Carly Rae Jepsen Defies The Wind In Chicago

CHICAGO — On Thursday night, fans headed to the Charter One Pavilion to check out some of pop music's hottest stars on a cool night in Chi-Town, where it was actually quite windy.

Austin Mahone, Carly Rae Jepsen and Boys Like Girls hit the stage for a popping night of music during the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Summer Concert. Newbie Austin Mahone kicked off the night, getting fans pumped with his sugary-sweet pop tunes about puppy love.

Over bumping beats and even during slower jams, the varsity jacket-clad up-and-comer proved he might be giving Justin Bieber a run for his money. He had girls screaming with tracks like "11:11." "I've been traveling a lot lately, and I've been looking for that special girl," he confessed to the crowd.

During his set, Mahone danced (a lot), played acoustic guitar and had the girls going bananas at the very sight of him and his moves during future hits like "Say Somethin'."

While Mahone had the ladies swooning, it was Carly Rae who added some girl power to the night. Sporting a lacy red dress, Jepsen brought her bubbly brand of pop to the stage to keep the party going. "I'm so in love with this crowd," she gushed to her fans with a huge smile.

Sure, she played her star-making hit "Call Me Maybe," but she also performed tracks like the darker, uptempo "Curiosity," which she said is about falling for someone who's wrong for you, and her "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"-like "Talk to Me."

Jepsen even played a new track — the thumping "Guitar Strings," which certainly amped up her folky sound with plucky rock guitar and synths. It also served as a nice preview to her debut album dropping this fall.

The intensity of the night's party vibe couldn't be stopped by even the occasional rainstorm or two. And if the night's headlining act, Boys Like Girls, proved anything when they took the stage, it's actually that girls like boys — a lot.

Much to the delight of the females in the crowd, the guys stormed the stage with lots of skinny-pants rock swagger, capping off a night of pure power-pop fun. "It is so good to see your lovely faces again. Who's the life of the party?" lead singer Martin Johnson asked the crowd. "I'm the life of the party."

Boys Like Girls brought out glittering guitar riffs and a touch of bad-boy punk 'tude with tracks like "Great Escape," "Hero/Heroine," "Be Your Everything" and "Two is Better Than One."