Raw. Bold. Real. Truthful. Vulnerability.
So many more words come to mind when I hear Demi Lovato's name. She never fails to surprise or amaze me because she always manages to come back full circle with an emotional story of her life experiences told through her music, especially on her new album 'Dancing with the devil: the art of starting over,' which was released on April 2.
Lovato's album is different in a sense that it is like a pop musical diary filled with blood, scars, sweat and tears of her past that has been revealed for listeners, even more so for lovatics (Demi's fan base).
Her 2020 comeback single 'Anyone' starts as the opening song on 'Dancing with the devil' and makes you question whether this song could have possibly been a cry for help especially when her overdose happened days after performing 'Anyone' at the Grammy's a year ago.
Transitioning into 'Dancing with the devil,' she painfully reveals the night of the overdose and her dance with her demons that seem to constantly dance around inside her mind. Imagining the crucial moments of her lying in a hospital bed unconscious and barely holding on, she was clearly inspired to write her heartbreaking ode third track 'ICU (Madison's Lullaby).' It speaks of the moment she woke up temporarily blind and unable to see her little sister Madison De La Garza standing by her side. Lovato cleverly uses the phrase "ICU" for "I see you" when she sings, 'I promise I'll be there, don't worry cause I was blind but now I see clearly, ICU.'
The following track 'The art of starting over,' is definitely the strongest theme song of her life today because she is strong enough to bounce back from her relapses and continues to fight by literally mastering the art of starting over.
Aside from drugs, she has dealt with an eating disorder for many years and sings about the pressure she felt with romantic partners in her song 'The way you don't look at me.'
As true and vulnerable as Lovato is through her music she also is not afraid to fire back with two middle fingers up towards those who controlled parts of her lifestyle especially when it comes to eating habits. Her former management team only allowed a watermelon cake and whipped cream as a birthday cake to keep her Barbie size.
'Melon cake' can be described as a breakthrough song for Lovato as she sings, "And there was a time where the cat and mouse tried to make me barbie sized and I obliged." But in the chorus she finally says, "And now I'm sayin' no more melon cakes on birthdays. No more barricades in doorways finally get to do things my way."
You have to admire her strength for not holding back and taking control of what is best for her when it comes to speaking the truth through her music. And let's face it, many artists don't always share their unique vulnerability that's hidden beneath the surface of who they are or want to be. All we see is who he or she is portrayed to be when they are standing in the spotlight.
Speaking of what's hidden beneath the surface, when it comes to the song 'The kind of lover I am,' Lovato embraces her queer identity in a monologue at the end of the song when she says, "I'm feeling good by myself, but if somebody comes along and they just look at me the right way and they tell the right joke, I don't care if you have a dick. I don't care if you have a WAP. I-I just want to love." It may be a little provocative but straight up and tell it how it is, is Lovato's thing.
In Lovato's 2017 documentary titled 'Simply Complicated,' she reveals that she was on dating apps with the interest of meeting either sex. She also says, "I am open to human connection," and not to get off topic but she also mentions "I love who I love," in an interview for LGBT magazine Pride Source which pretty much sums about the kind of lover she really is.
Of all the hardships and willingness to come forward too tell what she has faced, she continues to share her experience of no longer being fully sober in 'California sober.' "It didn't work," she says. "I'm trying something new."
In a recent New York Times interview she says, "I realized if I don't allow myself some wiggle room, I go to the hard expletive. And that will be the death of me."
I can go on and on and explain in depth about the meaningful messages behind her tracks but I'll leave that to the Lovatics and anyone else who is interested in knowing her story, to break down the messages behind the lyrics. Her story is really inspiring, tragic, heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time that you cannot help but fall in and feel what she feels.
Lovato continues to grow with each album she releases and I love watching her constant transformation from cocoon to butterfly. I love how she continues to be her authentic beautiful self and I only hope and wish the best for her, her career and life.
Keep on shining Demi and never stop hitting us with heartfelt songs!
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