If you’ve never heard of Demi Lovato, then skip the next few paragraphs and just rock out to her songs.
If you have heard of her, then walk with me for a moment… over here in the shade, where we can get some privacy.
See… if her name makes you sigh with exasperation, then you and I may be the same. When I heard she was releasing albums, I thought, “Oh, great. The latest cable princess with a record deal.” I’d never seen her Disney series Sonny With a Chance, but I didn’t need to. The fact that the show existed told me Demi Lovato was for children, not pop sophisticates like me.
Somewhere in there, I also heard Lovato went to rehab for “emotional issues,” and I became even less concerned with her music. I have zero interest in the personal lives of celebrities. I don’t care who they date or marry or slap or sue or any of it, so when I still hear about their personal drama, I assume—fairly or not—that their behavior has eclipsed their art. And if their art is secondary to their persona, then what do I care?
But then the songs from Lovato’s third album, Unbroken, kept sneaking into my life. Last year, I noticed that the power ballad “Skyscraper” was number one on iTunes, so I gave it a listen.
And… oops. I loved it. Lovato’s voice is raw and honest, and the the songwriting and production are pretty damn flawless. (Toby Gad, who co-wrote Beyonce’s “If I Were a Boy,” aided both.) If you don’t like power ballads, then “Skyscraper” won’t be your thing, but if you do, give this a shot.
That was a few months ago, and last week, Lovato came at me full force. First, I heard her new single “Give Your Heart a Break” on the radio, and oops… I loved it, too! For one thing, it’s co-written by Billy Steinberg, who wrote some of the best songs of the 80s (“Like a Virgin,” “Alone,” “So Emotional,” etc.), so right there, the track has cred. Plus, it’s both catchy and emotionally urgent as Lovato tells a boy that she’s destined to hurt him. (Again, Lovato’s husky vocals really sell the material.)
And finally: “Give Your Heart a Break” is a great play on words. I feel wittier for listening!
Just hours after realizing I liked this song, I ran into a friend in Times Square—we were both walking home from work—and he was listening to Demi Lovato on his iPod. We shared our mutual enthusiasm, and he pointed me to “My Love is Like a Star,” written by Gad and British supercutie James Morrison. And damn, y’all. Her R&B-inflected vocals remind me of Jessie J, and the chorus is just sickening. This is her make-out slow jam, and it will definitely make you drop your panties.
If Demi Lovato were a new pop star on the scene, adult listeners would scoop her up as a prodigy. Instead, I feel like audiences and radio programmers have resisted her music because of her personal problems and her Disney past. We should stop that foolishness right now. We’re only hurting ourselves.
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