Emory University’s Student Programming Council (SPC) announced in a Thursday email to undergraduate students that Flo Rida will perform at DooleyPalooza. SPC’s annual spring concert will be held on McDonough Field on April 1, with doors opening at 6 p.m.
Free admission to SPC's spring and fall concerts has been restricted to undergraduatestudents in recent years. Students will be required to show a valid student ID and register for the event through the CORQ app, according to the email. Additionally, there will be a strict no re-entry policy at the concert.
Additionally, SPC is offering the option for students to purchase guest wristbands for the concert. These passes can be purchased on Cox Bridge on March 24 from 3 to 4 p.m., March 29 from 1 to 2 p.m. and March 30 from 3 to 4 p.m. Guests will only be allowed entrance with the student who purchased their ticket.
Flo Rida, whose birth name is Tramar Lacel Dillard, rose to fame in 2007 when his breakout single “Low” held the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks, breaking the record for digital download sales. The song later earned the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.
The rapper has sold over 80 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists. Flo Rida released his most popular album, “Wild Ones,” in 2012 and garnered 215,000 sales. His other hits include “Right Round,” “Club Can’t Handle Me,” “Wild Ones,” “Whistle,” “I Cry,” “G.D.F.R.” and “My House.”
Jaanaki Radhakrishnan (26C) said they and their friends are excited about SPC’s artist choice, explaining that even though most students might not stream Flo Rida on Spotify, they will “know every bar” once he starts singing.
“I feel like nobody would proclaim themselves as a Flo Rida fan,” Radhakrishnan said. “But, deep down, I think we are all Flo Rida fans.”
Radhakrishnan added that they are looking forward to the concert because Flo Rida was popular when they were in elementary school, saying that when they were finally old enough to start developing their own music taste and making song requests, Flo Rida was often their go-to artist.
“I remember being in elementary school and thinking, 'Oh, it sucks that I'm never gonna get to be 20 and hearing this music in a club,’” Radhakrishnan said. “Now, I'm kind of getting to have that experience.”
However, Jazmin Stewart (21Ox, 23C) does not share Radhakrishnan’s enthusiasm. She said she was disappointed by SPC’s announcement, especially because it is her senior year and she has already skipped some of the past concerts because she did not like Jack Harlow, who performed at the 2021 Homecoming concert, or Dominic Fike, who headlined last year’s Dooley’s Week concert with openers Bryce Vine and Taylor Bennett and drew around 3,000 students. Stewart said the only SPC concert she attended was Rico Nasty’s 2019 Homecoming performance.
“Nobody is really listening to Flo Rida,” Stewart said. “We could have gotten a more well-rounded artist that would have fit a wider range of demographics at Emory.”
Stewart added that SPC should try to make the artist selection process more collaborative with the student body through means like a poll or a suggestion box.
“I know their focus is the big surprise and the reveal and everything, but I still think that could be achieved with a narrowing down of three people,” Stewart said.
SPC President Ria Puri (23B) did not respond for comment by press time.
Correction (3/24/23 at 7:04 p.m.): An original version of this article said SPC sent an email to students announcing Flo Rida as the spring concert artist on Friday. In fact, SPC sent the email on Thursday.
Correction (3/24/23 at 7:04 p.m.): An original version of this article included a photo of another singer that was not Flo Rida. The article was updated to include a photo of Flo Rida.
