Selena Gomez shows she has the talent to match her celebrity

When pop princess Selena Gomez made her entrance Friday night, the sold-out Rogers Arena filled with screams of devotion not heard since her hair-flipping boyfriend Justin Bieber visited the stage last November.

The crowd was young enough to make a teenager feel out of place.

Lucky for Gomez, her voice and demeanour are not as grating as some of her 90s-born pop contemporaries. She also has a refreshing live band backing her, which adds an element of genuine spectacle to an otherwise tightly rehearsed set.

Gomezs vocal personality came alive during Love You Like a Love Song, which was accompanied by an edgy, wobble baseline.

Still maintaining her good-girl image, the starlet gushed about her love for Vancouver. Earlier in the day she tweeted: Honestly I will move here one day.

Unfortunately for the sea of glowstick-wielding fans, there was no appearance from her beau.

Draped in Cleopatra-style glitter and hardware, Gomez showed a surprising range of emotional authenticity. As her outfits switched from belly-baring hip-hop gear to sashed pageant gown, Gomez teetered on the edge of several flavours of pop.

During a nod to Nicki Minaj, Selena donned a cutesy swagger and rapped her way through part of Super Bass. After a dancer showcase, Gomez paid her respects to another starlet, Britney Spears with a six-song mini-set. Gomez belted out hooks from Spears hits (You Drive Me) Crazy and Im A Slave 4 U. She even took a swing at Brits acidic new material.

Its a long way to have come for a 19-year-old whose career began on the television show Barney & Friends. With a Kmart clothing line and fragrance on the wayon top of movies, TV and celeb-style philanthropya few short years have churned out an expensive, impressive production. It's the kind of powerhouse that might not have been possible even five years ago.

Opener Shawn Desman hearkened back to that other generation of MuchMusic mainstays (think early aughts) when garbled fan tweets had not yet ! taken ov er. You may not know this song, said Desman, but your older sister does.

Flanked by spaceman dancers, the R&B singer who sparked a trend with his sideways mohawk had a nostalgic but well-choreographed set.

With three albums under her belt, the most recent Selena material shows more traces of maturity. Instead of markety repetition intent on hooking children, songs off the album When the Sun Goes Down explore a perspective beyond boy-chasing.

Closing off with her early hit Naturally, Gomez showed off her pragmatic, good-girl attitude. Stay in school, be nice to each other and dont take no for an answer, she said following her encore smash, Who Says. Because youre all beautiful.