The Neon Lights Tour

The Neon Lights Tour was the third headlining concert tour by American singer Demi Lovato, in support of her fourth studio album, Demi (2013). The first leg of tour began in North America on February 9, 2014 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia and ended on March 30, 2014 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The tour's second leg took place in both South America and Mexico. It started on April 22, 2014 at the Citibank Hall in São Paulo, Brazil and ended on May 17, 2014 at Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

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	3
No. of shows	44
Box office	US $16.8 million (42 shows)
Demi Lovato concert chronology
A Special Night with Demi Lovato (2011–2013) The Neon Lights Tour (2014) Demi World Tour (2014–2015)

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 complement 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 Jonas and Lovato went on to describe the "re-imagining" of Lovato's older songs, saying she went online to see what her fans wanted to hear, and what Lovato had played on her last two tours. Jonas commented that "a lot of these songs aren't even the original arrangements. They've been completely re-imagined." Lovato 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

 

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 Lovato in a desert. "Really Don't Care" begins with Lovato 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 her clad in armor being shown. Before this song Lovato 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 Lovato 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. Lovato closes the show by ripping theur 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 list

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. "Stop the World"
7. "Catch Me"
8. "Here We Go Again"
9. "Made in the USA"
10. "Nightingale"
11. "Two Pieces"
12. "Warrior"
13. "Let It Go"
14. "Don't Forget"
15. "Get Back"/"This Is Me"/"La La Land"/"Here We Go Again"
16. "Got Dynamite"
17. "Unbroken"
18. "Neon Lights"

Encore

19. "Skyscraper"
20. "Give Your Heart a Break"

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of 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 Collins Key	—	—
February 11, 2014	San Jose	United States	SAP Center
February 13, 2014	Anaheim		Honda Center
February 15, 2014	Glendale		Jobing.com 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		—	—
February 25, 2014	Sunrise		BB&T Center
February 26, 2014	Tampa		Tampa Bay Times Forum
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	Little Mix Daniella Mason Collins Key	—	—
March 5, 2014	Worcester		DCU Center	Fifth Harmony Little Mix Collins Key	9,037 / 10,676	$421,463
March 7, 2014	East Rutherford		Izod Center		—	—
March 8, 2014	Wallingford		Oakdale Theater
March 9, 2014
March 11, 2014	Uniondale		Nassau Coliseum		11,272 / 11,272	$537,637
March 13, 2014	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills		8,189 / 13,193	$326,596
March 14, 2014	Rosemont		Allstate Arena		—	—
March 16, 2014	Omaha		CenturyLink Center Omaha
March 18, 2014	Saint Paul		Xcel Energy Center
March 20, 2014	St. Louis		Chaifetz Arena	Fifth Harmony Cher Lloyd Collins Key
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		—	—
March 29, 2014	Nashville		Bridgestone Arena		7,256 / 7,256	$352,432
March 30, 2014	Indianapolis		Bankers Life Fieldhouse		—	—
Leg 2 – Latin 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		4,693 / 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		—	—
May 10, 2014	Guayaquil	Ecuador	Explanada del Palacio de Cristal
May 16, 2014	Mexico City	Mexico	Mexico City Arena	The Rosso Sisters	—	—
May 17, 2014	Monterrey		Arena Monterrey
Leg 3 – Europe & North America
June 1, 2014	London	England	KOKO	—	—	—
June 16, 2014^[a]	Los Angeles	United States	Hollywood Bowl
Total					129,898 / 135,296 (96%)	$17,655,380

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, 2014 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". Facebook. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
2. . 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
3. Lipshutz, Jason (30 September 2013). "Demi Lovato Announces 2014 Tour with Cher Lloyd, Fifth Harmony". Billboard.
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 (10 February 2014). "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). . Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. 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. . demilovato.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
17. Daniella Mason [@DaniellaMason] (3 March 2014). "UNBELIEVABLY honored/stoked/psyched to announce that we will be OPENING FOR @ddlovato TOMORROW night in PA.💓🙆🙉😱 Tkts:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
18. Box score:
    • . Billboard. March 22, 2014. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
    • . Billboard. April 2, 2014. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
    • . Billboard. April 9, 2014. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
    • . Billboard. June 11, 2014. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
    • . Billboard. June 18, 2014. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
    • . Billboard. July 9, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
    • . Billboard. November 20, 2014. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
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:
    • . Billboard. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
    • . Billboard. June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
21. . Hollywood Bowl. May 12, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
22. Lovato, Demi (May 2, 2014). . demilovato.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
23. (PDF). www.pollstarpro.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

• Official website