Perez Hilton’s One Night In LA 2012
Featuring: Far East Movement, The Wanted, The Saturdays, Iggy Azalea, Walk The Moon, Rita Ora, Melanie Amaro, IM5
September 6, 2012
The Belasco Theater
Los Angeles, CA
By: Nevra Azerkan
The last time I went to Perez Hilton’s One Night in LA was in 2010 and it was a free show that he was able to get sponsored. This year he was charging for tickets with all proceeds going to VH1’s Save The Music Foundation. Definitely missing was a lot of the perks that were present in previous years (photo booths, popchips, etc). However, more acts were added to the lineup, so that could arguably make up for it.
The first act was tween boyband, IM5. I just missed their set, but heard they had some good moves. Next up was X-Factor US winner, Melanie Amaro. Her performance was very low-key, but powerful. Some of the songs she sang included her first single, “Don’t Fail Me Now” and “Love Me Now”.
Rita Ora was probably the act that I was most excited to see that I haven’t seen perform live before. I’d heard a few songs from her and knew there was a good reason for all the hype. She’s even more amazing live. She has a stage presence that can’t be taught and that undoubtedly captivates the audience. She performed “How We Do (Party)” and her latest single, “R.I.P.”.
I saw Walk The Moon the day before performing at the MTV2 VMA Pre-Party and they killed it. I thought surely they can’t be that enthusiastic during every show, but I was wrong. These guys are doing what they love and that’s evident when watching them on stage. They performed their radio friendly hit, “Anna Sun” as well as “Tightrope”.
So, I most certainly do not like to trash talk performers and so I will say that the next performer, Iggy Azalea was just not a personal preference. There wasn’t anything I could really latch on to that I enjoyed about her style of music, but I give her props for having a completely different style that’s all her own.
I knew who The Saturdays were before this show and I was looking forward to watching their US debut performance. A lot of people like to compare them to another British girl group, but The Saturdays are not like the Spice Girls. If I had to compare them
to any group it might be a toned down version of The Pussycat Dolls. They sang “What About Us”, “All Fired Up”, “Notorious” and “Higher”. Their songs are actually really catchy and I can’t wait to see their E! Reality show, which they were filming for at the show. They got the crowd going and there were quite a few enthusiastic male fans that couldn’t get enough of them.
The Wanted came on stage next and it was obvious to all they had already gotten the party started. I wasn’t surprised though, that’s what makes them The Wanted. They’re not your typical boy band and that’s part of their charm. They only performed three songs, which was the shortest set of the night, but I’d have to say those three songs were better than some of the full sets from the other artists. They interacted with the crowd, got the fans to sing along and they delivered some of their hits including: “Chasing 
The Sun”, “All Time Low” and “Glad You Came”. You’ll probably hear from many sources that Max was quite tipsy on stage. It was his birthday, it was after the MTV VMA’s and yeah, he was drinking quite a bit. Even so, he still managed to sing his parts like any other show, the only addition was he made things in between songs (okay, and during) way more entertaining than usual. No need to worry though, all the other guys had his back.
After many fans disbursed, Far East Movement took the stage. From what was left of the audience they were all hardcore FEM fans. They performed their hits, “Like A G6”, “Dirty Bass” and “Girls on the Dance Floor” among others. Being a fan of FEM, I was amped for this set, but while they had the energy and the funkiness on stage, I couldn’t help but feel that
something was lacking. Still I enjoyed all the jumping and craziness that they had to offer.
In between sets there were two DJs playing. I don’t remember their names and frankly you don’t need to know them either. The third DJ that was supposed to conclude the night was Cyrano from The Cataracs. However, since Perez Hilton practically left the scene, no one was there to announce his set and after FEM concluded everyone was already out the door. I actually caught up with Cyrano after and he said he was scheduled to play, but he wasn’t going to for an empty room. That was a disappointment as The Cataracs are one of my favorite acts even though Campa is longer part of the duo.
In the end, I got to see Rita Ora who was unbelievable, got pumped again with Walk The Moon, experienced The Saturdays, got crazy with The Wanted and had fun with Far East Movement. Have to say that’s not a bad way to spend a Thursday night.
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