Jason Derulo performs Wednesday at UMSL's Mirthday concert at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. (Photo by Danny Reise) (More photos available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/umsl/)
Jay Sean and Jason Derulo, two hot new R&B singers, sold out the Mirthday concert April 21 in the Anheuser Busch Performance Hall at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center.
The headliners created a buzz when they were announced in March and several offices got in on the excitement, according to Jessica Long, student activities coordinator in the Office of Student Life.
“We saw a lot more student excitement with this concert than we have with others,” said Long, who works with the student-run University Program Board to plan the organization’s yearly entertainment and activity calendar.
KSLZ (107.7 FM) broadcast live at the concert and gave away tickets and other prizes. The U student radio station kept up steady promotions during the week.
The Office of Admissions included concert tickets in a package for prospective students. Nearly 30 high school seniors received tickets as part of the UMSL Student for a Day program.
“This program introduces students who have been accepted to the campus,” said John Nichols, an admissions representative. “They attended classes, went to Mirthday activities and stayed overnight in Oak Hall, our undergraduate residence hall. They thought the concert was really cool.”
So did Krista Hedrick, a UMSL senior majoring in secondary education.
“We got to sit in the middle up close. I’ve never been to a concert with a big name like that,” Hedrick said. “It was great to hear music live that you hear on the radio all the time.”
Sean, a British singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer, and the son of Punjabi Sikh immigrants, made his American debut in 2009. His first hit album debuted in England in 2004. Derulo, a 21-year-old American singer-songwriter, actor and dancer, just released his first album. Fitz and the Tantrums, who call the band’s sound “soul-influenced indie pop,” opened for Sean and Derulo.
More information:
http://www.umsl.edu/admission/
http://www.touhill.org/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/umsl/sets/72157623820706091/
