Of course I was sad to find out that Demi Lovato had to reschedule her initially planned date at London’s O2 Arena due to sickness, but I know that this meant that on the postponed date, she would bring it 110%. This was to be the first time that I would see the singer perform, and her first London date for many years, having last played at KOKO, a venue I was surprised she had performed at as it’s often reserved for less well known artists.
However, the O2 was a worthy venue (although it did seem small in comparison to Wembley Stadium, where I’d seen Taylor Swift a few nights before – you can read that review here). We started on time with a very unassuming set with just a piano onstage for first act Joy. The soft spoken Australian singer played a set for us full of warbling music and high range including tracks from her new EP including Change and Hooked, as well as the song that had made her decide to write music in the first place, Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams.
The next set was equally as unassuming for Jax Jones, with a DJ deck and two inflatable bottles advertising some of his songs. Most of us knew Jax from his track with Demi, Instruction, but throughout his set, the House DJ mixed well known songs like One Kiss, As Long As I Got You, and You Don’t Know Me. I felt that the scene was perhaps more suited for Ibiza than the O2 as the arena briefly turned into some kind of club as everyone jumped up and down to the beat.
At 9pm, the lights dimmed and Demi appeared on the two screens either side of the stage alongside a voiceover talking about how ‘we are all searching for our story’. From the darkness, Demi rose from the ground to sing one of the ballads from her latest album, You Don’t Do It For Me Anymore. Whilst she was no doubt still recovering from her illness and chose not to hit all of the high notes in this song and some of the others, when she did it was truly magical.
As quickly as she’d arrived, she sunk back into the stage and we were treated to another video sequence, this time watching Demi as both therapist and patient, as they discussed her new love interest and how she was perhaps a little bit obsessed with him. This was the perfect introduction to my favourite track on her latest record, Daddy Issues.
At this point, she proudly proclaimed her bisexuality by following this up with Cool For The Summer (known for its super fun lyrics like “Don’t tell your mother, kiss one another, die for each other) in which she danced provocatively with some of the female dancers, telling the crowd at the end that it was okay to love who you love, and that everyone should in fact go tell their mothers about it.
The raunch continued with Sexy Dirty Love with plenty of chair dancing to keep the crowd entertained, and a dance heavy and super fun rendition of one of her older hits, Heart Attack. After this song, she properly greeted the crowd in what felt like an unscripted manner which you don’t often find at concerts like this which are so heavily rehearsed that nothing is off the cuff. She heartfeltly apologised for having to postpone previously, and declared her love for London and her wish to move here one day, which thrilled the crowd no end.
The next section was a highlight, as she performed Give Your Heart A Break complete with ‘Kiss Cam’ which scoured the arena for all kinds of couples – a really nice way to spread the love throughout the concert. As we watched the Kiss Cam, she disappeared briefly for a costume change, and the screens changed to a montage of her preparing for a boxing fight, after which she rose again in boxing attire for Confident, complete with a few boxing moves thrown in here and there.
There certainly was a lot of coming and going throughout the concert which I felt could have been smoother and less noticeable had there been a more simple ‘exit stage left/stage right’ strategy, but it did mean that she and set pieces could rise in a surprising manner, as was the case for next track Concentrate, where she rose from the floor on a large white bed clutching an electric guitar. Very much an apt song for that type of setting.
Every couple of songs Demi would joke with the crowd and give us a hint that she's really quite down to Earth and doesn't take herself too seriously, as shown in her grin as backup dancers caressed her body in songs like Crybaby. It goes without saying that latest album Tell Me You Love Me is a bit more grownup than days of past! She joked again before Lonely that in spite of having been touring for almost a month by this point, she still had yet to find a European boyfriend or girlfriend, a comment which elicited plenty of cheers from willing candidates in the crowd.
I found it easy to almost forget that she was playing live for us, as her vocals are on another level entirely - this girl has pipes and they are impressive to behold! Jax joined her onstage for the ever-catchy Instruction and the club vibe continued with the UK's current #1 single, her collaboration with Clean Bandit Solo. Pretty catchy stuff. She was joined virtually on stage by Luis Fonsi through pre-recorded video screens for Spanglish anthem Echame La Culpa with a few fiesty dance moves thrown in for good measure.
She disappeared below the stage again and the screens lit up with a video montage of Demi's last decade. She certainly didn't hold back and images were flashed up relating to her eating disorders, addictions and stints in rehab. It's clear that for someone relatively young she's been through an awful lot and is not afraid to show it. One could have guessed that this would be followed by Warrior which she preceded, perched by the piano, with acknowledgement that she has had some rough times in life, and know that her fans have to, but that if they ever feel hurt, they can just put on her music because she will be there for them. A cliche sentiment, but one that does certainly ring through with music as a healer.
The next song was undoubtedly her rawest yet, new song Sober. In it, she sang "Momma, I'm so sorry, I'm not sober anymore. Daddy please forgive me for the drinks spilled on the floor. To the ones that never left me, we've been down this road before. I'm so sorry, I'm not sober anymore." I felt this was a brave move to open up in such a way when many artists would gladly gloss over issues like this. With the line "I'm sorry for the fans I've lost who watched me fall again," a huge cheer went up to prove that whilst she may have lost some fans, we were all still there for her.
Whilst we dried away our tears, the LED screens showed hate tweet after hate tweet directed at Demi, to which she arrived back on stage in a blaze of glory with Sorry Not Sorry to prove in a slightly different way to Warrior that such words don't affect her anymore. After a relatively short set of 1 hour 20 minutes, the show came to a close with tour title Tell Me You Love Me. She certainly doesn't need us to say it for her to know it.
All in all, it was a simple enough show - no big pyrotechnics or snazzy choreography, and a bare set with the exception of a chair or bed here and there. If you've read some of my blogs before, you'll know I often forgive artists who lipsync provided they put on a good show, and I'd say I'll make the opposite forgiveness here for Demi - a fairly basic show but a spectacular voice. Would I have enjoyed it more had there been better staging? Yes. Did I enjoy it immensely nonetheless? Yes.
I hope you enjoyed today's blog! I can't believe it's taken Demi so long to play the O2 in London, and I'm sure we'd love to have her back soon. Are you a fan of Demi? Let me know by dropping me a comment below or on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and make sure to give me a follow to be the first to know when a new review or interview goes live. Thanks for reading!
Gallery
Great Work! Thank u for wonderful information.
ReplyDelete