After nearly four years without releasing new music or an album, Demi Lovato returns with something great: an album entitled “Dancing With The Devil: The Art of Starting Over.” This title indicates that a new era has begun for the famed singer; she recognizes the break she took, learned from her mistakes, and now… She is back.
The release of this album is paired with the release of a documentary by the same name that looks back on her life and past traumas, including the public and nearly fatal overdose she experienced in 2018. The singer has not released music since her 2017 album “Tell Me You Love Me,” and after her overdose she spent time in treatment dealing with serious health issues. At the same time, she was forced to confront her past and make life changes to better her situation. The documentary and album, released in early April, are chronicles of her darkest periods and her journey toward better times. The album is pop, and many of the songs have been called “power ballads,” rock-leaning, and consisting of R&B overtones.
The deluxe edition of the album consists of an unusually high twenty-three tracks, and features a few star names, including Ariana Grande, Noah Cyrus, and Sam Fischner. If Lovato wanted her features to contribute to the number of song plays her album would get, it was a smart strategy. “Met Him Last Night,” featuring Grande, has racked up over 32 million listens on Spotify. The song is representative of the themes of the album, alluding to the Devil in a way that symbolizes Lovato’s dark experiences over the last three years. The lyrics sing, “I’ve seen the devil, yeah, I met him last night / Had conversation, yeah, I think he’s alright / Seemed kinda funny, yeah, he kinda my type (kinda my type) / Yeah, yeah, yeah.” The title and lyrics of this song allude to a romantic or sexy song, but Lovato surprises listeners by switching a handsome stranger to Lucifer himself, as if to say that the devil can look enchanting until he ruins your life.
The title track of Lovato’s album is a pure power ballad. Her voice is powerful and soul-deep; she seems to be singing with emotion, remembering her near-death experience. In it, she sings, “Twisted reality, hopeless insanity / I told you I was okay, but I was lying / I was dancing with the devil / Out of control/Almost made it to heaven / It was closer than you know.” These lyrics are not difficult to analyze, and Lovato certainly expects the average listener to know the events to which they refer. In this way, Lovato does not shy away from the darkness of her overdose and traumatic experiences, but rather embraces them.
The album’s 17th track is my favorite—Demi Lovato’s cover of “Mad World” by the band Tears for Fears. I especially love the background acoustics of this song; they are both mysterious and beautiful. Perhaps Lovato chose to cover this song to reflect how crazy the world seems today, or perhaps she chose it to reflect the craziness she felt inside herself during her worst moments. Either way, it delights the ears.
I would recommend Lovato’s newest album to anyone who loves pop and doesn’t mind a little darkness. You can find it on most listening platforms.