Artist of the Week: Demi Lovato
Demi has done more than you think. She went from a Disney starlet to a pop star, a judge position on the X Factor, and a spokesperson for mental health issues. Demi is more than a great singer, she is an inspiration. Happy birthday!
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Born on August 20, 1992 in Dallas, Texas, Demi was raised in a household of entertainers that included her mother who (was a former cheerleader) and her sisters, one of whom launched her own acting career in 2008. Demi started out as a child actress, starring as a cast regular on Barney and Friends before finding her way onto the Disney Channel with a brief role in a forgotten show and then unto the teen musical Camp Rock.
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(and yes, that’s an adorable Selena Gomez with the octopus!)
Shortly right after she found fame on the campy Camp Rock film, she released her debut album Don’t Forget featuring songs co-written by the Jonas Brothers. Don’t Forget debuted on number two on the charts, and her follow-up Here We Go Again managed to top it. She then later starred in her own Disney series Sonny with a Chance.
Things turned bad for Demi in 2010 following a widely reported altercation with a backup dancer. Demi left a tour with the Jo Bros to enter a treatment center for a then unspecified physical and emotional problem. After leaving the facility a year later, Demi announced that she had been treated for bulimia, among other issues, and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a form of depression. She also revealed that she would not be returning to work on her Disney career.
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Also check out these amazing vocals. Like wow.
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Demi was on her feet again. That year she released the massively successful single Skyscraper which went platinum and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. She followed it up with more successful singles like Give Your Heart a Break and All Night Long and Together with she collaborated with Jason Derulo. In 2012, Demi became a judge on the U.S. version of the X Factor where she shared a table with Britney Spears and Simon Cowell.
Her success flourished even more, with a return to the singing competition TV series’ the next season and more new successful singles like Heart Attack, Neon Lights and Cool for the Summer. Her songs have always talked about self-empowerment and encouraged everyone to be themselves. Demi Lovato is one of pop’s leading motivational figures, wailing songs about self-love, self-happiness, and talking to Congress about destigmatizing mental illness. Demi is one of the rarest pop stars who openly discuss her struggles with bipolar disorder, bulimia and substance abuse. She may well be a pop star you thought was just another product of the machine, but Demi has done more than sing through an auto-tune. She has helped countless of depressive teenagers who searched for someone to relate to and she has encouraged these mentally-inflicted to keep smiling and be themselves.
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Happy birthday, Demi! (She is now 24 btw)
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