Katy Perry leads the Final Four concert lineup. Here are our power rankings

What basketball game? Here's our power rankings for the Final Four music lineup.

April 4, 2019 at 11:26PM
Katy Perry performs during her “Witness” tour at Madison Square Garden in New York, Oct. 2, 2017. On tour supporting her latest album, “Witness,” the pop star created a wacky spectacle that highlighted the strength of her older material. (Chad Batka/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT118
Katy Perry is our No. 1 seed, followed by (from left) the Jonas Brothers, Fitz & the Tantrums and the Chainsmokers. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

As with the NCAA semifinalists, the Final Four concert acts include the familiar and the surprising. Here are our power rankings.

1. Katy Perry

When: 7 p.m. Sun., Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls. (sold out).

Striking stat: Our top seed has 107 million Twitter followers — more than anybody else. In the world. Period.

The latest: "365," a new single with DJ Zedd, who will join her at the Armory. She got engaged to "Lord of the Rings" star Orlando Bloom on Valentine's Day, and she continues to serve as a judge on "American Idol" as it prepares for taped "all-star duets" starting Sunday.

Key weapons: That big pop voice, a sense for delightfully silly staging and a steady stream of hits, including the hoops-apropos "Roar," "Dark Horse" and "Swish Swish" (with basketball legend Bill Walton in the video).

Comment: The only bona fide big-timer in the Final Four music lineup, she dazzled at the Super Bowl in 2015 and should generate fireworks in the smaller Armory.

2. Jonas Brothers

When: 7 p.m. Sat., Armory (sold out).

Striking stat: The sibling trio appeared on 10 TV shows and movies, all on Disney Channel, from 2007 to '11.

The latest: The brothers topped Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the first time last month with their reunion single, "Sucker." A tour is expected this year.

Key weapons: Brotherly harmonies can go a long way. And this former boy band has old faves such as "Burnin' Up" as well as such recent triumphs as Nick Jonas' solo smash "Jealous" and Joe Jonas' "Cake by the Ocean" with DNCE.

Comment: It's been six years since they toured as a group, but Nick and Joe have continued to burnish their performing skills. After recent warmup gigs in small venues in Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta, the Final Four's comeback kids are ready for a bigger stage.

3. Fitz & the Tantrums

When: 6 p.m. Mon., 11th Street and Nicollet Mall (free and open to the public).

Striking stat: Appeared at Minneapolis' Basilica Block Party four times and performed at four Twin Cities area clubs since 2011.

The latest: The bubbly, dance-happy, kid-friendly single "123456."

Key weapons: Unstoppable energy, irresistible electropop dance beats and charming singers Michael Fitzgerald and Noelle Scaggs.

Comment: Even though no one expected this L.A. outfit to land at the Final Four, they are hardly a Cinderella story. Sounding like a modern-day Hall & Oates, they are perfect for a street party.

4. The Chainsmokers

When: 7 p.m. Fri., Armory (sold out).

Striking stat: Four of the duo's five Top 10 hits have featured guest vocalists (Halsey, Coldplay, Rozes, Daya).

The latest: A new single, "Who Do You Love," features 5 Seconds of Summer, who will be the Chainsmokers' opening act in concert Oct. 5 at Xcel Energy Center.

Key weapons: Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall are skilled at writing hooks and hooking singers — from Coldplay's Chris Martin to country's Kelsea Ballerini — to deliver their dance-pop songs.

Comment: As they demonstrated at a Super Bowl gig at Mystic Lake Casino last year, these DJ/producers are high-energy masters of assists, but they need stars to score.

about the writer

about the writer

Jon Bream

Critic / Reporter

Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.

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