JAY Z & ALICIA KEYS KICK OFF THE FIRST DAY OF THE iHEARTRADIO FESTIVAL!

LAS VEGAS -- Jay-Z rapped about his beef with corporate radio in the monster jam "99 Problems," noting that stations won't play his hits if he doesn't do their shows. But on Friday, he played savior to radio station giant Clear Channel, headlining a two-night concert billed as the largest in radio history and a major step toward keeping the industry alive in the dot-com era.

The rapper bounced across a stage outfitted with two drum sets and two guitarists as he spit out his biggest hits and swung the two oversized gold chains hanging from his neck. It was the final performance of a night that saw confetti bombs dust the shoulders of pop sensations Kelly Clarkson, the Black Eyed Peas, Bruno Mars and Carrie Underwood. The spectacle was scheduled to continue Saturday night, with headliners Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Sting and Steven Tyler.

The star-studded lineup usually reserved for charity concerts was a marketing blitz that drew thousands to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and was broadcast to more than 10 million radio listeners across the country. Its intended beneficiary was iHeartRadio, Clear Channel's revamped free personalized music website that allows users to create custom radio stations and is meant to compete with the web's most popular online music services, especially Pandora.







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