Demi Lovato recently came to Louisville on her Demi Lovato: World Tour, bringing with her a wide variety of opening acts. No one was quite like the other, which made for a concert that never got boring and appealed to people of all musical tastes.
The concert started with the first opening act MKTO, who played some crowd favorites. They were very interactive with the audience, having them sing some parts and the camera feeding to the big screen even panning over them. They showed their musical skill with some killer guitar solos and Tony Oller, one half of the duo, playing the piano. Both of the men played a drum set at the front of the stage during their song “Second Chances.” They ended their set with their most popular single “Classic,” keeping the drums rolling for a minute after and jumping in sync off of a slightly raised platform at the last beat.
The next opening act to perform was Bea Miller, who finished ninth on the past season of The X Factor, a show that Lovato is a judge on. While Lovato was not Miller’s mentor, she still invited Miller to join her on tour. Miller played her new single “Young Blood,” the audience turning on their flashlights to light up the arena in response to slow beat. During her set, Miller did a cover of “Ain’t it Fun” by Paramore, and invited the audience to sing along with her.
Christina Perri was the third and last musical opening act of the night. She opened up with “Jar of Hearts,” a song she said was about strength. Perri showed her talent with the piano throughout most of her songs, and when she wasn’t playing, she had a tambourine in her hand. Perri played a whole slew of her most popular and well-known songs, including “Arms,” “A Thousand Years,” “Human,” and even did a cover of Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars.”
The final opening act had no musical talent to share, but a story he wanted to tell. His name was Spencer West, and as he pointed out and joked about, he had no legs whatsoever. His speech was about being a warrior – a song by Lovato – and how he came so strong. West talked about his negative experiences in high school, a trip he took to Kenya, his joining of the Free the Children foundation, and even climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the foundation. West also spoke about the Demi Lovato Rafiki friend chain, whose proceeds go to a women’s empowerment center in Africa. He kept repeating the same line from Lovato’s song “Warrior,” about being stronger and having thicker skin. At the end of his speech, a video played of the women he and Demi had met repeating those same lines.
Though all of the acts were very different, they flowed nicely together. MKTO first gave the audience a group they were semi-familiar with and knew some songs from. Miller next provided a new and refreshing act that fit in nicely with the style. Perri closing the musical style was a genius move by Lovato, as Perri’s songs have become so popular over the years. They are slow, which settles the mood of the audience, but still well-known and fun to sing along to. West’s part in the concert was something I had never seen before, and so was refreshing. All artists have opening acts, but not many that don’t provide music. I hope that Lovato comes back again and includes such a variety of opening acts once more.

Article by Taylor Duvall