The Neon Lights Tour

The Neon Lights Tour
Tour by Demi Lovato
Associated album Demi
Start date February 9, 2014 (2014-02-09)
End date June 16, 2014 (2014-06-16)
Legs 5
Number of shows
  • 32 in North America
  • 11 in South America
  • 1 in Europe
  • 44 total
Box office US$16.8 million
Demi Lovato concert chronology

The Neon Lights Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour by American singer Demi Lovato. It was launched in support of her fourth studio album, Demi (2013). The first leg of tour began in North America on February 9, 2014, in Vancouver at Rogers Arena and ended on March 30, 2014, in Indianapolis at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The second leg of the tour took place in South America and Mexico, starting on April 23, 2014, in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Citibank Hall and ended on May 17, 2014, in Monterrey, Mexico at Arena Monterrey.

Background and development

On September 27, 2013, a video was published on Lovato's Facebook page with the words "Neon Lights" formed out of neon lights and at the end, it said: "Sunday 6PM EDT".[1][2] On the following Sunday, the Neon Lights Tour was announced along with the dates. The tour is named after the third single from the album Demi, "Neon Lights". Fifth Harmony, Little Mix, Cher Lloyd, and Magician Collins Key were featured as opening acts. Tickets became available on October 5, 2013.[3] During the season finale of The X Factor 2013, Lovato announced her plans to leave the show, instead endeavoring to focus on music and touring for 2014. When asked about her plans for the tour, Lovato stated "You can expect a show that I've never put on before, I'm really excited. Other shows I've had have been all about the music, but this time I want it to be about girl empowerment, I want it to be a huge party that everyone has fun at and leaves with an incredible experience." In the same interview, she teased about a possible cover collaboration on the tour with the girls of Fifth Harmony.[4] Upon another interview Demi stated she had been working with longtime friend Nick Jonas on the show, stating "He's helping create the show for my tour next year, today we were talking about designs and music and how we can really make my show incredible and like nothing I've done.[5]

On February 4, 2014, it was announced that Nick Jonas would be working as the Musical and Creative Director for the tour. Jonas told Rolling Stone "I'm overseeing video content, wardrobe, lighting, and staging, and then I'm extending into the musical side of things, which includes creating the arrangements for the songs. I'm building what Demi wanted, which is a show without stops and starts. Demi and I have the same manager, so I was immediately excited when I was offered the position. The relationship that Demi and I had over eight years really gives me the insight into how to best communicate with her and her team."I've been in rehearsals with the band for the last two weeks. The biggest challenge has been just trying to rethink some of the music and see how we could compliment it with lights and video. I sat down with the band and said to them, 'You need to step into this like it's a new gig. None of these arrangements are going to sound like the originals, so you need to have an open mind.'"[6]

Promotion

Prior to beginning off the tour, Lovato released a teaser video on her YouTube channel displaying video content that would be used during the show. Nick Jonas told MTV News: "there's a lot of exclusive content for this tour. Demi came to the whole team just on the creative side — both video and music, and she said, 'I want to give fans something special for every bit of the show.'" Lovato went on to comment that one of her inspirations for the tour was Beyoncé, stating "I was also really inspired by Beyoncé, who had a music video for every single song on the album. Some of these I had music video ideas for a while and..... I'm excited for people to see it." In the same interview, both Nick and Demi went on to describe the 're-imagining' of Lovato's older songs, saying they went online to see what her fans wanted to hear, and what Demi had played on her last two tours. Nick commented that "a lot of these songs aren't even the original arrangements. They've been completely re-imagined." Demi also went on to say, "we've made them more current too, so we've transformed songs that went from being made a couple years ago to actually sounding like today's music."[7]

Concert synopsis

Demi Lovato during The Neon Lights Tour in Belo Horizonte

The concert began with an opening underwater video sequence of Lovato, shown on the stage screens, accompanied with a black stage. The film showed heart beats, suggesting the opening song of "Heart Attack". At the end of the underwater video, shots of the "Heart Attack" video begin to appear, Lovato singing the opening lines, before rising up out of the stage, surrounded by jets of steam, and going on to sing "Heart Attack". "Remember December" is performed with an accompanying music video showing Lovato surrounded by snow, in a winter environment. The song is based on a brand new arrangement, with white stage lighting and strobe effects. "Fire Starter" sees the stage lit up with fire effects, while "The Middle" begins with Lovato playing a set of drums, before kicking off into the also newly arranged song, an accompanying video showing Demi in a desert. "Really Don't Care" begins with Demi leaning up against the lead guitarist center stage. The stage is then lit up in bright pink and blue to match the song's 'girl power' vibe. The stage is bathed in blue lights while Lovato slows down with renditions of "Stop the World", "Catch Me", and "Here We Go Again". These see Lovato play the guitar, and at certain US concerts she is joined by Nick Jonas, who accompanies her with a duet.

"Here We Go Again" is the most significantly changed song, made into a slow, sultry rock song. Lovato goes on to play "Made in the USA", "Nightingale", and "Two Pieces." At the end of "Two Pieces" Lovato heads down into the crowd, where she performs among the audience. At this point there is a guitar solo. "Warrior" sees Lovato strip down, playing the piano, an accompanying music video of Demi clad in armor being shown. Before this song Demi gives a signature speech to each city, making it one of the most personal part of the concert. "Let It Go" is performed as a pop rock song, and at the end of "Don't Forget", a video montage is shown of Lovato's musical journey, displaying various music videos of her songs. She then breaks into "Got Dynamite" after saying "that was me throughout the years..... and then..... I grew up." "Unbroken" and "Neon Lights" are both the club style song of the tour, with Cole Plante joining as a guest DJ on the US shows. During "Neon Lights", fans are able to use their phones on the Demi Lovato Official App, where they light up in time with each other, the stage is lit with Neon Lights, with an accompanying video being shown. During the choruses, steam it blown at around the stage, and strobe lights are shone out. As the song closes Lovato is lowered back into the stage, confetti being blown around the arena.

The encore begins with video content showing the media response to Lovato being admitted to rehab in 2010. This is followed by highlights of her success since her recovery, and when the video concludes, Lovato enters the stage. This is the only outfit change of the show, with Demi wearing a long black dress to sing "Skyscraper". At the final chorus Lovato is lifted off the stage on a platform, a series of spotlights directed upon her. Demi closes the show by ripping her dress off to reveal the outfit that she wore for the rest of the show, and putting on a leather jacket to sing the final song, "Give Your Heart a Break". Overall the concert uses significant amounts of pyrotechnics, lighting, and video content; with little choreography allowing Demi to use the stage in her signature rock style.[8]

Critical reception

Lovato performing at Nationwide Arena on March 22

Jason Lipshutz from Billboard called the show "a highly enjoyable evening", and found the performance of "Neon Lights" to be the show's "most memorable moment". He also referred to the opening video for "Skyscraper" as being "A candid, surprisingly affecting montage."[9] Mary Diaz from 99.7 NOW praised the show as "MORE than worth the wait!", deeming it "jam packed with talent, beauty, amazing voices, beautiful stage sets, and magic."[10] Mike Wass from Idolator called the show "flashy yet strikingly intimate," stating "there was no choreography and only one costume change, but you don't need shiny distractions when you can belt out songs like Demi and connect with the crowd on such an emotional level. That's not to say that the production was boring. Far from it."[11] Maychelle Ornos from International Business Times called the tour "epic" and "something to look forward to because Demi has taken all the steps to please and wow her fans."[12] Kayla Ziadie of Sun-Sentinel also gave a positive review, feeling the show "truly began" with Lovato's performance of "Heart Attack".[13] Jim Harrington from San Jose Mercury News gave a negative review, criticizing Lovato's live vocals and calling the show "just barely interesting enough to keep one's attention."[14]

Set lists

This set list is representative of the performance in East Rutherford on March 7, 2014. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.[15]

  1. "Heart Attack"
  2. "Remember December"
  3. "Fire Starter"
  4. "The Middle"
  5. "Really Don't Care"
  6. "Believe in Me"
  7. "Stop the World"
  8. "Catch Me"
  9. "Here We Go Again"
  10. "Made in the USA"
  11. "Nightingale"
  12. "Two Pieces"
  13. "Warrior"
  14. "Let It Go"
  15. "Don't Forget"
  16. Medley (features "Get Back", "This Is Me", "La La Land" and "Here We Go Again")
  17. "Got Dynamite"
  18. "Unbroken"
  19. "Neon Lights"
Encore
  1. "Skyscraper"
  2. "Give Your Heart a Break"

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, amount of available tickets and gross revenue
Date City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue
Leg 1 – North America[3][16][17][18]
February 9, 2014 Vancouver Canada Rogers Arena Fifth Harmony
Little Mix		 N/A N/A
February 11, 2014 San Jose United States SAP Center
February 13, 2014 Anaheim Honda Center
February 15, 2014 Glendale Gila River Arena
February 17, 2014 Grand Prairie Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
February 19, 2014 Houston Toyota Center
February 21, 2014 Atlanta Philips Arena 8,813 / 8,813 $400,275
February 23, 2014 Charlotte Time Warner Cable Arena N/A N/A
February 25, 2014 Sunrise BB&T Center
February 26, 2014 Tampa Amalie Arena
March 1, 2014 Camden Susquehanna Bank Center
March 2, 2014 Fairfax Patriot Center 7,123 / 8,525 $357,973
March 4, 2014 Bethlehem Sands Bethlehem Event Center Daniella Mason
Little Mix		 N/A N/A
March 6, 2014 Worcester DCU Center Fifth Harmony
Little Mix		 9,037 / 10,676 $421,463
March 7, 2014 East Rutherford Izod Center N/A N/A
March 8, 2014 Wallingford Oakdale Theater
March 9, 2014
March 11, 2014 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum 11,272 / 11,272 $637,637
March 13, 2014 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 8,189 / 13,193 $326,596
March 14, 2014 Rosemont Allstate Arena N/A N/A
March 16, 2014 Omaha CenturyLink Center Omaha
March 18, 2014 St. Paul Xcel Energy Center
March 20, 2014 St. Louis Scottrade Center Fifth Harmony
Cher Lloyd
March 22, 2014 Columbus Nationwide Arena
March 23, 2014 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena 5,072 / 5,342 $264,360
March 26, 2014 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre 11,085 / 11,085 $575,655
March 27, 2014 Cleveland United States Quicken Loans Arena N/A N/A
March 29, 2014 Nashville Bridgestone Arena 7,256 / 7,256 $352,432
March 30, 2014 Indianapolis Bankers Life Fieldhouse N/A N/A
Leg 2 – South America[19][20]
April 22, 2014 São Paulo Brazil Citibank Hall The Rosso Sisters 20,125 / 20,125 $1,472,530
April 24, 2014
April 25, 2014
April 27, 2014 Rio de Janeiro Citibank Hall 15,911 / 16,382 $1,104,220
April 28, 2014
April 30, 2014 Brasília NET Live Brasilia 5,733 / 5,733 $456,132
May 1, 2014 Belo Horizonte Chevrolet Hall 4,905/ 4,905 $348,350
May 3, 2014 Porto Alegre Pepsi On Stage 5,231 / 5,231 $401,067
May 6, 2014 Buenos Aires Argentina Luna Park 6,758 / 6,758 $536,690
May 8, 2014 Santiago Chile Movistar Arena N/A N/A
May 10, 2014 Guayaquil Ecuador Plaza Lagos
Leg 3 – North America
May 16, 2014 Mexico City Mexico Arena Ciudad de México The Rosso Sisters N/A N/A
May 17, 2014 Monterrey Monterrey Arena
Leg 4 – Europe
June 1, 2014 London England KOKO N/A N/A N/A
Leg 5 – North America
June 16, 2014[lower-alpha 1] Los Angeles United States Hollywood Bowl N/A N/A N/A
Total 126,298 / 135,296 (93.3%) $7,655,380

Cancelled shows

List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, and reason for cancellation
Date City Country Venue Reason
May 12, 2014 Panama City Panama Figali Convention Center Unexpected production conflicts.[22]
May 14, 2014 Guatemala City Guatemala Domo Polideportivo

Grossing

According to Pollstar, Demi Lovato's tour grossed $ 16.8 million in the first half of 2014 from 42 shows. [23]


Notes

  1. ↑ The June 16, 2015 concert in Los Angeles was part of 104.3 MY FM's My Big Night Out event.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Demi Lovato's Facebook Video". Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "#NeonLights Sunday 9/29. 6PM EDT". 27 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 Lipshutz, Jason (30 September 2013). "Demi Lovato Announces 2014 Tour with Cher Lloyd, Fifth Harmony".
  4. ↑ Schillaci, Sophie. "Demi Lovato Says 'Absolutely' To Fifth Harmony Collaboration". MTV. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  5. ↑ Lovato, Demi (2013). "Demi Lovato Talks Tour Dates and JoBros". E!. NBCUniversal.
  6. ↑ Greene, Andy. "Nick Jonas' Next Gig: Demi Lovato's Musical and Creative Director". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner).
  7. ↑ Garibaldi, Christina. "Demi Lovato Will Make Like Queen Bey On Neon Lights Tour". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ Lovato, Demi (February 24, 2014). "The Neon Lights Tour [FULL CONCERT] HD". YouTube.
  9. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (March 2, 2014). "Demi Lovato Shimmers on Neon Lights Tour". Billboard.
  10. ↑ Diaz, Mary. "Demi Lovato 'Neon Lights Tour' San Jose Review & Set List". 99.7 Now. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  11. ↑ Wass, Mike. "Demi Lovato's 'Neon Lights' Tour Shines Bright In Vancouver, Canada: Live Review". Idolator. Spin Media.
  12. ↑ Ornos, Maychelle (March 31, 2014). "#NeonLightsTourMemories Demi Lovato Neon Lights Tour Ending, Australian Fans Unable to Witness Show". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  13. ↑ Ziadie, Kayla (March 4, 2014). "Demi Lovato illuminates BB&T Center during Neon Lights tour". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ Harrington, Jim. "Demi Lovato fails to impress in concert". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  15. ↑ Glenn Gamboa (March 7, 2014). "Demi Lovato's 'Neon Lights' tour coming to Nassau Coliseum: See her set list". Newsday. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  16. ↑ Lovato, Demi. "The Neon Lights Tour!". demilovato.com. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  17. ↑ Mason, Daniella (March 3, 2014). "Honored/Stoked". Twitter.
  18. ↑ Box score:
  19. ↑ Collins, Clara (April 2, 2014). "Rosso Sisters fará shows de abertura na 'The Neon Lights Tour' na América do Sul". Portal Lovato.
  20. ↑ Box score:
  21. ↑ "Lease Event: MYfm presents My Big Night Out". Hollywood Bowl. May 12, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  22. ↑ Lovato, Demi (May 2, 2014). "Panama and Guatemala Shows". demilovato.com. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  23. ↑ http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2014/2014MidYearTop100WorldwideTours.pdf

External links

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