‘Who Says’ singer doesn’t disappoint fans with simple, yet fun concert
By Lie Shia Ong
MSN Music
You’d expect a concert at a state fair to be simple, no extravagant stage, not a lot of flashy lights. Selena Gomez’s concert at the Puyallup Fairgrounds on September 12, was just that—but it was the no frills production that really allowed the 18-year-old singer to shine. It was all about her and her band (the Scene), her songs, her voice and her fans.
Unlike most other concert these days, this particular tour date had no opening act. As the scheduled start of her show approached, her fans in the grandstands—mostly tween girls dressed in Selena T-shirts—started screaming, holding up their homemade posters—started to stomp their feet, sending an echoing thundering noise throughout the entire venue.
Then the lights dimmed, and Selena ran onto the stage accompanied only by her drummer, guitar player and two backup singers. The screams would only get louder.
Dressed in sparkly black pants, T-shirt and black boots, and holding a magenta-sequined mic with her name on it, Gomez opened with “A Year Without Rain” followed by “Hit the Lights,” a song off her third album “When the Sun Goes Down.”
What really stood out was the fact there was no choreographed numbers, no back up dancers. There wasn’t anything to distract from the singing—and the girl can sing!
While Gomez’s fan base tends to lean mostly to the younger audience, parents who had brought their kids to the show to see their favorite Disney star seemed to enjoy the show too. One mom said she was thankful that out of all the acts out there, that her kids liked the G-rated Gomez best.
Selena paid tribute to Nicki Minaj by covering her hit song “Super Bass,” and also pointed out before singing “Whiplash” that her childhood hero, Britney Spears, had written the song especially for her. Unlike other performances on the other dates during the tour, Gomez didn’t sing her Britney tribute medley at this show.
After singing and bopping around both ends of the stage for almost two hours, the lights went off, prompting Selena fans to start chanting and screaming loudly again for her to return.
They weren’t disappointed when a familiar guitar riff for her hit song “Who Says” started playing.
Selena didn’t spend too much time talking during her show, but before she sang her last encore song “Magic,” she thanked her fans, saying she wouldn’t be on the stage singing without their love and support. She also had a message for the parents of her young fans. “Thank you for putting up with me and my songs,” she said. Fact is, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to like her music, even if you aren’t a tween.