By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published Jul 06, 2016 at 3:09 AM

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It’s hard to be sure of the exact time, really, but it was at some point during "In My Head," the seventh song of his pulsating Summerfest set – after he’d suggestively asked, "Are there any single girls out here, Milwaukee?" but before he brought a young fan on stage for a sultry personal dance – when he took off his shirt and threw it into the frenzied, craving crowd of scarcely pubescent screaming girls, that a ripped, gleaming Jason Derulo (editor’s note: pronounced "JAAASSOONNN DERUUULLLOOOO!") officially annihilated innocence, exploded the hearts, minds and vocal chords of all living things at the Miller Lite Oasis and effectively caused all the males in the audience to collectively throw up their hands, concede romantic defeat forever and yet still find themselves uncontrollably, incapably moving to his music.

So yeah, it was a pretty fun show for a Tuesday. Or, as the kids say, it was lit.

Derulo rocked the house for a little more than an hour on the sixth night of the Big Gig, cramming 13 of his most popular hits into the set to the ardent delight of the heaving audience. Nearly every song was of the Top 40 variety, and the handsomely captivating (or, as Carolynn Buser puts it, "super hot") singer/songwriter/dancer performed them all with high energy, a huge smile and, occasionally, even a shirt on.

Talented and accomplished at just 26 years old, Derulo has sold more than 50 million singles worldwide and gotten over two billion views on YouTube and one billion plays on Spotify. His pop-rock-dance-R&B sound – especially the 11 platinum singles – dominates the radio and appeals to a range of listeners diverse in age, race and gender, though on Tuesday the young, white and female demographic seemed to be the most strongly represented. Or at least the loudest.

In the last 15 minutes leading up to the start of the concert, the crowd tried out a few short-lived chants, including "Ja-son! Ja-son! Ja-son!," "We want water (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap!)" and the classic Wisconsin Badgers unofficial cheer "Eat sh*t! F*ck you!" Soon enough, Derulo’s group walked out.

After his DJ enthusiastically got the crowd revved up with softballs like, "If you’re with your best friend right now, make some noise! Point to your best friend; let’s go! Let’s go!" Derulo came dancing out right at 10 p.m.

To see a show surrounded by teenagers and early 20-somethings is invariably to watch it through the Snapchat camera of the person leaning over you from behind, but I still had a good vantage point from the left side of the pit up front. That also put me right in front of the speakers, though I turned down an offer of earplugs. Ball so hard.

Derulo's opening song was the infectious ode to beautiful lady bodies, "Trumpets." It was the first of many infectious odes to beautiful lady bodies, including the second song, "Wiggle," and the third song, "Get Ugly." It was then that he informed the already-pretty-turnt audience (numerous fans would be escorted to the exits, including several being forcibly taken out while still dancing), "This is the moment of the show where we take that knob, and we turn it to the right – all the way up!"

(PHOTO: Summerfest)

But Derulo went off stage, allowing his four fantastic backup dancers – a male pair and a female pair – to exhibit their hip-hop, break-dance and (awesome) corny '80s moves. Their abilities were impossible to overlook, particularly since they were given a couple of exclusive segments in the concert.

The main man then returned and romanced the entire congregation, but especially a group of extra-amorous teens sitting behind me, with his upbeat, symphonic love song, "Marry Me." It showcased Derulo’s rich, soulful vocals – he’s actually got an impressive falsetto – and more of his remarkable, well-choreographed dance routines, and the song ended with Derulo lifting up his shirt to give the audience its first glimpse of his celebrated abs. Rousing approval ensued.

That was followed by "Whatcha Say," Derulo’s 2009 debut single about feeling sorry after cheating in a relationship. Then he asked where the single people in Milwaukee were – or, more specifically, he clarified, where the single girls were – and launched into 2010’s "Ridin’ Solo," which depicts Derulo after breaking up with a girlfriend. It was a fitting inclusion for the Summerfest set, given his recent split in May with model Daphne Joy, who’s been parading around beaches in a bikini a lot lately, perhaps signaling her own solo riding.

Then came the previously noted "In My Head" and full-on shirt removal. Then "It Girl," which first involved Derulo playfully and provocatively telling the crowd, "We’re in Milwaukee right now, and there’s a lot of beautiful women here. I’m feeling a little lonely up here by myself." Cue delirium.

Eventually – after the imploring of girls to security guards who had no say in the decision – Derulo settled on a college-aged blonde, who got a lap dance from the singer and the opportunity to wipe his toned, sweaty chest with a towel. Nice.

Next was 2011’s "Don’t Wanna Go Home," 2016's "If It Ain’t Love" and 2013’s "The Other Side" and "Talk Dirty," which prompted another shirt-tossing to the front of the audience.

By the time he finished "Want To Want Me," the lead single on last year’s "Everything Is 4," Derulo’s fourth studio album, even I was starting to fan myself because of … um, the humidity. At 11:10 p.m., he said, "God bless you, have a great night!" and walked off stage as his band played what it called "brand new Jason Derulo." (Editor’s note: "JAAASSOONNN DERUUULLLOOOO!") Clearly, getting his new stuff out there wasn’t as much the focus Tuesday night as putting on a popular concert for his adoring fans.

And so as I walked out the Mid Gate with a stampede of drunk, happy, mostly white toddlers, I thought to myself, that show really was pretty lit.

Set list

"Trumpets"
"Wiggle"
"Get Ugly"
"Marry Me"
"Whatcha Say"
"Ridin’ Solo"
"In My Head"
"It Girl"
"Don’t Wanna Go Home"
"If It Ain’t Love"
"The Other Side"
"Talk Dirty"
"Want To Want Me"

Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.