Doja Cat, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles lead stars performing at this year’s iHeart Radio Jingle Ball

With the coronavirus pandemic still in full swing, this year’s iHeart Radio Jingle Ball was forced to go virtual, with fans tuning into the event from around the world.

But the absence of a live audience did not stop the industry’s biggest names, like Doja Cat, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles, from lending their voices to the annual holiday-themed concert.

And the hour-and-a-half show, hosted by Ryan Seacrest aired in its entirety on the CW on Monday night.  

Doja Cat got viewers at home in the holiday spirit and she performed a rendition of the sultry Christmas classic Santa Baby.

‘She’s undeniable, unpredictable and unleashed. It’s Doja Cat!’ exclaimed Seacrest, before handing off the spotlight to the star.

Doja, born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, was surrounded by glowing pink Christmas trees and twinkle lights as she delivered her raspy vocals from the comfort of an antique couch.

The hitmaker, 25, rocked a gorgeous pink feather-trimmed robe that accentuated her famous curves.

Doja kept her array of blonde, Marilyn Monroe-inspired tendrils slightly hidden beneath her robe’s flouncy hood.

Before taking to the stage for the second time, Doja was presented with a gift that majorly excited her inner gamer girl. 

‘iHeart got me an Xbox controller?! Robot white? That’s just the color of it. Oh. Wait. Stop. This is completely studded out. Wow,’ said the Say So singer with a huge smile on her face, adding: ‘I’m a gamer. Yay. Amazing. Thank you so much!’

Giving the fans what they really want, Doja delivered an angelic performance of her smash hit Say So.

Accompanied by two back-up dancers, the singer-songwriter ditched her elegant robe and threw on a pair of feathered angel wings to perform the single.  

Along with her angel wings, Cat donned a see-through teddy that featured a feather trim on the hem and satin bows on the straps.

Dua Lipa got hearts pumping on Monday night as she performed her new single Levitating, which is featured on the singer’s latest album Future Nostalgia.

Prior to belting out the lyrics to the infectious track, the 25-year-old’s good pal and fellow musician Sam Smith took a moment to introduce her to viewers at home.

‘It’s my great honor to introduce to you your next performer tonight. The beautiful, the incredible, the smart, intelligent, a good friend, Dua Lipa,’ announced Smith.

For the disco-inspired performance, Dua put her taut tummy on display in a pink and silver halter top and a geometric print mini skirt.

The pop princess’ lengthy brunette was swept to one side and flowed down her chest and back in curls.

As for her makeup, Dua had a wash of pink shadow on her eyelids and a generous amount of mauve toned lipstick on her pout.

She performed Levitating with a giant mirrorball in the background and her go-to bandmates around her.

Later in the hour-and-a-half broadcast, Dua reappeared to perform a haunting rendition of John Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War Is Over) with the help of some of her biggest fans.

Keeping with COVID-19 protocols, the various fan appearances remained remote and were made visible on screen as Dua performed in studio. 

Before bidding farewell, Lipa was asked by those at iHeart Radio to recall the ‘last time [she] cooked a Christmas dinner.’

‘It was the year before last, and I like to make just a Turkey, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, Yorkshire puds, lots of gravy all over, but I feel like this this year might be a veggie Christmas,’ she joked.

Harry Styles strayed away from the night’s holiday theme and opted to sing three songs off his successful second studio album Fine Line.

‘Hello, I’m Harry. Thank you for having us. Thank you to iHeart. I just want to say, happy holidays to everyone at home,’ began the 26-year-old artist.

Styles, wearing a stylish plaid blazer and blue dress shirt, performed his hits outside and in front of a vintage Airstream trailer.

He continued: ‘I hope you’ve been staying safe, managed the make the best out of a rough year.’

Harry went on to thank ‘Free Nationals, Mr. Murray Brown, Alina Rogers and India Shawn for playing with [him]’ at this year’s event, before bursting into song.

Out of all of the songs featured on Fine Line, the former member of One Direction decided to sing the album’s title track, as well as Golden and his hit single Watermelon Sugar.

Billie Eilish, joined by her 23-year-old brother Finneas O’Connell, beamed into iHeart Radio Jingle Ball from Santa’s Workshop.

She took a moment to reflect on the ‘favorite presents’ she has received over the years on Christmas. 

‘My favorite presents. Definitely, I used to love, like, the Holiday Barbie, which is, like, a once a year, very specific, like, rare Barbie,’ admitted the megastar, 18. 

‘So I begged for that and when I would get a Holiday Barbie it was, like, I’m very happy. So that was a big favorite of mine my whole childhood, still. I feel if I got a Holiday Barbie I’d be excited.’

For her portion of the show, Eilish delivered an acoustic rendition of her latest single Therefore I Am, noting that it ‘sounds weird acoustically,’ but that her and Finneas decided to do it anyway.

Billie wore her bright green tresses in a messy up do and she kept cozy in a highly patterned jumpsuit for her share-worthy performance.

The Bad Guy hitmaker also delivered a goosebump inducing rendition of Silver Bells with her brother handling guitar duty.

‘Thank you, guys, for having us. This is my brother Finneas. Let me introduce him. Merry Christmas. Thank you, Jingle Ball, for having me. We’re going to do a cover of Silver Bells and then we’re going to go,’ said the star. 

Shawn Mendes showed off his impressive piano skills as he appeared during the broadcast to perform his original hit Wonder.

The song is featured on his fourth studio album of the same name, which hit the airwaves on October 2. 

The Canadian singer, 22, put all of his emotion into his performance, while a brightly lit Christmas tree rested in the background.

iHeart Radio asked Mendes to tell the viewers at home what it was like celebrating the holidays in his hometown of Ontario.

‘Holidays growing up in Ontario were very snowy, lots of time spent with my family, and my Nan would always fly from England,’ he explained.

Shawn recalled receiving ‘a robot that farted and burped’ from his grandfather, when he was 11-years-old, he noted that, at the time, he was ‘really into that robot.’

iHeart also gave Mendes a slew of personalized gifts for him and girlfriend Camila Mendes’ new puppy Tarzan. 

”I’m going to open some presents from iHeartRadio. So I think I got to open this one first. What’s this? Oh, sweet. A Tarzan stocking!’ he exclaimed, noting that ‘Camila is going to love that.’ 

Before performing a stripped down version of Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, the Stitches singer took a moment to inspire hope in his fans.

‘So many things bring hope for 2021. I mean, I see you guys always excited for new music and new videos and stuff, so I think, yeah, music won’t stop, and that always brings hope for me,’ he said sweetly.

He also revealed that Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You is ‘very special’ to him because it ‘inspired most of’ the songs on Wonder.

Similar to his musical cohort Harry Styles, the Weeknd decided to perform two hit songs off of his critically acclaimed studio album After Hours. 

The 30-year-old singer-songwriter, who opened the show with Blinding Lights, danced around a green-lit stage that included his talented band and a slew of wreaths.

Strobe lights motioned incessantly throughout the performance in order to match the chaotic vibe of the song. 

The Weeknd, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, received the most memorable introduction of the night as the queen of Christmas, herself, Mariah Carey, appeared via webcam. 

‘Hi, guys. It’s Mariah. I just wanted stop by tonight to wish everyone happy holidays and say thank you,’ she began, while rocking a Mrs. Claus get-up. 

‘Tonight I’m also super excited to introduce this next artist and friend who has a voice that is pure heaven. Here he is, The Weeknd!’ 

For his second song of the night, the Weeknd chose to sing his latest single Save Your Tears.

Sam Smith, known for their angelic vocal talent, also appeared during Monday night’s star-studded musical event.

The UK native, 28, stood before a microphone, while rocking an understated holiday sweater, and belted the lyrics to their latest hit Diamonds, which is featured on their latest album Love Goes.

Smith performed under a stunning crystal chandelier and a slew of string lights that extended from it.

The Latch hitmaker also decided to sing his ‘favorite Christmas song,’ which happened to be the holiday hit Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.  

Sam was introduced to audiences at home by Shawn Mendes who referred to Sam as ‘one of the sweetest and kindest and funniest people [he has] ever met.’ 

Closing out the night was the Grammy nominated Lewis Capaldi, who proudly donned a fully fledged Santa Claus costume.

The 24-year-old singer-songwriter, with guitar in hand, performed among a hoard of Christmas decor, from fully decorated trees to light up reindeer.

‘Hello, there. It’s Lewis Capaldi here and happy holidays to all,’ said Capaldi. ‘And it’s very nice to be asked to do this by iHeart Radio.’ 

He chose to perform an acoustic version of Last Christmas by Wham!, before belting out one of his own self-written hits.