LAS VEGAS, NV - (May 23rd, 2016) The 2016 Billboard Music Awards delivered a soulful, action packed, star-studded and powerful show. As touted by both Billboard and Rolling Stone, P!NK flew away (literally!) with one of the best performances. Consistent with her now infamous previous live performances, P!NK took flight and soared acrobatically above the Billboard Music Award audience, for her world television debut of her latest single “Just Like Fire,” a song from the Alice Through the Looking Glass soundtrack. To accomplish this seemingly dare-devil like feat, TAIT Towers, provided P!NK’s performer flying elements and proprietary automation software, TAIT Navigator, which guaranteed her safety by controlling the speed and movements.
Despite previous performances where P!NK typically uses a harness for her flight expeditions, this time, she performed without a harness – LIVE ON TV! “Every project we do for P!NK is always unique. Given her acrobatic background, there is always a desire to do something more thrilling and more extravagant each time she performs. This performance was particularly unique because P!NK fly’s through the air without using a harness. Obviously, safety and reliability are key, and we were able to utilize our TAIT Navigator to control her speed and execution,” Ben Gasper, Project Manager, TAIT.
TAIT provided a performing flying package that included five single line performer flying T-winches and a 50 foot 2D trolley system. At the opening of “Just Like Fire,” P!NK wrapped herself in a golden rope trapeze and took flight above the audience while applying her silk acrobatic technique. The golden rope trapeze hung from a pocket watch prop that was attached to TAIT’s single line performer flying winch. After approximately thirty seconds, P!NK returned to the stage and she strutted the runway to the opposite end. At that time, TAIT’s performer flying winches lifted P!NK’s two backup dancers into the air to perform synchronized acrobatic moves. To end her epic performance, P!NK boarded a giant scenic clock hand that ascended into the air, to meet a massive, fire-lit clock above the stage.
“Being that the Billboard Music Awards are performed on live TV, we only had one shot to pull off safe automation for P!NK’s courageous performance. Being in the live entertainment and automation business for so long, we are used to working in “first time right” constraints. It takes a special breed to work under that amount of pressure, provide the safest gear, and adapt to any changing needs at a moment’s notice. TAIT was very pleased to have the opportunity to be involved in one of the best performances of the evening,” Ben Gasper.
Naturally, these productions require a team. For this performance, P!NK's team consisted of Joe Sanchez, Production Manager, and Baz Halpin, production designer and creative director from Silent House Productions, as well as, Scenic Route, Dreya Weber, Kish Rigging, and Dick Clark Productions.
For P!NK’s performance of “Just Like Fire” at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, TAIT provided a performer flying package that raised the bar for flying performances in the music industry. TAIT Navigator ensured P!NK’s safety as she took flight without wearing any harnesses by operating performer flying gear that met all safety performance regulations. The 2016 Billboard Music Awards were held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV on Sunday, May 22nd, 2016 at 8:00 pm EST and 5:00 pm PST to celebrate and honor the hottest names in music today.
About TAIT Towers
TAIT is the World Market Leader in staging, scenic design, LED integration, show control and automated rigging. The company designs, constructs & delivers the finest live equipment in the world from world tour stages to kinetic architecture. With incredible growth through the years and with TAIT’s proprietary automation software, it has become the go-to company for all things technology, engineering, design, manufacturing and rigging.
Founded in Pennsylvania, in 1978, TAIT has expanded globally with offices around the world. Boasting a workforce of more than 600 employees, TAIT employs a passionate team of experts in manufacturing, engineering, design, technology and innovation, all of whom understand set and stage creation in its entirety. TAIT approaches projects with a philosophy that the spectacle of the opening night is equally important as a quick, safe and efficient load-out.
Among its claims to fame, TAIT supplied the staging for nineteen of the top twenty highest grossing artist tours of all time including The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift and Madonna. TAIT also supplied LED integration and customization for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Sochi Olympics, engineered and fabricated the Las Vegas’ Omnia Nightclub Chandelier, and was the production specialist that partnered with US space agency, NASA, to put the lyrics of U2’s 'Beautiful Day' into orbit.
Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images