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USG announces Jason Derulo as Fall Lawnparties headliner

Jason Derulo.jpg

Jason Derulo. Courtesy of Flickr

The University’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) announced today that the headliner for this fall’s virtual Lawnparties will be Jason Derulo. 

In September, USG claimed that this year’s headliner would be “one of the biggest acts Princeton has had in a long time.”

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USG also announced that Glenna Jane ’21 will open for Derulo, beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30.

In an email to The Daily Princetonian, USG Social Chair Sophie Torres ’21 wrote, “We're thrilled to have Jason Derulo and Glenna Jane ’21 perform for the Princeton community and we hope that everyone will be as excited as we are."

Derulo started his solo career in 2009 and has since achieved 11 platinum singles. He has become a well-known name. 

Derulo has come under fire this year for not giving proper credit to BTS for his song, Savage Love, and its success. Derulo collaborated with the band on a remix for the song which eventually charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fans of BTS say that Derulo did not give enough credit to BTS after the song’s success. 

He has also faced criticism due to his use of a song from a teenager on TikTok. He is said to have used the music from this song without giving credit immediately to the original artist. 

In the announcement, USG also outlined possibilities for giveaway prizes such as Tiger for Nassau t-shirts and even a chance to meet Derulo. They asked for students to show their Lawnparties outfit or Halloween spirit by posting on either TikTok or Instagram. By tagging @PrincetonSocComm, students will be entered in the raffle for these prizes.

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This announcement has been long-anticipated since the news in early September that Lawnparties would be held through a virtual format this fall semester. The initial announcement also revealed USG’s plan to spend 42 percent of their budget  — $80,000 — on the event.

Since the first announcement, USG has faced backlash from students over the cost of the virtual performance. It responded to these comments in an email to the student body explaining their decision. 

The rationale included funding constraints that prevented USG from donating the money or saving it for next year. 

USG also expressed its belief in the importance of fostering a sense of community during these challenging times. Still, some students have questioned whether this is the best way to bring Princetonians together this semester. 

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Other Lawnparties funding also went to PUSH, a live streaming consultancy and production company that USG hired to help manage the zoom call. They hope that this agency will improve the quality of a virtual show. 

Jane was approached by USG with the offer to be the opener for Lawnparties a few days ago based on the recommendation of someone who had seen her perform with PURE on YouTube. 

Now that she knows who the headliner will be, Jane said she is “really stoked” for this opportunity.

“If you had told me a year ago that I would be opening for Jason Derulo, I would not have believed you in the slightest,” she wrote.

Though she said she was nervous about performing in front of such a large audience, she said she was excited to sing with guest artists from PURE including Ed Horan '22, Christien Ayers '23, Ewan Curtis '23, and George Rettaliata '21. 

In an email to the ‘Prince,’ Jane spoke to her long musical background.

“Before I even learned how to speak, I was already humming tunes I’d heard from TV shows,” she wrote. 

She attended a performing arts high school in Las Vegas for vocal and choral performance, where she sang classical music and performed in two musical theater shows. 

At the University, Jane is a vocalist for the Princeton University Rock Ensemble (PURE) and is a member of the a cappella group Shere Khan. She was in the cast for Triangle Club during her first year and in Glee Club during her sophomore year. 

She has performed in two Princeton University Players (PUP) shows on campus: Heathers: The Musical and Spring Awakening, as well as several departmental shows and is pursuing certificates in Theater and Music Theater. 

Jane also writes and produces her own music and is planning on releasing a single off her first album next month. 

This story is breaking and will be updated as more information becomes available.