Adam Young of Owl City performed at the Jingle Ball Sunday in St. Paul / Star Tribune photo by Marlin Levison

By Jon Bream

From top to bottom, this was one of the better Jingle Balls. And that's not what I expected.

Though it was heavy on tween appeal, the 8-act lineup kept the crowd's interest throughout the five-hour-plus program. A large percentage of the crowd even stayed for Pitbull, who was ferocious and fantastic. A colleague told me that her 11-year-old daughter texted from the show (OMG! Justin is HOT!!) but she actually went to see Pitbull. Good taste, young lady.

All the artists on the bill had a command of the stage except for perhaps Colbie Caillat. She's improved, by doing things such as dancing to the music when her guitarist takes a solo. But the blase LA singer-songwriter still plays more to her band than to the audience. For my full review of the show, click here.

There were two disappointments:

*Adam Lambert, a late enlistee as guest host, was hopelessly subdued in dress, demeanor and words. I didn't expect him to make out with KDWB franchise DJ Dave Ryan but Glambert was so Kris Allen tame. It also would have been appropos to hear a little music from Adam even if it was only a video broadcast on the screens.

*The stage production was subpar, especially considering that many tickets cost $75. The sound system was inadequate (if you didn't know the words, they were hard to decipher). The stage backdrop was bargain basement: Four blinking snowflakes and two blinking stars plus three garden-variety video screens. And the stage lighting was basic, at best.

A few other thoughts:

*Props to Jordin Sparks for having the conviction to represent her Arizona Cardinals with a T shirt while they were playing the Vikings. She was in enemy territory but the Arizona girl was loyal to her team.

* After playing Jingle Ball two consecutive years, Boys Like Girls might not be asked back. Inviting hundreds of people onstage for their finale might have been cool but it wasn't responsible or safe. On my way out of the Xcel, I overheard two security people say that two kids had to be treated for leg injuries.

* The girl who was invited onstage during Justin Bieber's "One Less Lonely Girl" was wearing an all-access pass. Wondering if she's related to anyone on the KDWB staff? Maybe Dave Ryan will explain this morning on his show.

What did you think of Jingle Ball? Who were your favorites? Who was disappointing?

Boys Like Girls opened with the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" and then got busy with their own hits./ Star Tribune photo by Marlin Levison