slipped off his high tops and lit them on fire, letting them burn for a few moments before a stagehand put them out with a fire extinguisher. iHeartRadio takes its name from the music app developed by the broadcasting giant formerly known as Clear Channel Communications. The company, which owns more than 850 radio stations, announced this week that it was changing its name to iHeartMedia to reflect the success of the iHeartRadio brand.