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iHeartRadio 2013: Justin Timberlake and Paul McCartney’s New Songs Can’t Top Drake’s Shirt

iHeartRadio 2013, Justin Timberlake, Paul McCartney, Drake, video

The iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas over the weekend served a healthy amount of new music to “heart.” Justin Timberlake and Paul McCartney debuted a couple of songs apiece, while Drake stole the stage in terms of viral potential with outlandish sartorial choices as he previewed his eve-of-release new album Nothing Was the Same. Ke$ha brought out Joan Jett as a guest, Britney Spears introduced Miley Cyrus, and other performers at the ClearChannel-spawned event included Phoenix, Bruno Mars, Miguel, Zedd, Maroon 5, and Tim McGraw. Jared Leto was even on hand to reprise 30 Seconds to Mars’ hilari-awful cover of Rihanna’s “Stay.”

Timberlake debuted the wriggly vampire-funk “True Blood” (above) and the strutting, distortion-lacerated shout-along “Only When I Walk Away” (below). The entertainer-for-all-seasons’ second album of the year, The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2), is due out on September 30, and he also performed the recently released single “TKO,” which is to boxing metaphors what “True Blood” is to blood-sucking figures of speech. Oh, and right after JT’s lyrical mention of “twerking” in his rendition of 2006’s “SexyBack,” he added “Miley, Miley” — see around the 1:50 mark here.

Separately, Timberlake has covered the Jacksons’ 1978 “Shake Your Body (Down the Ground)” for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge; check out that fitting Michael Jackson tribute below, as well, and glimpse what helped set the template for recent single “Take Back the Night.”

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McCartney also has a new solo album on the way, the, uh, title-having New. Along with performing the jaunty song that is also titled “New,” Sir Paul delivered a pair of other new tunes: the strummy, laidback “Everybody Out There” and the urgent rock salvation salvo “Save Us.” Check those out right below.

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Drake turned heads by wearing a long-sleeve shirt emblazoned with an image of Will Smith’s son Jaden’s worshipful expression during Drake’s set at the MTV Video Music Awards 2013. So, yes, another instance of Drake featuring Drake. Along with tracks from 2011’s Take Care, Drizzy also performed “Started From the Bottom,” “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” and “All Me” from his September 24 follow-up. Watch the full set below via Mr. World Premiere.

Elsewhere on the bill were still more attention-getting moments. Spears, as mentioned, introduced Cyrus, and the freshly minted Vegas resident made sure to plug her own new “Work Bitch.” The surviving members of TLC took the stage with J. Cole to perform their Born Sinner collaboration “Crooked Smile.” Katy Perry and Juicy J performed their trap-flavored Prism track “Dark Horse.” And it was Ke$ha — in full-on, party-queen form — who enlisted Jett, whose new album Unvarnished arrives on October 1, to duet on the Blackhearts leader’s classic “Bad Reputation.” Watch that last one below. Luckily for everyone, there were evidently no repeats of last year’s iHeartRadio onstage rant that sent Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong to rehab.

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