Big Sean, Machine Gun Kelly Rocked L.A. at Pandora’s ‘Sounds Like You: Summer’ Concert
Pandora presented a free concert on Saturday hosted by Kat Graham who also performed ahead of Big Sean, Machine Gun Kelly, Starley, Noah Cyrus, and PRETTYMUCH. The event was held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and was well attended by music fans who also enjoyed tons of free swag provided by sponsors.
Pandora recently launched its "Sounds Like You" campaign with the release of its new on-demand streaming service Pandora Premium. At long last, Pandora has added features much like Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and other music streaming services that allow listeners to create stations and playlists, download music and more.
The concert felt a lot like summer, with beach balls bouncing back and forth across the audience and Kat Graham singing her heart out, performing her single "Sometimes" from the album Love Music Funk Magic. The singer/actress, who recently played Jada Pinkett Smith in the Tupac biopic All Eyez On Me, received tons of love from the audience. Graham also performed her new single "Holdin' On to Love" as well as "What the Funk" and "Time=Money".
Up next was LA based group called PRETTYMUCH who had harmonies that took me back to my Boyz II Men days. Seriously, these kids can "sang", they are dripping with talent and may even have a few moves too. Apparently the X-Factor creator and former American Idol judge Simon Cowell is grooming the five boys for a successful career in music. Nothing says certified stardom like harmonic melodies sang a cappella over screaming teenage girls.
Next to hit the stage was Starley, an Australian based artist with a curly afro that holds its own. Best known for her 2016 debut single "Call On me", Starley is a true testament to never giving up. She shared on stage that this breakthrough single was actually written during a time of depression in her life, she was ready to give up on her singing career. But the 29-year old decided to give it one last go and now she's celebrating a platinum single and deemed one of the signature sounds of summer. The young starlet also performed a sweet cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car".
When you're Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter and Miley's sister, you're bound to fall into the singing trap at some point in your life. But Noah Cyrus seems to have her own natural connection to music that doesn't lean on any familial talents to be genuine. I have to admit, it was the first time I'd heard her sing, and I wasn't sure what I would be getting. But her voice has a strength and passion to it that feels organic and real.
The summer sun finally fell behind the stadium walls and gave us a cool breeze just as DJ Mustard started spinning a hot set to keep the crowd lit. Machine Gun Kelly hit it right before Big Sean and left his bleeding heart on the stage. "I know yall heard the recent bad news," said MGK most likely referring to the untimely death of Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, "it's been hard but thanks for rocking with us today yall, we need it." Kelly was scheduled to open for Linkin Park at a concert in Toronto in August. In the VIP lounge, Starley and her crew danced their asses off when MGK performed "Sail", after which an airplane flew over the stadium which excited Kelly, "Yo! What the fuck is up airplane passengers!!"
It was around 8:13pm and DJ Mustard finally played some Kendrick Lamar. It was lit. Big Sean took the stage and immediately went into his hit song "Paradise". The crowd was all in, for the hits to follow including "I Don't F**k With You", "Blessings", "Moves", "Sacrifices", and "Clique" to name a few. Overall, the Detroit rapper's entire set was uplifting as he inspired the crowd with motivational tidbits nearly between every song. "Remember one man, one woman, one kid, whoever you are, you can change the world! Hands in the air if you believe it!," asserted Big Sean.
The Sounds Like You Summer campaign is a huge push by Pandora to let music lovers know about the new features available on Pandora Premium. Although the popular music site generated $1.38 billion in revenues last year, up slightly from the $1.16 billion in 2015, the company still has not transitioned into the hugely profitable machine that it could be for a tech company who nearly pioneered music streaming capabilities.
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