At the Family Arena on Dec. 8, about 5,000 people gathered to see famous artists Five For Fighting, Colbie Caillat, Gavin Degraw, Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne for the annual Y98 Mistletoe Show.

Half of the arena was used for the show, making a smaller venue and a better experience for the audience. It was nice being able to hear the artists over the screams of fans.

Five For Fighting, who is actually one person, went up first, and sang his most popular hits. He played the piano and guitar by himself on stage and looked back on the previous time he played in St. Louis at The Pageant the night the Cardinals won the World Series last year. He said that he was able to bring a screen down for the audience watch the end of the game.

Colbie Caillat was up next, and she also played her most popular songs including “Bubbly.” I was a little disappointed that she only played her guitar for one song, but I digress.

Gavin Degraw, the third performer of the night, was by far the best artist. He had great stage presence and he jumped onto a speaker to be closer to the fans. Apparently, it wasn’t close enough as he ended his set with crowd surfing on the floor of the arena and taking various selfies with fans.

Oddly enough, the Backstreet Boys seemed to have more fans than the headliner, Avril Lavigne. They played both old and new songs, danced in sync (get it? NSYNC?) and even played instruments. The songs they didn’t play themselves were recordings, but I suppose a live band would take away some of their spotlight.

Headliner Avril Lavigne definitely kept the crowd clapping. She psyched the audience up and made the late night worth it. She played her first single, “Complicated” and her most recent songs from her newest album. It’s a shame the Backstreet Boys fans didn’t stay for the main artist because they definitely missed out.