Photo: Deanie Chen for iHeartRadio
AJR kicked off their set with a “BANG!,” bursting with energy as they took over the Madison Square Garden stage at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball, presented by Capital One. The trio of brothers — Adam, Jack and Ryan Met — performed at the New York venue, a short distance from the apartment where they’ve written some of their unforgettable songs.
The group continued their Jingle Ball set with tons of fan-favorite anthems, including one that any TikTok user will instantly recognize — a song that Jack said “blew up on TikTok out of nowhere,” exceeding any expectations the brothers had — leading into “Burn The House Down,” “World’s Smallest Violin,” and “Sober Up.”
Ryan took the mic for the final song, breaking down every sound that inspired “Weak,” one of the most popular tracks on AJR’s 2017 project, The Click. Ryan explained that he and his brothers team up to write music in their living room, the trio searches for “weird sounds you don’t normally hear in music.”
Jack and Ryan caught up with iHeartRadio last year, reflecting on a childhood filled with Lego creations and other things that seemingly inspired the brothers to create music in their own unique way (Ryan exclaimed at the time that “the world is our Lego set now!”). He also added at that time that the idea for the concept for “Weak” sparked because of a sticker in the bathroom of a bar.
On the Madison Square Garden stage, Ryan credited loud neighbors — dogs barking, babies crying and more — with inspiring some of their sounds, as well as Star Wars and other iconic films, and other sources that inspired the song. The brothers closed their iHeartRadio Jingle Ball set with “Weak,” ending with an epic finale.
In case you missed it, or just want to relive all of the festive performances, The CW Network will broadcast this year’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball as an exclusive nationwide television special on December 17th at 8pm ET/PT.