A&O don't even gotta tell ‘em that Jeremih is headlining Ball.
The headliner announcement for Ball, this Friday at the Riviera Theatre, comes as no surprise to Jeremih fans who kept up with A&O’s hints on Facebook. Sunday’s poster announcing Aminé as the opener featured two bananas and the suspicious caption, “What are these bananas for? … Decoration.” Jeremih’s most recent single, “London,” features the chorus, “You haffi marry the nana-na-na / Before mi ride the banana,” sung by Stefflon Don. The next day, A&O posted a graphic reading, “You & I @ Ball.” That’s a more obvious reference to a line from the chorus of Jeremih’s 2015 hit “Oui,” “There’s no oui without you and I.”
A contemporary R&B singer and Chicago native, Jeremih is known for hits like “Don’t Tell ‘Em,” “Down On Me” and “Birthday Sex,” along with “Oui.” His most recent effort, a mixtape called Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama, is a collaboration with fellow Chicago musician Chance the Rapper and dedicated to Chicago. (So, here’s hoping Chance makes an appearance at the show?) Now, Jeremih is preparing to release Later That Night, a follow-up to his acclaimed album Late Nights, this May.
A&O announced the show’s opener on Sunday: Aminé, an up-and-coming rapper whose debut single “Caroline” took college parties by storm earlier this year. He will perform with Jeremih at the Riv, a theater in Uptown, for the annual concert, co-sponsored as in years past by A&O Productions and For Members Only.
Tickets for the show are $10 and on sale now through the Norris Box Office website. Doors open at 7:15 p.m., and Wildcards will be checked. Aminé will perform at 8 p.m., and Jeremih will follow at 9:15 p.m. No entry will be permitted after 9:30 p.m. The show ends at 10:15 p.m.
A&O and FMO will provide buses to the Riv from Plex and Long Field beginning at 6:30 p.m., with the last bus leaving at 7:45 p.m. Buses will also bring students back to campus, leaving immediately after the show. Wildcards will be required to board the buses.