The Other Side

“Tonight
Take me to the other side
Sparks fly like the Fourth of July
Just take me to the other side
I see that sexy look in your eyes
And I know we ain’t friends anymore
If we walk down this road
We’ll be lovers for sure
So tonight kiss me like it’s do or die
And take me to the other side”

The Other Side – Jason Derulo

When someone asks what your favourite kind of music is you usually lean towards one genre and can name a list of artists who you like from that one particular genre. Some people are really specific and only like classic rock or 1990’s hip hop and some people, like me, tend to be a lot more generic. Personally I lean towards a lot of softer rock, most of the top 40 pop hits (including boy bands – I love boy bands!) and the odd adult contemporary track. I usually hate on most hip-hop as the music makes me quite uncomfortable, but I really like Jason Derulo. Now, let’s agree Jason Derulo is more of a hip pop kind of guy, but still, liking his music is way outside of my usual music selection.

Last week my girlfriends and I decided to have a girls night and bought tickets to Jason Derulo’s only Auckland show. We had a few wines and dressed up pretty and went out to his show. I am a huge fan of going to concerts but it’s a bit of a risk as your favourite songs might not be good live– I went to see OneRepublic last year and they were terrible. Luckily for the concert goers though Jason Derulo was fantastic live. The best way to describe the show was slick; it transitioned smoothly from song to banter to dancing. The set was simple but very effective and the dancers utilized it by jumping around the three level set up. And the ladies sure did get a treat when Jason and the dancers did some topless pull ups! I’ve been to a lot of concerts with a lot of screaming women, and that moment produced some of the loudest screams.

It was a great night out and I left feeling very buzzed, high after seeing a fantastic show. I like to reflect back on shows and think what really satisfied me (or what I hated if the show went badly) and with Jason Derulo it was that he always stayed right behind the line of trying too hard to be cool. When you listen to music and see shows I think you can easily tell when someone is trying too hard (Justin Bieber is a prime example, though I have never had the misfortune of seeing him live). Jason Derulo, while probably pleased with himself for his fame and hoards of screaming women, actually came across very genuine, funny and looking like he loved what he was doing.

If you ever get a chance to see Jason Derulo live I would recommend you take it. Before the show I was still a bit indecisive about whether I really did like Jason Derulo or if I was just being blindsided by some very catchy music. However, I genuinely like him, his music and his performance, and I knew this was definitely true when I was stoked he sung my favourite song The Other Side twice. As a frequent concert goer I would say Jason Derulo was up there with the best of concerts and that is a big thing for me to say!