Every year, students at the University of North Alabama excitedly anticipate the headliner for the annual Spring Concert. The campus has been overflowing with rumors about who the performer will be since the start of spring semester. Guesses ranged from Jack Harlow to Yung Gravy, and some hoped that UNA would bring Blackbear back officially. Parker Leigh Fleming, the productions promoter for the University
Program Council, excitedly announced at Step Sing that this year’s performer will be 24kGoldn.

Golden Landis Von Jones, known by his stage name “24kGoldn” is most commonly known for his song “Valentino,” which gained over 100 million plays on Spotify and peaked at number 92 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but many students recognize him from his song “Mood” which released during the summer of 2020 and peaked at number 1 on music charts all over the world.

The San Francisco born rapper is only 21 and has already gained massive success with over 20 million monthly listeners on Spotify and his first album “El Dorado.” He started his music career in high school when he was just 17, releasing his first music video to his song “Trappers Anthem.” He eventually attended the University of Southern California, where he took a leave of absence to pursue his career, ultimately signing a major-label contract and making him become a pandemic popstar.

In the process of selecting an artist for this year’s concert, UPC spent a lot of time making sure the artist was inclusive and fit the desires of
most students. “It’s actually been a very fun and exciting process to be a part of, but it has also taught me a lot so far,” Fleming said. UPC has been planning the concert since September.

The process began with homecoming ballots, where students were asked what music genre they’d most like to see. Once the genre is voted for and selected, UPC gets to work.

“The initial thing is obviously deciding tentative dates. That’s the most important part because when you’re reaching out to different artists, you have to have a set idea of the budget, dates, and genre you’re going for,” Fleming said.

After deciding what dates would work best, the members of UPC received a list of fresh and new artists that would fall under the budget. The members discussed who would fit well and researched reviews, chart numbers, and how the artist was doing.

“It took some tedious work there for about two to three weeks, and then each week we narrowed it down. We started with a list of maybe 50 or 60 names, and we narrowed it down to 10 and then to three. Then we started bidding,” Fleming said.

Once UPC finalizes the day and the cost, the artist’s agent sends a contract and the university makes a deal.

Student reactions to this year’s artist varied, with some being absolutely thrilled and others disappointed. Pressures were high due to the last two concerts being canceled because of the pandemic.

100 randomly selected students were polled on their feelings, and 24 claimed they were disappointed without any hesitation.

These students felt that UPC could have chosen another performer, and many said they didn’t know who 24kGoldn was. One student, ironically, said “I’m not in the mood.”

Another said “I expected the performer this year to be even better than Blackbear.”

Among the others polled, there were 24 students who were not fans of 24kGoldn. A lot of people claimed they only knew him because of his rise to fame on Tiktok.

A student said, “The rumors were so much better.”

Most results were neutral, with 36 students who were neither disappointed nor thrilled. Many of these students said they would most likely not attend the event, anyway. Some have never attended a Spring Concert before.

Yet another said, “I’m neutral because I only know his two songs that were popular on Tiktok. I liked the songs, but I don’t know what else he’ll perform that I’ll know.”

“This will be my first and only spring concert so I feel like I have to feel neutral about it,” another student said. 13 students were happy with the artist selection this year.

“I’m not ecstatic but I’m happy. The spring concert is always fun regardless of the performer and the excitement around it is the best part,” a student said.

3 students were absolutely thrilled, with one student saying “I’m over the moon happy.”

The poll results for this year were filled with more negative reactions than predicted. UPC expects a larger presence on campus with many students in attendance this year.

Hopefully, 24kGoldn will surprise the student body and gain a larger reach of fans after his performance this spring. The Spring Concert will be held Thursday, April 14 in Flowers Hall.