Fun fact about me: I LOVE DISNEY. Always have, always will.
I spent hours on end watching the Disney Channel growing up and listening to the music they would produce. In the sixth grade I was lucky enough to get to see THE Jonas Brothers, ya’ll. Not to brag or anything, but I was pretty much in the back of the stadium and they even took my sign away from me that I made for Joe, no biggie. Bless my mother’s soul for putting up with me during my Jonas Brothers phase. You can bet your bottom dollar I spent pretty much all of my time watching their YouTube videos and re-watching Camp Rock (enter my immense love for Demi Lovato).
I have loved Demi since I first watched her on Disney Channel, so you can imagine my excitement when the Honda Civic Tour 2016 was announced as being Demi Lovato AND Nick Jonas… oh, and Mike Posner, I suppose, but mostly Demi and Nick.
It was Christmas morning when my brother helped divvy up all of the presents. I was sitting behind a stack of random sizes of rectangle boxes, with a small envelope on the tippy top that read, “OPEN LAST!”
When the time came, I opened the envelope and found a printed confirmation email stating that I was going to be attending the Honda Civic Tour 2016 and I couldn’t have been more stoked.
Eight long months of waiting was definitely worth it.
I am going to be honest in saying that I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to Mike Posner’s performance. I mean, I only know a handful of his songs, which are all the songs that everyone knows by him. At first, my friend and I were not feeling his vibe and that’s because he was playing all of the songs no one ever heard of and he kept trying to get the crowd to put their hands up and my arms were tired. By the end of his set, I actually enjoyed what he was putting out, probably because he was singing songs that I could dance and sing to. One thing he could have left out of the show was at the end when he awkwardly talked about how normally he was sad but, “today was a good day.” Other than that, he did a pretty good job.
The anticipation was high as I sat there waiting for my second chance to see Nick Jonas live. When he took the stage, my sixth grade self completely lost it. Granted, I didn’t know many of his songs either, but I did know I loved him and his voice. He started with “Levels” and right off the bat I was amazed by his talent. An added bonus was that he sang “Bacon,” which was actually my favorite from his album. The energy in the crowd was pretty impressive throughout his set and he really knew how to get the crowd going over little things like walking down the stage. The end of his set came abruptly as he made his way to the back of the stage and the music continued to build up more dramatically by the second.
A pedestal slowly started to rise from the center of the stage and as the lights came up, the screaming grew louder as people in the crowd realized that Demi was standing there.
She exuded such confidence (no pun intended) standing on that stage that it gave me chills and I stood there in awe as she started singing. Everything about her was perfect. She hit every note perfectly and she looked flawless doing it. About halfway through her set she was joined on stage by Nick Jonas. He played piano for her while she belted out “Stone Cold” and either gave everyone chills or made them cry, or both maybe. When Demi went for an outfit change, Nick took the stage again to perform three more songs, one being “Close,” which ended up becoming a duet with Demi when she came back on stage. Which, in my opinion, ended up being much better than the original song.
It was amazing to see two friends take the stage together after being through so much throughout both of their careers. It was pretty clear how much they each cared about what they were doing, which always makes for an amazing show. There were a couple of times where I couldn’t even believe that I was standing in the same room as one of the most amazing female artists in the game right now. Demi is such a powerhouse, it’s insane. I think everyone thinks they know that about her, but it really takes seeing her live to fully understand how amazing this woman is.
The next chance you get to see Demi Lovato live, you better do it. She’s definitely an act for the books.