By VANESSA LANGDON
Staff Writer
—
Demi Lovato of Disney Channel fame is all grown up, out of rehab, stronger than ever and recently stopped at Albany’s Times Union Center on her Demi World Tour.
The 22-year-old singer/songwriter played at the Times Union Center on Sunday, Sept. 7. The Albany stop was only her second of the tour. Lovato sang a 17-song set with one encore song. The concert featured two opening musical acts: MKTO and Christina Perri. The Albany stop also had a surprise marriage proposal involving two audience members, which marked the first time such an event has happened at a Lovato concert.
This tour, unlike Lovato’s previous headlining tours, focused more on her humanitarian work and less on the struggles she’s overcome such as self-harm, eating disorders, depression, and a type-two bipolar disorder diagnosis.
Her goals were to highlight her humanitarian work and encourage her fans (or warriors as she fondly calls them), to follow suit in their own communities big or small. Lovato also brought Spencer West on tour to speak to the crowds between acts.
West met Lovato on her trip to Kenya with the organizations “Me to We” and “Free the Children.” West calls himself a ‘warrior’ because of the battles he has overcome: West lost both of his legs from the pelvis down at the age of five and went on to accomplish amazing feats, which include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Saint Rose students Kassie Petrone, 19, and Shannon Patton, 18, attended the concert and were amazed and inspired by West.
“He was awesome, he rocks. He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and he doesn’t have legs,” continued Petrone. “He’s good to be with Demi.” Patton agreed that West was empowering but was saddened that Lovato mentioned him climbing mountains before playing her song “Warrior,” a song that is an anthem about overcoming struggles and emerging stronger, and slamming people who can’t get out of bed in the morning for one reason or another when he was able to accomplish that with no legs.
The pair, Patton and Petrone, met last year as freshmen at Saint Rose because of Lovato.
“She just grabbed me and spun me around,” Petrone said of Patton when they met in the Saint Rose dining hall. Patton grabbed Petrone because of the sweatshirt she was wearing that featured a giant photo of Lavoto’s face. “We had met a couple times before that but not ever like that,” said Petrone.
The two friends attended the concert together and both met Lovato. This was the second time Petrone met the singer.
“It was definitely easier the second time than the first time,” Petrone said, “The first time [Petrone’s friends] were yelling at me to go… the second time was a lot easier because I knew what to expect.” Petrone met Lovato for the second time six months after she initially met her and said it “fell on an important time and it was something to be excited about.”
Both Patton and Petrone said it is typical for a Lovato meet and greet to end in tears, as they witnessed while waiting in line. They did not shed the typical tears- it being Petrone’s second time meeting the singer she was used to it, while Patton did not have such an emotional connection. Instead Patton went for a lighthearted approach, deciding that she would ask Lovato how she got such a nice butt.
“Not a lot people can tell people they talked about [having an] ultimate booty with Demi Lovato,” Patton said.
Patton did say that she wishes she could have told Lovato how much she loves her.
“I feel like a serious thing, but I don’t regret what I said. I’m glad I kept it lighthearted,” said Patton.
The two were satisfied with the song choices Lovato included in the set list. Petrone was specifically enamored by Lovato’s cover of the Michael Jackson classic “Thriller” saying, “She made it her own, so it wasn’t the same as Michael Jackson.”
Lovato has released four albums so there is no way for her to perform all of her songs. Petrone did miss one song in particular from Lovato’s third album,
“She didn’t sing ‘Lightweight’…with her dancers it would have been perfect.” Petrone has always imagined the ballad as a ballet in her head.
Both Petrone and Patton had been looking forward to last Sunday night for months. Patton said that she’s been excited about the concert since “three months ago when we got the tickets and two days before that when we found out about the Albany stop.”
Petrone said, “We were extremely lucky that she came to Albany.” The two friends were able to get to the concert with a 10-minute bus ride, unlike some people they talked to who had traveled hours to attend the concert.
The concert, by the girls’ accounts, was a success. The proposal ended with a “Yes” and an “AWH” from the crowd as the groom-to-be shipped off to serve in the military the next morning. Patton described the concert in one word as “bitchin’,” while Petrone said she had no words to describe it, “There’s not just one word.”
