Review: Selena Gomez shows she has talent of her own

REVIEW

What: Selena Gomez and The Scene with Shawn Desman and Christina Grimmie

When: Thursday

Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre

Rating: HHHH (out of five)

When you've got paparazzi descending on Victoria to snap shots of a performer disembarking her plane, buying nachos at 7-Eleven and signing autographs for fans, you know a major talent is in our midst.

Or at least somebody really famous.

Selena Gomez, who performed a sold-out concert last night at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, is a little bit of both.

For a performer who is both a celebrity and singer, Gomez's Victoria debut offered a nice balance between expensive production and genuine sentiment.

Surprisingly, the twinkling lights didn't detract from her set, as it does many of her contemporaries. In fact, during a song like Spotlight, which was performed mostly in the dark save for some handheld flashlights, the props actually enhanced it.

Gomez, 19, isn't an impossible teen to like, or even admire. The girlfriend of fellow teen star Justin Bieber has talent of her own, and can certainly carry a professional

90-minute show. Her songs? A mix of hits and clunkers.

But she didn't cheap on the details Gomez rolled with four superb backup dancers and a six-person band, dubbed The Scene nor did she phone it in.

In what was her first show in over a month, Gomez brought to 6,844 young fans the type of performance you would expect, believe it or not, from Britney Spears back in her heyday. Speaking of Ms. Britney, Gomez paid her respects to the performer, whose concert Gomez said she attended when she was 11, with a six-song mini-set of Spears hits, from (You Drive Me) Crazy to I'm A Slave 4 U.

It was a nice tribute to Spears from Gomez, whose ability to handle fast-paced material was excellent. When she slowed down the pace for The Way I Loved You and We Own the Night, noticeable cracks appeared in her shiny veneer, proving that some areas need improvement! . But al l flaws considered, she's in much better shape than her two opening acts.

YouTube star Christina Grimmie opened the show with a pointless set which saw her not only sing to a click track (Band? Who needs a band?) but do so poorly.

Shawn Desman, the Ontario singer who a decade ago danced his way into the hearts of teens, when he himself was still a teen, also used a click track (DJ? Who needs a DJ?) but fared slightly better. Though his 30-minute set was an exercise in lowest-common-denominator dance music, at least he brought some energy to the stage.

Both openers cold learn a thing or two from Gomez. She wasn't perfect, but she looked confident and sounded strong during what is, amazingly, her first-ever headlining tour.

"Stay in school, be nice to each other and don't take no for an answer," she said following her encore smash, Who Says. "Because you're all beautiful."

No wonder the paparazzi is on the case. For once, they might actually capture a star worth watching.