Gomez pleases crowd with pop hits
Selena Gomez has been talking about taking a break from music to focus on her acting career. But then she released an album and embarked on a world tour, which stopped at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday. Hey, a girl can change her mind, can’t she?
The new album, Stars Dance, is billed as Gomez’s solo debut, marking her first venture into the studio without her band, the Scene, with whom she recorded three hit albums. Now 21, the Texas-born pop darling appears to be coming of age by jumping on the dance-music bandwagon.
Not that it’s had much effect on the demographics of her fan base. She’s still the idol of the tween set, who were widely represented along with their parents, in the boisterous crowd of 9,500 at Thursday’s concert, the sixth show of the Stars Dance tour.
Kudos to Gomez for not making them grow up too fast. Unlike Britney Spears, Rihanna or Christina Aguilera, Gomez mounted a show that was fairly wholesome by pop standards, wisely choosing not to flaunt her sexuality to prove she’s a grown-up.
Instead of resorting to soft-core sleaze, Gomez delivered a concert that was full of energy, light and movement. With a full band and eight athletic dancers backing her, the choreography was a key element of the production. No one flew through the air and nothing exploded into flames — it was up to Gomez and her dancers to provide visual interest, aided by inventive lighting design. Good ol’ people power helped her make the best use of the big stage, which featured an Sshaped extension that jutted into the crowd.
The sweet-faced gal from the Disney Channel kicked off the show with the frisky Bang Bang and Round and Round, songs from her Scene days, before igniting a string of new tunes, including the slowburning Stars Dance, the lively Write Your Name and the infectious Birthday.
She bounced back and forth between Scene material and solo songs, slowed things down for a couple of numbers, and even honked on a harmonica on her version of Dream. Ultimately, it all led to a big confetti-spray of a finish.
In the middle slot was warmup act Emblem 3, a boy-band trio discovered on X Factor, nurtured by Simon Cowell and obviously well on their way to pop stardom. Fans shrieked as the three young men from Washington State loped through a set of impossibly catchy tunes.
Nineteen-year-old singer-songwriter Christina Grimmie was first to face the audience. A gangly young woman with a big smile and a big voice, she should have been nervous about performing solo on a huge stage, but if so, it didn’t show. Her claim to fame is the popularity of her YouTube videos, in which she sings cover songs, so it was nice to see that her bubbly personality lends itself to the live stage as well. Now a recording artist, Grimmie performed songs from her recently released debut album, With Love, including a tender rendition of the title track, played on piano, that left everyone feeling a little emotional for a moment before getting back to the upbeat pop fare.