If you have mentioned pop star Demi Lovato in my presence in the last 15 years, there’s a solid chance I have responded with some version of the following:
“Like I’m made of glass. Like I’m made of paperrrrr.”
If you are baffled, you are not alone. But if you’re a member of my group chat, or millennial or elder Gen Z with fond memories of our “Camp Rock” princess (although for the record I preferred “Sonny with a Chance”), you know that I am referencing the lyrics of Lovato’s 2011 power ballad “Skyscraper.”
On April 27 at Nationwide Arena, I had the chance to see the erstwhile Disney Channel queen belt out that she was, indeed, a skyscraper, that she didn’t want to break anyone’s heart and that she was sorry, but, importantly, not sorry.
Here are a few takeaways from Lovato’s “It’s Not That Deep” tour stop in Columbus, as relayed to my aforementioned group chat during the show.
Demi Lovato can BELT
There’s a reason I always preferred Lovato to some of her peers in the Disney stable during my tweenhood. The girl can SING. (No shade, Selena Gomez. Well, a little shade.)
After an opening group of songs emphasizing the dance pop vibe of her new album, Lovato perched up high on high garage-esque set to get the crowd bumping to one of her biggest hits, “Heart Attack.”
“Cue the video of Taylor Swift bouncing the basketball,” I messaged the group chat, while noting to the IRL (in real life, for those not familiar) friend who had joined me that I always respected the power of Lovato’s voice.
She continued showing off that power throughout the night. The microphone, as the kids say, was ON, especially for power ballad “Skyscraper” (the group chat received many video clips) and “Ghost,” a love song off the new album.
I suggested to the chat that Lovato should perhaps go on Broadway, which one of my friends noted we have known since her “Camp Rock” days. Does Lea Michele need a replacement in “Chess?” I have a suggestion!
Is it all just Madonna?
“Frequency,” one of the show’s earliest songs which features on the new album, has a vibe very much like Madonna’s “Vogue.” That made me think of Sabrina Carpenter, a star who likely falls into the generation below me and Lovato, who just brought out the queen of pop for an iconic set at Coachella.
I am a wee bit older than Lovato (I was NOT carded at the bar while my Lovato-aged guest was), and I watched the “Hung Up” music video many, many times while waiting for the bus in 2005. It seems the slightly more youthful Lovato did too.
Don’t believe me? Listen to “Frequency,” or just check out one of these tour stops.
Slightly filtered group chat content
My original vision for this review had been exclusively WhatsApp messages I sent during the show, but it turns out my assurances that our setlist prediction indicated she WOULD be singing “Skyscraper” don’t make for the most compelling of content.
Instead, presented with only the slightest of professional filter, are a few of the other observations I shared with the five dear friends who will echo back to me that they are made of paper at the drop of a hat:
So there you have it. Add a few more complaints about spouses (not mine, if he’s reading) and some of my observations about the outfits that I simply could never (with the self-aware question, “Do I not understand fashion?” which, almost certainly, I do not) and you’ve experienced this very millennial show through the eyes of a very millennial group chat.
Remember:
Go on and try to tear me down/I will be rising from the ground/Like a skyscraper/Like a skyscraper/
Eleanor Kennedy is the senior digital director of the Dispatch. She can be reached at ekennedy@dispatch.com, or on WhatsApp but only for Demi Lovato discussions.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Demi Lovato brought dance pop and nostalgia to Columbus. One millennial responds
Reporting by Eleanor Kennedy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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