Yellow lights flashed and students cheered as rap artist 24kGoldn took the stage and sang his 2019 hit single “Valentino.”
UF Student Government Productions hosted its annual first day of college concert on Thursday night at the Stephen O’Connell Center. The event was headlined by 24kGoldn and pop/rock band Hot Chelle Rae.
O’Connell’s staff declined to provide an exact attendance number, but previous first-day events have had over 2,000 attendees. SGP hosted rappers Don Toliver in 2023 and Joey Bada$$ in 2022, marking the first day of these fall semesters.
Doors opened at 6pm and the show began at 7pm with a performance of Hot Chelle Rae’s 2011 hits “Tonight Tonight” and “I Like It Like That.”
UF freshman Chi Xu met 24kGoldn after the show. Although he didn’t know either artist before the concert, Xu said the energy was contagious.
“He captivated the audience with good songs,” said Xu. “He was a cool guy. He signed my T-shirt, asked me about my plans during and after college, and wished me good luck.”
Brock Burnett, also a freshman at UF, listened to 24kGoldn on Spotify before the concert to familiarize himself with the music. 24kGoldn is best known for his songs that went viral on TikTok, including “Mood,” “Valentino” and “City of Angels.”
“I just listened to his No. 1 song on Spotify, ‘Mood,'” Burnett said. “He’s pretty popular, so this is his chance to prove himself.”
Twins Steven and Patrick Miller-Edwards, who study at UF, attended the show together and said they remained open-minded despite not knowing what to expect.
“I looked it up on Spotify because I thought it sounded familiar,” said Steven Miller-Edwards. “Then I came across the song ‘City of Angels’ and remembered listening to it in my COVID-19 days. It was a memory.”
Phoebe Davis, a freshman at UF, said she only knows the songs “Valentino” and “Mood” by 24kGoldn and “Tonight Tonight” by Hot Chelle Rae. She hopes to see more current artists from Student Government Productions in the future, she said.
“It’s good for the first concert, but if it were Homecoming, I would feel a little different,” Davis said. “Other than that, I just want to be around other people and enjoy music.”
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Sian Jose stood in the pit and said the artists “only played a couple of good songs.” But she ultimately feels like she had a good time. The energy was in the front of the pit, the UF freshman added, while the excitement died down toward the back.
“There were two okay songs and then one good song,” Jose said. “Starting with ‘Valentino’ was smart – I can’t deny that.”
Contact Ella Dorfman at [email protected]. Follow her on X @dorfman_ella.
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