Dynamic duo ready for Dallas

The enormous machinery that can make stars of the young is not as benign as it might seem.

Those safe, sleek, sanitized gears — smoothly turning out inoffensive TV shows and pop stars for the endlessly replenished and ravenous audience of children — can be prone to chewing up the ambitious, particularly if teenage actors or musicians try to transition to adult stardom.

It is rare for actors or musicians who find success young to effectively shift from entertaining children to holding their parents’ attention, as such a move requires the nerve to make the leap, jumping clear of those vicious gears and (hopefully) landing on their feet.

Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato, two Texas-bred talents who were the cream of the Disney Channel crop a decade ago, have to do just that: break away from the tweens and establish themselves as bona fide adult pop stars.

Jonas and Lovato have weathered scandal and controversy, emerging as chart-topping dynamos and outspoken advocates in a way that would give Mickey Mouse heart palpitations.

The longtime friends are touring the country — he’s supporting this year’s LP Last Year Was Complicated; she’s promoting last year’s Confident — on a co-headlining arena jaunt, which stops Monday at Dallas’ American Airlines Center.

Earlier this year, the pair spoke with reporters during a teleconference, reflecting on the past, the present and the future.

“I think that there was an association with people’s first introduction to me as opposed to them taking the music and my image for what it is now, in its current representation,” said Jonas, during the June teleconference. “I see every challenge as an opportunity to pivot and find something, a new way of showing people what you’re all about and giving them some more depth. ...

“Demi, in pushing me to get more vulnerable in my music with this next record and encouraging me to really open up about some things that happened in my life, I think will help people get even more connected to me,” he said.

“Those moments among friends and creative relationships are so important, because I think they really shape not only your next steps, but the way the world sees you as well, which is key in making a transition from a youthful career to what hopefully is a long-lasting adult career.”

Lovato was, characteristically, more blunt.

“For me, the transition was a little bit easier because I didn’t have to do anything to break out of the Disney mold. It’s a lot easier when you just go to rehab,” she said in June.

“So, I kind of grew up really fast in the public eye in that way, and so when it was time to release my music, I think people looked at me differently. I wanted to prove to people that I wasn’t just a stereotypical Hollywood starlet that goes to rehab and falls back into the trap of the things that got her there.

“I wanted to make sure that the music that I made was great and that I was passionate about the music that I put out and I sang my heart out,” she said.

In addition to touring together, Jonas and Lovato are business partners, having launched Safehouse Records (a joint venture of Island Records and Hollywood Records) last year. Lovato, in particular, is also taking on a role as an advocate for mental health, substance abuse and the LGBT community.

“I’ve always kind of been an outsider when I lived in Texas,” Lovato said in June. “I never fit in and I didn’t agree with a lot of the opinions down in the South, and when I got out to California, I just saw a whole new world and I thought, ‘I have no idea why this isn’t like the rest of the United States and the rest of the world,’ to be honest.

“So, I’m just standing up for what’s right and that’s my connection with [the LGBT community].”

Whereas, once Jonas and Lovato were at the mercy of commercial forces mostly beyond their direct control, both artists are experienced (and savvy) enough to understand the mutual benefit of a tour featuring each other, particularly when either vocalist could easily spend the year headlining large rooms on his or her own.

Jonas explained the tour isn’t built around separate sets, but rather the audience can expect a “night of music,” with their performances flowing into each other.

“I think the focus is less on big gags and production elements because, you know, for Demi and I both, now, that has less importance,” Jonas said in June. “But it’s about building content that is unique and speaks to what we’ve gone through in our lives and isn’t just straight down the middle, also that makes you think and challenges people’s thinking.”

Lovato and Jonas are intent on challenging audiences offstage, as well.

In light of North Carolina’s decision to pass what is known as the HB2 law, the pop vocalists canceled shows in Charlotte and Raleigh this summer, joining a parade of artists like Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen that have likewise declined to perform in the state in protest.

“I think that we can’t speak for every artist out there,” Jonas said in June. “I think that Demi and I felt it to be really important and it’s a tough call to make. We obviously feel disappointment ourselves knowing that our fans that were looking forward to the show were disappointed, but there are these moments when something is as important to you as this issue was and is, where you kind of have to make a strong stand and hope that your fans unify with you.”

Lovato concurred: “I feel like, for me, I want to use my voice to make a difference in the world. There’s so much more to my voice than just singing and I learned that at a young age.

“I had a moment where I just thought, you know, I want to do so much more than just sing and I grew up with people that were judged for being gay and I never understood it. … I think it’s important for artists to remember that they can use their platform for the better.”

Sometimes, the pair seemed to be saying, machines just need to have a wrench thrown into their gears.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 11:44 AM with the headline "Dynamic duo ready for Dallas."