Surprising Facts About Our 2021 Daytime Stage Performers
By Shayna Spero
September 13, 2021
Photo: Getty Images/Getty Images/Pooneh Ghana for iHeartRadio
The Daytime Stage will also be returning as part of the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 18th, and at a new venue — the new immersive event and entertainment district, AREA15. Taking the stage at AREA15 are Olivia Rodrigo, The Kid LAROI, Saweetie, All Time Low, 24kGoldn, Russell Dickerson, Yungblud, Gabby Barrett, and Tate McRae. with more to be announced. In addition to live performances from today’s emerging artists, the Daytime Stage will also include fan zones and interactive experiences by iHeartRadio's brand partners.
Keep scrolling to learn more about our star-studded lineup!
Olivia Rodrigo
‘SOUR’ wasn’t always in Olivia’s 2021 plans! The singer had originally planned to release a debut EP this year, but after the massive response to “Drivers License”, she asked her label to extend the project to a full album.
Photo: Getty Images
In her song "deja vu", she sings, "Watching reruns of Glee/Bein' annoying, singin’ in harmony", but Rodrigo admits she's never actually seen an episode of 'Glee' before.
Photo: Getty Images
The Kid LAROI
His stage name is drawn from the name of the Aboriginal community his ancestors are from, Kamilaroi.
Photo: NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Laroi spent several months in Los Angeles after signing his record deal living with the late Juice WRLD, who Laroi considered a mentor. Following Juice's passing, Laroi opted to release "Go," as his album's lead single, which includes a verse from Juice WRLD.
Photo: NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Saweetie
Saweetie, a nickname given to her by her grandmother, couldn’t afford studio time when she was in college. The rapper began sharing videos of herself rapping in her car on Instagram, which caught the attention of major record labels.
Photo: Getty Images
Her uncle is rapper MC Hammer and her grandfather is Willie Harper, a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers from 1973-1983.
All Time Low
They almost didn’t release 'Wake Up, Sunshine' in 2020. "Monsters", the lead single from the album, is their first #1 song in 15 years of being a band.
Photo: Getty Images
They started as a blink-182 cover band!
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24kGoldn
Before his music career kicked off, he was a freshman studying business at the University of Southern California.
Photo: Getty Images
“Mood” was a happy accident that resulted from boredom. The song came to him as he was playing around with one of Iann Dior's guitars, according to the rapper. They began recording right away after subconsciously singing some catchy lyrics.
Russell Dickerson
Russell became friends with with Brian and Tyler of Florida Georgia Line in college and are still close today! He was a groomsman in Tyler Hubbard's wedding.
Photo: Photo: Pooneh Ghana for iHeartRadio
He got a job as a guitar tech for a Christian artist after high school, where he learned to love touring and being on the road.
Photo: Getty Images
Yungblud
Yungblud spelled his name wrong on his first comic book. “They spelled my f**king name wrong. So I think there’s like a thousand left of my name spelled wrong. So if you wanna f**king get ’em and take a piss out at me for being a twat and spelling my name wrong, do it cuz there’s like a thousand left of ’em.”
Photo: Adrianna Casiano for iHeartRadio
He was on a UK Disney show called ‘The Lodge’, playing a recurring character named Oz.
Photo: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio
Gabby Barrett
Gabby has been performing since she was 11 years old, including many gigs at grocery stores.
Photo: Getty Images
Gabby's “I Hope” duet with Charlie Puth came about after the pop singer slid into her DMs to congratulate her on her song and ask if he could remix it.
Photo: Getty Images
Tate McRae
In 2019, Billie Eilish and Finneas wrote the song "Tear Myself Apart" for Tate.
Photo: Getty Images
At the age of 13, Tate came in third place on the thirteenth season of ‘So You Think You Can Dance.'
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Conan Gray
He credits his songwriting methods to Lorde and Taylor Swift. “For me and my friends – especially Gen Z as a whole – we handle pain in a very specific way of laughing it off,” he explains to ‘The Forty-Five’.
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Conan opened up for Panic! At The Disco in 2019. He had only played 10 live shows before this!
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