The lights drop inside Sydney’s Afterpay Arena, but Jason Derulo doesn’t appear immediately. His DJ is already working the packed room, whipping up the crowd before a countdown begins on the screens. Thousands of voices count down together and, by the time Derulo finally arrives, the anticipation has tipped into bedlam. Behind him, spectacular video projections give the production a distinctly dystopian edge, adding another dimension to a show built on scale.
Derulo’s voice remains the centre of it all. It is still as mesmerising as ever, moving easily between smooth R&B and the huge pop moments that have made him such a durable presence on radio and dancefloors. Around him, a bevy of male and female dancers keeps the production in almost constant motion, with dazzling choreography and a succession of costume changes giving the show its arena-sized visual punch.
There’s plenty of nostalgia in the room, and Derulo knows it. At one point he asks how many people have been with him from the beginning, before reflecting on how fortunate he feels to have built a career doing something he loves. Then the opening of ‘Whatcha Say’ arrives and the response is huge. The crowd roars its approval and, for a few minutes, this massive venue turns into one huge dancefloor.
It’s easy to forget just how enormous Derulo’s catalogue has become. The Miami-raised son of Haitian parents has grown from his late-2000s breakthrough into one of his generation’s most commercially successful pop artists, with more than 250 million singles sold and tens of billions of streams. ‘Talk Dirty’, ‘Wiggle’, ‘Swalla’ and the chart-topping ‘Savage Love’ are now firmly embedded in 21st-century pop, while collaborations with artists as varied as BTS, Nicki Minaj, Luke Bryan and Michael Bublé underline his ability to move comfortably between genres.
That adaptability is particularly apparent tonight. The older material brings an immediate rush of recognition, but Derulo doesn’t allow nostalgia to swallow the show. He has been particularly adept at keeping himself in the cultural conversation, building an audience of almost 250 million followers across social media and becoming one of music’s biggest presences on TikTok. More recent viral successes, including his collaboration ‘Snake’ with Nora Fatehi, suggest he still understands how quickly pop consumption continues to change. He also recently released a new eight-track album ‘The Last Dance (Part 1)’ which adds another dimension to the night.
Calling the tour ‘The Last Dance’ might suggest a farewell, but nothing about tonight feels final. Derulo remains a consummate showman, surrounded by dancers, huge visuals and almost relentless movement, yet it is his voice that continues to hold everything together.
More than 15 years into his career, he can still command an arena, send thousands of people into motion and make a room this massive feel like one giant party. Tonight is as much about where Jason Derulo is now as everything that brought him here.
Images Deb Pelser
The tour continues to Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland, tickets HERE.
