The Campus Activities Board announced X Ambassadors and Kehlani as this year’s spring concert performers on April 2. The board put up a video at midnight to reveal the artists. Spring Concert will be held at 9 p.m. on April 22 in Coolidge Cage this year.
X Ambassadors is an alternative rock band from Ithaca, New York. The group formed in 2009 and self-released their first EP and LP before signing on to Interscope Records in 2013. Their sophomore full-length album VHS, released last June, includes the popular track “Renegades,” which peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top 100. The members have cited the groups Incubus and Red Hot Chili Peppers as musical influences.
Kehlani, an R&B singer-songwriter from Oakland, California, originally rose to fame as a member of Poplyfe, a finalist group on America’s Got Talent in 2011. She embarked on her solo career in 2013 and released her first mixtape, Cloud 19, the next year. Her second mixtape, You Should Be Here, was released last year and debuted at number five on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums list.
The Campus Activities Board began planning for spring concert at the beginning of this school year. They collected data on student preferences through a survey in September. Stephany Ramos ’17 and Phillip Yan ’18 are the current spring concert chairs.
According to Yan, the group took account of the survey results, as well as favorable student responses to the idea of inviting two artists, like last year’s spring concert.
“Once we found X Ambassadors, we looked for an artist that would bring in another demographic,” Yan said. “We chose Kehlani because we thought her style would be very distinct from X Ambassadors, and therefore, they would complement each other.”
In the past few weeks, Kehlani’s personal life has drawn attention from the national media. After rumors about an alleged incident of infidelity spread across social media, she reportedly attempted suicide and uploaded a picture of herself in the hospital on Instagram. Despite these recent events, Kehlani is still set to perform for spring concert. When asked about a potential response on the part of Campus Activities Board, Yan said that there would be legal difficulties.
“We talked about the different approaches we could take, and it turns out that we actually can’t do anything,” he said. “We signed a contract with her, so we have to bring her in unless she breaks the contract. We’re committed by law to bring her in, so she has to initiate any breakup.”
The Campus Activities Board began handing out tickets to students on Monday, April 4 in Keefe Campus Center and Valentine atrium. Tickets will be handed out until Friday, April 9th.
