Bea Miller: 5 Things I Learned From Opening on Selena Gomez's Revival Tour
Opening for Selena Gomez has its perks. Not only has Bea Miller been able to watch the "Hands to Myself" singer do her thing night in and night out on The Revival Tour, she's also been able to hang out with some of the coolest dudes in pop, her fellow supporting artists, DNCE, fronted by none other than Joe Jonas.
"DNCE are the coolest people in the world," Bea gushed to ET on Wednesday. "We've gone out to dinner a couple times. They're just the sweetest, funniest, weirdest, most awesome people ever."
The opportunity is fun, but also something Bea has taken seriously. In fact, the self-proclaimed Selena fan is fully aware of how lucky she is to be endorsed by the pop star. "It's really an honor to have been on tour with her," the New Jersey native said.
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The 17-year-old singer first got her start on The X Factor, coming in ninth during season two of the U.S. version of the reality competition. She has since released her debut album, Not an Apology, which included the hit "Young Blood"; amassed a young, loyal fan base that includes almost 1 million Twitter followers; and won the "Choice Music: Next Best Thing" award at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards.
Ahead of the tour's final bow, ET caught up with Bea to find out what she's learned from both Selena and Joe, especially from their stage presence, in her own words.
1. Find Your Own Way
"It's inspiring to see somebody who I've grown up really liking out there doing her thing, to see somebody who started from a young age -- who had to go through a lot of things she didn't want to do -- make her way to where she is now. I think this album was really important for Selena. This was a big step for her in her life, and I feel really proud of her as a fan and as someone who respects her music and her. It makes me feel like when I'm in my young 20s, I'll be where she is."
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2. Never Let Fame Change You
"Joe is really incredible. There are a lot of people that become overwhelmed when they start so young and do this for such a long time or have problems later in life, but he’s just such a happy guy. He genuinely loves what he does and music, and I hope that I can also maintain that for a very long time. It's so awesome to be able to watch him on stage. The whole band is super incredible, and they just work so well together -- they're amazing."
3. Being a Tour Opener Is Stressful, but New Fans Are Pretty Great
"It is a little stressful because, depending on the city, there are people who know you and people who don't know you. I was really nervous about Canada, because for a long time I hadn't released music there and I didn't think they would recognize or know me. I was very worried about the reaction I would get. But as much as it can be stressful to be an opener on such a huge tour when you're not a big enough of an artist to grab the attention of 15,000 people every night on your own, it is also very awesome to see how many people are actually interested in seeing you and what you're all about. Then eventually you go on Twitter after your show, and they're all these tweets like, 'Wow, I didn't know about Bea Miller until now, and I think she's really cool.' It is sometimes very scary, but there's nothing really worth being afraid of."
4. Every Tour Is a Chance to Grow
"Like every artist, you grow with experience in terms of how you perform on stage. In the beginning, I didn't really know what to do. I did whatever felt like the right thing. I still do that now -- I don't ever have choreography because I feel that shuts down how you naturally would react to the music depending on the day and the song -- but I've learned how to be more comfortable in being myself. There were things that I would feel that I would try to shut down because I didn't think I could do it in front of people. I thought that I wouldn't look very cool -- stupid insecurities that everybody probably has. Watching Selena and DNCE has helped me to remember that it's OK to be free on stage and to really react the way that you feel to the music, and to talk to your fans. Selena takes breaks and talks a lot to her fans when she's on stage, which is sometimes a very stressful thing to do. So, it's really cool to watch her do that and to watch DNCE perform, because they are so free, and they just do exactly what they feel."
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5. Cheesy But True: The Show Must Go On
"What's important to me that I'm taking away from being on this tour is that things can get thrown at you when you're not expecting it, and you have to find a way to just deal with it and know that you have support from the people around you. Just take each day as it comes and go with the flow. There are a lot of things that will go wrong on the night of the show, like some crazy wardrobe malfunction that can seem so stressful at the time, but every night the show does go on. That is such a corny phrase, but it is the truth -- the show will go on, and everything will be OK. It's best to learn that as early as you can, so I'm glad that I have already tried to figure that out.”
The Revival Tour wraps up in Anaheim, California, on July 9. After that, Bea will continue to focus on releasing her second full-length studio album. While the LP doesn't have a release date yet, she has already worked with a number or producers to find a signature alt-pop sound. Its also her first true foray into songwriting, including the first single, "Yes Girl," which dropped in May and is the song Bea is most proud of to date.
"On my last record, I didn't really get to express how I personally felt as much as I would've wanted to, and this record that I will be releasing at some point soon, I wrote all the songs on it," Bea told ET, noting that she started working on her debut fresh off her X Factor raun at the ripe ol’ age of 14. "They're all entirely from my perspective, my own thoughts and my own feelings. 'Yes Girl' was the first song that I was able to release that I really told my own truth. I think it was really powerful for a lot of fans. I know it was powerful for me to be able to share my own experiences."
"It's a good feeling to know you can share your true self with people, and they'll actually respect it and relate to it, and they'll learn from it," she added. "It's really awesome."
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