Looking back on his teenage stardom days through the lens of an adult, Lovato has compassion. “In retrospect, I don’t blame my 17-year-old personality for being so unhappy,” she said. “When I am angry, it means that I am really suffering,” she added. “Young women in the industry who are labeled ‘hard to work with’ – it’s like, hey, maybe just for a second, consider that it’s not that I’m a bad person. It’s just that no one is listening to me and I’m hungry, tired, overwhelmed and doing the best I can for a 17-year-old without medication. “
Exposing your imperfections to the world did little to relieve internal pressures, however. Behind the scenes, Lovato strove to be the idealized version of a successful pop star as his career progressed. His first two albums of 2008 and 2009 were full of bold pop-punk in the manner of Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne. His third LP, “Unbroken”, which included the hit ballad “Skyscraper” and the irresistible “Give Your Heart a Break”, was a creative leap, adding more R&B influences and serious issues.
She said she avoids revisiting her two subsequent albums, “Demi” (2013) and “Confident” (2015). “I don’t know if it’s because it reminds me of the people who were in my life during those times or if it just doesn’t seem so authentic to me,” she said. “I really believed in myself after releasing ‘Skyscraper’ for the Grammy. I was like, maybe I have a chance now! And then I released another album – nothing. “
Discouraged by the reaction, she recalibrated. “So I dove in, right, what’s the formula for a pop star who is at the top of the charts?” She counted the criteria in her right hand: “She shows her skin, she is much more fit and you know, she wears leotard on stage. So, I played that role for a minute. And that did not satisfy me at all. “
Encouraged, she continued: “It is strange to think that I had a more sense of identity at 15, 16 years old than at 23 years old.”
A song from that dark period of 2015 was reminiscent of Lovato’s previous work, with his disco-punk chorus conducted by grind guitars. “Cool for the Summer” spoke the truth, about being with girls. Lovato heard the beat in producer Max Martin’s studio and was immediately captivated: “I was like, we have to write about it. This is so [expletive] Difficult.”