Is the Jingle Ball hype worth the price?

The cookies, eggnog and songs that the holiday season brings are some amazing perks, but one can not forget about the greatest event of the winter season; Jingle Ball. It’s no secret that this is the place to be when December rolls around, no matter who is performing.

This years lineup just happened to be jam-packed, which only makes actually getting the tickets all the more difficult. The headliners include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Niall Horan. If that’s not enough, the more “minor” performances are still pretty amazing. The Chainsmokers, Fifth Harmony, DNCE and Ellie Goulding are just some of the other artists arranged to perform.

This great lineup may seem like even more of a reason to attend, but there is still a major issue to get past; getting the tickets. Buying the tickets may seem like a breeze, unless of course you have actually tried and failed to obtain them in the millisecond they are available.

“Getting the tickets was so much easier last time I went, it didn’t even take long” said Alissa Negri, junior,who first attended Jingle Ball 2013 and is set to attend this year’s. Negri, along with hundreds of others, failed in getting tickets initially and was forced to spend a ridiculous amount on stubhub.

The initial presale was Thursday October 13, and it was exclusive to Capital One card holders who received emails with the special password needed to access the tickets. Although this presale is meant to reward cardholders, the sales are not so select as the “secret” password can be found online and on social media. Fans wonder if this is the reason now that tickets are so hard to purchase. Tickets during this presale are gone before you can blink an eye, and this is no exaggeration.

After this sale, Z100 advertises a general sale the following Monday, October 17, which gives off the impression that tickets still remain. When fans tried again on this date, the results were still the same: nada. The question everyone wants to know looms, how does one get these tickets?

It appears that there are three ways into this event; knowing someone, winning a contest, or selling body parts to afford the ridiculous prices listed on Stubhub.

From Ticketmaster, the “worst seats in the house” tickets start off at $51, and the best seats cost up to $350. Resale on Stubhub is now listing minimum $300 for nosebleed seats, and floor seats range from $4,895 to a startling $15,000.

Despite the struggles with purchasing tickets, many students at West Essex’s are able to get in and enjoy themselves.

Another students who has attended in the past is junior Danielle Candela, who was only able to get in through knowing someone.

“My friend’s aunt’s boss was able to get us in two years in a row, otherwise we definitely couldn’t have gone”  Danielle said.

The difficulty of getting into this must-see event definitely restricts many from attending, but West Essex students seem to have figured out some ways in.

“The tickets were absolutely overpriced, but it was a great time and I was just happy to finally be able to go” said junior Allison Ribardo.

This year’s jingle ball definitely did not disappoint. Though students did have to spend a pretty penny getting in, the concert was a success.