Spinning disco balls on the ceiling refracted light, sparkling against the red, blue and pink spotlights on stage. When the clock hit 7:45 p.m., the first artist of four walked onstage, band in tow and ready to dazzle. This is how the Broken Hearts Club concert began Monday night at The Mint in Los Angeles.

Broken Hearts Club was the name of the concert put on by music industry students Li Huang, Joanne You, Kitty Huang, Angela He and Amy Zhang. The concert was the final project of a class in the music industry major program the student organizers are currently taking — “Live Music Production and Promotion” — where they have to put on a live concert in L.A.

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The lineup was composed of student artists Moray, Sofia Gomez, WALLIS and debut musician Carrie Z.

“Our criteria for finding artists is to find people who write relatable songs about love and relationships and write with emotion and impact,” said Li Huang, a junior majoring in music industry.

While Broken Hearts Club marketed their theme as romantic heartbreak, they opened up the floor for artists and audiences to heal from a lost love, no matter the form or damage. The concept at showtime showcased any kind of heartache or pain that was meaningful in life. The concert became a celebration of the different ways the artists connected with their audiences about experiencing and moving on from heartache.

“I feel like broken hearts come in all shapes and forms, it’s not always just love. It could be friendship, self-denial or something like that,” Li Huang said. “I feel like we are definitely a prime destination for those kinds of people. We want everyone to heal together.”

Broken Hearts Club also partnered with One Love Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on educating individuals on relationship abuse and raising awareness about healthy relationships.

Joshua Grossman, who is known by his artist name Moray, performed Monday night to support the foundation.

“I think now, more than ever, it’s super important to contribute to organizations or foundations like this one, for survivors,” said Grossman, a junior majoring in popular music performance. “I find my power through music and I think a lot of people do as well and to me, that’s one way of rising up.”

Beyond just audience experience, however, Broken Hearts Club gave students studying diverse sectors of the music industry experience in all of them.

“All of us have different challenges in terms of this project, and we put so much work into it since August,” Li Huang said. “I want to be able to say I was able to market this show and I actually achieved something with it. I kind of want to walk away seeing the look on people’s faces, seeing that they’ve enjoyed the concert.”

The organizers got first-hand familiarity with the complexities of live music performance — tech production, marketing, financing, etc. Meanwhile, the artists got experience performing in a venue outside of campus. Carrie Zhu, a junior majoring in public relations as well as business administration who goes by Carrie Z as a singer-songwriter, had her first performance at the Broken Hearts Club.

“I want her to walk out with the experience of performing not just at USC, but also [on] a bigger stage,” Li Huang said. “I want that for all our artists. By playing The Mint at our show, they could get more confidence in themselves, that they’re writing their own songs and performing their own songs, and just telling their stories to everyone.”

Olivia Lei, a junior studying international relations and the global economy, is a friend of Carrie Z’s and came to the concert to show support for her friend’s debut.

“I am so excited for her. I feel like I’ve seen a journey that unfolded for her,” Lei said. “I felt really proud. I think a lot of people don’t get to make the first step.”

The concert brought together artists and audience members alike, introducing students to one another in a whole new way.

“To be honest, I knew Carrie and Moray before the show, but I really enjoyed the other two performances,” Lei said. “I obviously want to hear more and see that unfold for them.”

The show was focused on giving the audience a fantastic night, but the love and care taken through its production also showed appreciation for the musicians. Each artist had ample time to interact with the audience and demonstrate a full set list with lots of emotional range, and the concert organizers made sure to keep the audience engaged.

“In my heart, obviously [the music industry] wouldn’t exist without artists,” Li Huang said. “If you look at the big labels, I feel like all of them are pretty commercialized and they only care about numbers. But that’s kind of not what I want to see in the music industry. I want to see more artist support.”

Organizer and musician alike, it’s clear every person who worked on this concert worked hard with the intention of spreading community through art.  Whether it’s from the hard-earned production by concert organizers, the emotional songs of a talented singer, or the tears and cheers from audience members, when you love something that much, it’s not work. It’s love.

“My hope for the show is just to be able to feel with people, and to be able to laugh, cry, sing, to dance, feel all of our emotions just because it’s such a turbulent time,” Moray said. “I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to share the stage with three such talented artists.”