Future Now Tour
The Future Now Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by American singers Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas. It was Lovato's fifth headlining tour, in support of her fifth studio album Confident, and Jonas' third concert tour, in support of his third studio album Last Year Was Complicated. The co-headlining tour started on June 29, 2016, in Atlanta and ended on September 17, 2016, in Inglewood. Lovato continued the tour as a solo headlining act on September 24, 2016, in New York City, and the tour concluded in Monterrey on October 19, 2016.
Background and development
On October 26, 2015, Lovato and Jonas announced on the Elvis Duran Show after days of rumors that they would go on tour together. On the same day, she talked about the tour on Good Morning America. It was also announced that the tickets would go on sale on November 7, 2015. The poster for the tour was revealed as well and it has been described as very "Hunger Games tributes representing District 1.″On March 22, 2016, the tour was officially announced as a part of the 15th Annual Honda Civic Tour. Fans were given the chance to enter the 2016 Honda Civic Tour Sweepstakes for a chance to win one of three grand prizes: a 2016 Honda Civic Sedan automobile customized by Lovato, a Honda Grom motorcycle customized by Jonas, and a trip for two to Los Angeles to see Lovato and Jonas live in concert at The Forum. On June 28, 2016, it was announced that Tidal would livestream the first date of the tour. On June 29, 2016, Lovato announced that CAST Centers would join her on tour to promote open dialogue about mental health and wellness, also to inspire fans and erase the stigma around asking for help.
The Honda Civic Tour of the Future Now Tour took place in North America across the United States and Canada from June 29, 2016 until September 17, 2016. Mike Posner served as the main opening act with the exceptions of Atlanta, Sunrise, Orlando, San Jose, Portland, and Seattle. Rich Homie Quan and Migos opened in Atlanta, Marshmello opened in Sunrise, DJ JayR opened in Orlando, and Chord Overstreet opened in Chula Vista, San Jose, Nashville, and Inglewood. Lovato and Jonas were scheduled to perform Charlotte and Raleigh, but cancelled over the HB2 law in North Carolina. Lovato and Jonas was also scheduled to perform in Virginia Beach, but cancelled due to a scheduling conflict with the Boston Pops Firework Spectacular July 4.
Lovato continued the Future Now Tour without Jonas in New York City, Turkey, and Mexico. On September 7, 2016, Global Citizen Festival 2016 announced Lovato as a headliner of the festival in New York City. Selena Gomez was an original headliner, but cancelled due to anxiety and depression caused by lupus. On September 21, 2016, Expo 2016 announced Lovato as a headliner of the festival in Antalya. The tour concluded in Mexico with three shows in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
Critical reception
Monique Melendez, reviewing the tour's Brooklyn stop for Billboard, praised Jonas and Lovato for putting their voices "front and center" in the show rather than focusing on showmanship as many pop concerts tend to do. Melendez noted that there was "no knife-sharp choreography, no flocks of strapping dancers, no impractical props cluttering the stage and only one wardrobe change for Lovato". She critiqued both headliners' sets for being "beleaguered by corny imagery" but complimented Jonas's setlist as a "quality selection of tracks" and Lovato for her vocals. Melendez picked out Lovato's performance of "Stone Cold" as a highlight, in which she sounded "better in the arena than she did on the studio version".One area of the tour which Melendez criticized was the lack of collaborations between Jonas and Lovato. During their one duet in the show, Jonas's "Close" where Lovato took on Tove Lo's lines, Lovato "struggled at times to get her voice to match Lo’s softer, huskier tone". An additional collaboration, for Melendez, "could have turned this into a true Jonas and Lovato tour". The review concluded appealing to the tour's organizers to "please have Lovato and Jonas perform with each other, so they may bounce off each other’s energy rather than simply coexisting in the same arena".
Melendez also commended opener Mike Posner's set as "refreshing" and "raw", highlighting the "monologue on the tumultuous last few years of his life" he interpolated into his performance of "I Took a Pill in Ibiza". Melendez said that his "unusually serious closing moment" stood out in the tour's otherwise "glossy setting".