A day after the Sunset Music Festival drew a huge mass of EDM fans to Tampa, pop station 93.3-FLZ brought a few pop powerhouses to Shephard’s Beach Resort in Clearwater Beach, including Katy Tiz,Nikki Williams, DJ Skribble and headliner Jason Derulo, who brought with him girlfriend Jordin Sparks.
Derulo spent the night showcasing his dynamic dancefloor moves during hits like Whatcha Say and ItGirl. Tbt* photographer Luis Santana said Derulo and Sparks spent a while backstage talking with fans and VIPs, but “once on the stage he was all business, performing his hits and dancing until the sweat pouring from his body forced him to tear his shirt off and throw it into the crowd of screaming ladies,” Luis says. “I was an unintentional victim of a drop of Jason Derulo sweat that was flung onto my forehead during one of his spin moves on stage. Job hazards of concert photography!”
But there are perks to shooting pop stars, too. Back in 2009, when Sparks was in Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII, Luis and a reporter spent a day with her for a profile. During some downtime, Luis showed Sparks how to sign up for a Twitter account. She now has 3.6 million followers, but when she and Luis reunited backstage on Sunday, she said she still remembered him and even his Twitter handle, @tbtphotog. “I felt ‘cool’ for that split second,” Luis said.
By Jay Cridlin-
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