By: Mary Jo Almeida-Shore
During the weekend of June 27-28, iHeartRadio and Fontainebleau Miami Beach hosted the third annual iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party presented by VISIT FLORIDA. The two-day music fest drew fans from all over the country, including more than 150 contest winners, who gathered for an incredible bash on the lawn, in the pools, and all throughout the Fontainebleau.
Hosted by Nick Cannon, the iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party kicked off Friday night with exclusive performances by Lil Jon who set the one with his hit “Turn Down for What?!” The energy boomed from there as Tiesto, Iggy Azalea and Ariana Grande took to the stage. Throughout the sets, guests were encouraged to Tweet #Ultimate for a chance to see their tweets displayed live above the stage, just adding to the excitement. The weekend-long party continued Saturday with an all-day pool party featuring sets by iHeartRadio’s house DJs. Fans partied well into late Saturday night with the second live concert event that evening featuring Magic!, Neon Trees and Jennifer Lopez.
By far, the weekend’s show stopper was JLO, who demonstrated that she is equal parts Superstar and “Jenny from the Block” and showed her love for Miami by performing a full concert- complete with choreographed dances, just fueling the already electric crowd. Despite suffering a slight injury on stage, JLO continued her performance without interruption and stopped to talk and pose with fans afterward. Her younger counterparts should definitely take a page from her book. JLO’s proud mama danced to every song she performed. Other highlights from the weekend included: Steve Aoki joining Lil Jon on stage for “Turbulence” and Neon Trees lead singer Tyler Glenn covers Tiesto’s “Red Lights,” Iggy’s “Fancy” and Magic’s “Rude.”
Celebrity guests such as Shaun White, Josh Peck, Matthew Koma, Jake Miller Andrea Navedo, Daniel Sunjata, Katy Tiz, Gina Rodriguez, Mark Salling, DJ E-V, and Zebra Katz enjoyed the Ultimate Pool Party and music by DJ Prostyle, who kept the crowd dancing in between and after the artists’ sets.
The event streamed live for fans nationwide on Yahoo (www.screen.yahoo.com/iheart) and Clear Channel radio stations throughout the country. Grand Prize winner, Pauline Ziadeh and three friends received the ultimate weekend-long fantasy all-access experience at this year’s event. The foursome was flown to Miami on a private jet and taken to their home away from home, an 80-foot luxury yacht docked across the street from the Fontainebleau. Throughout the weekend they enjoyed dinner at renowned restaurant Hakkasan, a $5,000 shopping spree, spa treatments at Fontainebleau’s Lapis Spa, an exclusive poolside cabana, and intimate artist experiences throughout the weekend such as getting “Fancy” with Iggy Azalea decking them out in her favorite accessories topped off with hair and make-up by Iggy’s glam squad in a suite at the Fontainebleau.