Photo: Jackie Tran
Maybe it was his distinctive voice, maybe it was his incredibly talented dancers, perhaps it was the opening by Ricki-Lee, whatever it was, Jason Derulo was impressive.
The Entertainment Centre was already packed with screaming teenagers by the time Fresh began his set on Thursday night, followed by a sterling performance by Australia’s Ricki-Lee Coulter.
Despite battling a sore throat which was threatening to take her voice, Ricki-Lee’s set was exceptional, as was her voice and her ability to warm up a crowd with her genuine and witty banter.
Dressed in a sexy white one piece playsuit with a sheer overskirt, Ricki-Lee and her dancers provided the perfect support to Derulo; a highlight being her cover of Avicii’s Wake Me Up.
When Jason Derulo followed his dancers onto the stage singing In My Head, it was clear this gig was going to be all singing, all dancing and very little else; but that was ok.
Sure, there was no band, just a mohawked DJ who occasionally reminded us to hashtag #tattoosworldtour and buy tour merchandise.
And no matter there was just as much spotlight performance on his dancers as there was on him, including a long section where Derulo and his dancers compared muscles by doing chin-ups on the set, and pulled girls up from the audience to lay on their back while they did push-ups.
And ok, despite having released four albums, he ran out of material, even saying at the very end of the concert, “I’m sorry, I’ve run out of songs.”
In spite of these things, Derulo is a talented man with a great voice, catchy songs, a flair for reaching out to his audience, and he also has magnificent abs.
The 25 year old who has written and produced music for the likes of Lil Wayne and Diddy has put together a tour which showcases his ability to sing and dance, and that’s what makes this concert so good.
The tri-level set with a trampoline provided the perfect gymnasium for the dancers to cavort upon and the lighting had a nightclub feel with just enough ‘international world tour’ effects to remind us where we were.
Derulo looked like this generation’s answer to Michael Jackson with complex and intelligently choreographed dance routines, songs that beg you to move, and an adoring fan base.
He performed a few covers quite well, like Lorde’s Royal, but highlights of the show were his songs The Other Side, Trumpets, Talk Dirty to Me and Ridin’ Solo.
Although the concert was not a spectacular spectacle, Jason Derulo’s Tattoos tour was beautifully put together, allowing his dancers to show off their skills, getting up close with his audience and creating a house party atmosphere in the state’s biggest venue.
Reviewed by Libby Parker
More News
