- Singer and songwriter born Demetria Lovato in Albuquerque New Mexico in 1992. They were raised in Dallas Texas. Lovato identifies as non-binary, so the pronouns “they” and “their” will be used here.
- Lovato played the piano by the age of seven, and by ten they were playing guitar. In 2002, they were chosen for a role on the kid’s television show Barney & Friends, and at fifteen, they were performing on shows and films on the Disney Channel. In the Disney film Camp Rock, they played the role of an aspiring singer. The soundtrack to the film was released in 2008 – Lovato sang on four of the songs, and This Is Me (a duet with Joe Jonas) was released as a single, peaking on the Hot 100 chart at #9. Soon after, they signed with Disney’s record label.
- Their debut album was released in September 2008 – Don’t Forget. Thanks to their Disney exposure and a tour with the Jonas Brothers, it sold well, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Singles from the album, Get Back, La La Land and Don’t Forget, managed to peak between #41 and #52 on the Hot 100, and also had some success internationally. Most of the songs on the album were co-written by Lovato and the Jonas Brothers. The album was all teen-pop.
- After they were featured in several more Disney film and television roles, they released their second album in 2009. Here We Go Again debuted at #1 on the album chart, and the title track reached #15 on the Hot 100 chart. Lovato collaborated with different musicians and songwriters on the album, wanting to create a more mature sound than their previous work with the Jonas Brothers. Over the next year and a half, Lovato performed in more Disney films and soundtracks, until November 2010, when they announced that they were putting their acting career on hold to focus on music.
- Still a teenager, Lovato released the Unbroken album in 2011. The songs had more of an R&B element to them, with several songs about personal struggles. They had their highest charting singles to date on the album – Skyscraper reached #10 and Give Your Heart a Break peaked at #16 (and #1 on the Pop Songs chart). Later that year, they were a judge on the television music competition The X Factor.
- In 2013, the Demi album was released. They had their second top 10 single with Heart Attack, and the song also reached #1 on the Dance Club Songs chart. Two other singles were top 40 hits – Neon Lights and Really Don’t Care. Also that year, Lovato was tapped to sing Let It Go for the soundtrack to Disney’s hit film Frozen – Lovato’s version was released as a single, reaching #38 on the Hot 100 (Idina Menzel’s version was a much bigger hit, reaching #5).
- Lovato released albums in 2015 and 2017. Both were certified platinum. Hits from these albums included Cool for the Summer (#11 on the Hot 100, #1 on the Dance Club Songs chart), Confident (#21 and #1 respectively) and Sorry Not Sorry (#6 on the Hot 100). They also were the featured artist on several singles by other artists – the biggest hits were No Promises by Cheat Code, which peaked at #2 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, and Solo by Clean Bandit, which reached #1 in 16 countries and reached #4 on the Electronic Songs chart.
- Like many teen idols, Lovato had her share of angst. They dealt with anorexia nervosa, bipolar disorder, drug and alcohol addiction (including an overdose of opioids in 2018 that made them the most googled person of the year), and two rapes. In 2017, a documentary on their personal struggles was released to YouTube, titled Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated. After their overdose in 2018, they stepped away from the spotlight to recover from addictions. In 2020, they were performing again. In 2021, another documentary series on her life premiered on YouTube. Titled Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, it highlighted her personal struggles over the previous three years. Soon after, their seventh studio album was released – Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over. Seven singles were released from the album, with I Love Me peaking at #18 on the Hot 100 and her collaboration with DJ Marshmello OK Not to be OK reaching #2 on the Electronic Songs chart.
- Another Disney child star trying to overcome personal demons. I hope they make it. Meanwhile, here’s Demi’s video to one of their hits, Heart Attack. Check out the power vocals.