Joe Jonas, Shawn Mendes, and More Talk Jingle Ball 2016

We caught up with the stars backstage at the annual holiday concert in Boston.

By Matt Juul· 12/12/2016, 1:29 p.m.

Photo by Dave Kotinsky / Getty Images for iHeart

Ariana Grande, Joe Jonas, and more stars took over the TD Garden on Sunday for Kiss 108’s annual Jingle Ball concert.

A cold and dreary night in Boston couldn’t stop thousands of screaming fans from showing up to this year’s sold-out show, which also featured performances by Shawn Mendes, Tove Lo, Diplo, Alessia Cara, Daya, Ellie Goulding, and former One Direction member Niall Horan.

Jonas, who performed with his band DNCE, told Boston magazine backstage after his set that he was just as pumped up by the holiday concert as the fans, which explains why he ran into the crowd and climbed the arena during his performance.

“It was great,” Jonas said. “We feed off of the energy of the crowd always, and tonight they brought it.”

Photo by Paul Marotta / Getty Images for iHeart

Although the former Jonas Brothers member is a huge Knicks fan, he didn’t bring any bad blood with him while performing in the home of the Celtics.

“We’ve played here a couple of times and we’ve met some of the Celtics players,” Jonas said. “I’m a fan of sports. I got my teams, but ultimately, we like to watch when we can.”

The music heartthrob and New York sports fan did admit, though, that he’s keeping his “fingers crossed” for a Giants and Patriots rematch in the Super Bowl. Following the show, Jonas cheered on his team while munching on sushi with his DNCE crew as well as his girlfriend and Game of Thrones star Sophia Turner at Empire.

As for the evening’s other big stars, Mendes shared Jonas’ enthusiasm, saying that he was excited to once again perform in front of a Boston crowd.

“[I’m] thrilled! I wasn’t here last year so I’m really happy to be able to come here this year,” Mendes said. “They are one of the loudest crowds and are so, so excited out there.”

Shawn Mendes at Jingle Ball 2016 in Boston.

Photo by Dave Kotinsky / Getty Images for iHeart

One of the most outspoken stars at the concert’s red carpet was up-and-coming Canadian singer Alessia Cara. The 20-year-old praised Jingle Ball for putting together a lineup of powerful female artists.

“I think a lot of the female artists, if not all of them on this lineup, are feminists themselves and outspoken in what they do,” Cara said. “It’s just nice to be apart of that and it’s nice to be apart of women being empowered.”

While she’s frustrated by how the media sometimes twists her words when it comes to her thoughts on issues like feminism, that hasn’t dissuaded her from wanting to speak out.

“There is no way of looking, there is no way of being,” Cara said. “You should never have to apologize for simply existing and being you. That’s what I’m going to continue to hopefully try to get out there.”