At 19, actress and singer Demi Lovato is already having a comeback of sorts. Her third album, “Unbroken,” which came out in September, was recorded in sessions that bookended her highly publicized stint in treatment for bulimia, cutting and mental health issues. Though she’d begun making inroads into a second phase of her career, with two well-received pop albums and a critically acclaimed dramatic role on an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” it looked as if her career might founder before she was old enough to toast it with champagne.
Lovato, who came on the scene as a sweetheart actress in Disney tween-directed products, such as “Camp Rock” and “Sonny With a Chance,” appeared to be following a too familiar script acted out by performers who make it big as children, then crumble as they struggle with the pressure to live up to their promise.
It’s such a well-trodden path that in late 2010, media outlets appeared to get ahead of themselves speculating on what, admittedly, might have been the next logical step: a sex or drug photo scandal. (It turned out the ballyhooed Lovato sex tape didn’t exist.)
Going through the transition from girl to woman is hard enough. Doing it in the public eye is harder. And it seems as if child performers who start out with a sweet, apple-cheeked image face an especially hard transition into grown-ups. For example, Taylor Swift, who was never marketed as a cute kid, is sliding more easily into adult relevance (and well-adjustedness) than her contemporary Miley Cyrus. Lindsay Lohan and Scarlett Johannson are roughly the same age, and were cast in their first major film roles at age 11; the precocious indie-film actress Johannson is doing a lot better than Disney princess Lohan.
But after a successful go at rehab and the completion of “Unbroken,” Lovato seems to be flipping the child-star script. As a contributing editor at “Seventeen,” she blogs candidly about her struggles. Recently, she and Cyrus teamed up on Twitter to send out messages about positive body image after bloggers posted disparaging comments about Cyrus’ weight.
“There’s a ton of pressure out there to meet impossible standards — to look right, be smart, be thin, talented and popular,” Lovato said in a public service announcement she taped recently for the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit that works to combat suicides among college students. (Cyrus is also a spokeswoman.)
“If you’re going through a dark period, remember that you’re not alone. You can get help, and you can get better.”
Lovato recently had the words “Stay” and “Strong” tattooed on her wrists. And, she is finding the voice to answer critics.
More importantly, she’s finding her voice musically. Her first two albums were the kind of solid pop-rock teenagers want to listen to. “Unbroken” has guest appearances from stars, such as Missy Elliott and Timbaland, and is a foray into the kind of R&B dance music that adults want to hear — full of glossy, synth-heavy grooves and introspective, sometimes painfully confessional lyrics worthy of a much older diva.
“Skyscraper,” its first, deeply emotional single, debuted at No. 10 in the Billboard Hot 100, Lovato’s highest debut ever. It’s not all grown up — but then again, neither is she. What it holds is the promise that she will be.
At a concert in New York City at the end of September, Lovato made an interesting cover choice: Lil Wayne’s new ballad “How To Love.” Wayne’s much-discussed video for the song was a dramatic cautionary tale for young women that offered two storylines — self-destructive, or self-actualizing.
Perhaps that’s a lesson Lovato has learned at a tender age. With “Unbroken,” she seems to be taking her first steps down the road to happiness — and learning “How to Love” herself.
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