demi lovato, a musical deep dive: the disney days

A musical deep dive into the Disney legend themselves, the incomparable and confident Demi Lovato. We're going album by album, discussing the changes in musicality, the impact they had on Demi's career, what what was going on in their personal life at the time. This first episode will cover Don't Forget, Here We Go Again, and Unbroken, as well as give a brief overview of Demi's career outside of music and numerous accolades. 

TW: addiction & substance abuse, EDs, mental health and self harm, SA

This is a brand new style of episode for us and we'd love to hear your feedback on what you love, what we could improve on, and your thoughts on Demi at any of our socials linked below. 

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Theme Song by Patrick Dunnevant, (https://www.youtube.com/c/AcappellaVGM)
Artwork by Dawn Wheeler (https://www.instagram.com/wool_and_stone) 

Chapters

• 0:00 intro
• 2:19 gay awakenings
• 5:52 TW & pronouns
• 7:02 career rundown
• 11:21 don't forget
• 38:16 here we go again
• 56:46 unbroken
• 1:28:40 outro

Transcript

Hi I'm Amanda
 
And I'm Jessica and this is 90s Babies Nostalgia where two fully grown millennial women re-listen and sometimes listen for the first time to our favorite artists from the early 2000s

Just to be clear we are not sponsored by um any artists record labels or anything else that we are talking about today We just really like talking about music and today the musician that we are talking about is

Demi Lovato

This is a passion project for Jess I mean for both of us especially for Jess If you've listened to us before you know how much she loves music and she loves Demi And so we wanted to do something different and do like a deep dive into an artist's career that impacted our lives as a couple of 90s babies

Yeah I'm very very excited for this episode It's going to be a lot of fun um Amanda knows both of us have done a lot of research i have done We have put hours into this That's what I'm saying hours and hours and hours which is much more than our normal content So I think it's going to be a good one I'm really excited about it

Jess did like 70% of the research and just my 30% took me like I was awake until I finished No I hit my breaking point at 1:30 in the morning last night I slept fewer hours last night than I have spent on this research 

Yeah

but I feel good about it And also we have no idea how this is going to go because obviously this is new for us It's probably gonna end up being multiple episodes or like a three hour long episode because Demi's had one hell of a career and 20 years in the public eye So we're not gonna go into the full full bio either This is a music focused episode um But just just know that we are figuring it out as we go and hopefully you enjoy it Let us know how you feel about this type of content because we would love to make more of this style

Yeah

But we thought you know during our Pride content what better way to get like close out Pride than to kick off a new type of series with one of our favorite queer artists

Yeah it's perfect Before we get into Demi we are finishing off our Gay Awakenings Amanda would you like to share what your final Gay Awakening was And obviously this is not exclusive this is just final of the four that we chose

Yeah yeah yeah no I made a whole list that was like 15 of them And okay the one that I'm bringing up today surprised me

This is one that I never realized before but I was looking back on recently We were because of our life with Derek content there's the Tomb Raider parody and I remembered So for me it's not Angelina Jolie I've never understood Angelina Jolie's hype I've never understood her like s3x symbol status But I remembered the both Tomb Raider movies and Mr and Mrs Smith So it's like the early 2000s late 90s Angelina Jolie in an action movie Like that is the specific gay awakening for me

Mm-hmm

I haven't rewatched those since I was a kid but I remember being like enamored and like again I love a baddie brunette and like an action star It's just there's something very hot to me about a woman who's like can kill a man I guess

Yeah I think Mr and Mrs Smith is a very popular one as well

Yeah probably but I honestly never cared about Brad Pitt in that movie or in any other

Fair

which I think what we know now is valid

Yeah yeah

But yeah I definitely have a type is what I've learned from doing this and sitting down to compile a list

Mm-hmm I also have learned that I have a type

Yeah who's your fourth Jess

Um so this is my only cartoon one that I'm including

Ooh

and it is Debbie from The Wild Thornberrys

Oh my God No but that tracks

Yeah she's just like everything I love

that makes a lot of sense

Like her Yeah like her loose fitting clothes And this is one that I've realized more recently Like I definitely did not realize it in the moment but like if it was on I had to watch it I f*cking loved that show And I don't actually think I really loved the show as much as I enjoyed just watching the characters on the screen But yeah Debbie is just like and she's not canonically lesbian but she is accepted by the bi and lesbian community now But with her like baggy clothes and her crop tee and her long like Blonde hair sh*t I just love her

And she had such a like nonchalant attitude but it was also kind of a front Yeah I was i get it I get it I see it

Mm-hmm 

I think Demi Lovato would approve of both of these 

I agree

That was also part of why I saved Angelina Jolie for this one because I was like this feels like one Demi would have

Yeah yeah agreed agreed

but we definitely have more Gay Awakenings and We've been loving having people share their Gay Awakenings with us so please on any social that you have do Because I like it I like Come out of the woodwork people

And there's probably ones that we have that we don't even realize that are also yours so

Oh for sure On TikTok someone commented stick it And I was like ah I forgot about how hot that girl is

Yeah yeah

I've also been thinking about bring it on

i The Stick It comment made me think about bring it on a lot

getting into Demi Lovato and our long ass biography trigger warning before we get into it If you don't know much about Demi Demi's had one hell of a life and so we will be discussing how that life has impacted her music So there's going to be a lot of discussion of addiction and substance abuse eating disorders mental health and self-harm and s3xual assault So if any of those are particularly triggering topics unfortunately this isn't going to be the episode for you We have lots of other episodes for you to watch and I'm not going to put time stamps of where those triggers would be because they're going to be throughout

yeah it's so embedded into so much of her music career that it would be really hard to separate when specifically

yeah

The other thing we wanted to mention because we know we have a few listeners that listen from other countries So we just want to make sure you're keeping up just in case you don't know Demi uses they them and she her pronouns So we'll be alternating throughout the episode between the pronouns

We'll try to keep it clear but if it if it gets confusing it's we're probably talking about Demi

Yeah it's all about her so Okay getting into it we're gonna do a quick career rundown and then go through her albums album by album Demi started on Barney in 2002 at the age of seven um and they played Angela And then in 2007 is when they got first started with Disney on As the Bell Rings as Charlotte Adams and then signed to Hollywood Records in 2008 Around this time also is when they got pulled from As the Bell Rings which was a short um because they got cast in Camp Rock

and then they went on to do camp rock Camp Rock Camp Rock 2 In Between the two of them Sonny With a Chance came out and also released debut singles This Is Me in 2008 which peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was her highest charting single for quite some time And also released soundtracks for all of those projects she did on Disney and Princess Protection Program

And Demi has released eight studio albums plus one remixed album So those are Don't Forget Here We Go Again Unbroken Self-Titled so Demi Confident Tell Me You Love Me Dancing with the Devil The Art of Starting Over Holy Fvck and Revamped was the remixed album

Throughout this long career she's had a number of accolades We've listed most of the music-related ones throughout our summary but the non-music-related ones In 2014 they won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Fan Following and Favorite Female Artist In 2015 they won the Billboard's Women in Music Rule Breaker Award which I mean I didn't know that wasn't a word but like that kind of that fits up fits Demi

Yeah I'm like who else was nominated because I feel like really they had no competition

Yeah for real And in 2016 they won the Victoria's Secret s3xiest Songstress Award which again didn't know that existed but like sounds like Demi

Yeah And then we're going to touch on a little bit of her activism and philanthropy She has a bunch so this is just like short shouts and some more of it will come up throughout the episode too um But she is an LGBTQ activist speaking out in support of the community She was a lead performer in 2014 at both ah New York and LA Pride well lead performer at New York Pride and then Grand Marshal at LA Pride um She's worked with the Human Rights Campaign on the Americas for Marriage Equality Act in 2015 and then her work as an activist had GLAAD recognize her in 2016 with the Vanguard Award

She's also raised awareness for health and mental health issues since early on in her career like Demi's spoken out against bullying about depression and about women and like all kinds of stuff Also spoke up pretty shortly after leaving um Disney Channel about some episodes on Shake It Up and So Random that made jokes about eating disorders that Disney immediately cut from the airing schedule which is like a slay that they listened and created the Lovato Treatment and Scholarship Program and works with just like a lot of different literally like so much activism Like I don't know how they have the time you

Yeah literally And probably the fact is that they didn't have the time which is why a lot of the stuff that happens throughout their career happened ah because they were so burnt out and overworked Another thing that Demi is super passionate about is anti-bullying They've done a bunch of work with different organizations and campaigns such as Pacer's A Day Made Better And she's also worked with America's Next Top Model on an anti-bullying campaign and Mean Stinks which was a bullying campaign that went throughout like elementary and middle schools

So that's all like the brief summary of what she's done outside of music But we're here to talk about Miss Demi Lovato as a pop legend as one of our teen icons that we grew up loving So getting into it with our first album Jessica you want to take it away
 
Yeah Her first album was Don't Forget It came out in September of 2008 It's 11 tracks It runs just under 40 minutes 37 minutes It was released by Hollywood Records and produced by John Fields and the Jonas Brothers which I just have to say how were the Jonas Brothers getting producing credits They're like 16 I don't get it

They had a few albums out and a few tours by this point but they wrote most of it with her not just produced

Yeah yeah yeah So six of the songs on the album are co-written with the Jonas Brothers And then also Rooney who the Jobros were touring with at the time lead singer came in to help write a few additional songs Only one of them landed on the record which is Party And then the only song in the album to have a sole like a sole writing credit Just Demi wrote it was Trainwreck And then the middle and until you're mine are the only songs that were written by other people So Demi has had no songwriting influence

And this is going to be something we'll touch on for every album because Demi's involvement in the writing varies drastically honestly

Yeah yeah extremely drastically And I also want to say just so you guys know I was like an early Demi fan And then I would say in the middle I kind of fell off And then more recently I've got drawn back into her where Amanda is kind of the opposite where the longer Demi's career has gone on the more of a fan she's become

Absolutely yeah And I've always liked her but I was more like a singles girl and stuff like that until later years

Yeah the vibes of this one is definitely more like pop rock pop punk power pop um So she always includes pop elements but this one is definitely establishing her in that like pop punk pop rock kind of space The influences she like has said for this first album was Paramore Kelly Clarkson Christina Aguilera Billy Gilman Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight

Casual

Yeah

not Not too many No

Just throwing in Aretha It's like what The lead single for this one is Get Back um And it was released on August 12 2008 It peaked number 43 on the Hot 100 And the music video premiered after the premiere of the Cheetah Girls One World

Which is the third Cheetah Girls if you're unfamiliar when they go to India

Mm-hmm

Raven's not in it

Someone's bitter um The way you said it Raven's not in it

I'm not in it I'm not bitter I'm let's move on
 
Okay this music video is I gotta say guys we divvied up the albums I got the boring music videos Amanda got the fun ones I got the boring ones It's the start of her career She is with her bandmates They're on like a makeshift stage performing in front of the Manhattan Bridge with the bridge in the background It goes from day to night and they're just singing the song That's the video

And I really have to ask why they took a girl from Texas moved her to LA for a Disney career and then said let's film her first ever music video on the East River of New York City Like I just don't under because because she's thinking about I want to get back to the old days and I know it's about a relationship but to me it feels like you're singing about a career and or life and neither of those things does she like there's no connection to that I just I don't get it I don't get it but it's vibey I guess

yeah my only guess is that she was in New York for something and they were like we also have to squeeze in this video shoot I have to mention the prime fashion that was included in this um video including a very very sparkly scarf that was just worn like over the shoulders long and loose

The scarfs are such a statement

a statement with a layered beaded necklace This is all just painting the 2008 picture for you A layered beaded necklace and red leather gloves that mostly only cover her fingers They go like half of her palm and then the rest of her palm is showing And it just it really gave me this is 2008 Demi is on Disney like this is the vibe like

The scarves yes but the gloves I've never seen anything like that ever in my life

They're weird

They are weird I hadn't noticed until you brought it up And then I was like I have to rewatch this music video now And I've never seen like that's not a fashion statement from 2008 That's just a fashion statement full stop

Yeah

I don't know why

Yeah I think it's also like it adds to the kind of like a rocker grungy chick look that she had at that time

Yeah yeah it does

Yeah um I also need to mention that this is when Radio Disney was very very popular I'm sure it still is popular but they edited the lyric hold me like you mean it like you miss me 

kiss me like you mean it

yeah it's kiss me like you mean it like you miss me and they changed it to hold me like you mean it and i just like guys she was 15 we can be kissing people like radio disney come on you got like on your shows you have people kissing people like what are we doing

Mmm yeah

the second single off don't forget is La La Land which I feel like was a huge this was a moment

I have so many feelings but like go through please

Okay okay so it was released um in December of 2008 At the time it was one of the album's top tracks and it peaked at number 52 on the Hot 100s and number 35 in the UK It was certified platinum in the US and gold in Australia The music video showcases Demi like being interviewed for a fake talk show in a world where like fame has gone to everyone's head but like Demi is staying true to themselves And the music video was used to promote Sonny with a Chance So it included appearances from Sterling Knight Brandon Michael Smith and Tiffany Thornton plus a few others and I tried to like look into why this would have had like why this song would have been used to promote Sonny with the Chance And the only thing I could really find was that her contract with Disney included that she was able to produce her albums through and release them through Hollywood Records only if she also did a show and multiple DCOMs a year

How did you find that out Is that public knowledge like Have they spoken about that

I watched a TikTok compilation of interviews of people who were on Sonny with a Chance and they said this so like Is it false Maybe but it seems legit And these were people who worked with her So they were like you know when we took breaks and we were prepping for 

I do remember that

like if we were prepping for the next season of the show or to film more like she would literally go tour for a week or she would go like work on a DCOM like she never had a break and it was because her contract included her doing all of these things and so the only thing I could think is that they were like okay we'll let you do a second single we'll give you a budget for a music video but it has to promote Sonny with a chance

I also would like to thank you Jessica for anyone listening That extra dive of research that probably was another hour of your life was because I specifically was like I would really personally like to know if this was a choice if she approved or not of them being because it always struck me as weird 

It's weird

that it was like Demi's song from Demi's solo album not a Sonny with a Chance soundtrack song but her cast mates were in it but i mean like i hope that they were cool with it and i know the demi's still good friends with tiffany thorton and i feel like there's no bad blood between anyone on that cast so you know whatever

Yeah Yeah I think in general the music video is fine I don't think there's anything stand out about it The only thing I liked is part of Demi staying true to themselves is you see all of these celebrities and stuff getting into black cars and having doors opened for them And you see Demi walk up to a beat up truck with Texas plates and get in the driver's seat And I thought it was a cool like shout to her Texas roots and things like that I kind of liked it

Yeah it just it just like ever since it even when it was brand new it always struck me as odd because I'm like this this girl like just started out like It felt like someone wrote it for her to like appeal to this all-American girl vibe that she had Because how are they going to stay the same and like know that if they're like they're brand new to Hollywood and I don't know it just It felt a little contrived to me

Yeah and I think I was telling Amanda because I watched a few interviews specifically around the time that La La Land was a single And one people do not know how to interview teenagers There needs to be a how to interview teenagers crash course

God

But this poor older gentleman that was probably in his 50s was berating poor 15-year-old Demi Lovato And you know she was explaining what the song's about and what it means to her and that you know she really feels his way too which it's like Who knows if that's media training telling her to say that and she's just good at promoting her song But regardless the guy goes well how would you know you moved to hollywood Hollywood when you were six and have been working in Hollywood since you were six years old And I was like why are you being so mean to this 15 year old

Yeah this 15-year-old that's reciting talking points from Disney PR training even if her answer doesn't make sense just accept it just accept it

yeah like maybe she is trying to keep up a semblance of a real teenage life when she literally is like constantly burned out constantly being forced to work so many hours Like you know even if she was speaking talking points like I'm sure she had to speak all of that into existence because what she was experiencing was not what she was saying you know

Yeah

regardless weird music video I think an okay song 

Mhmm

And then her third single was the title track so don't forget And that was released on March 17th of 2009 It peaked at number 41 on Hot 100 and went certified platinum Okay this music video guys it's Demi on the bus It's Demi in the rain It's Demi holding an umbrella It's Demi in the rain Demi is now soaking wet performing in the rain Then she's back with her umbrella Then she's in the rain It has no it's just her performing the song in it getting like dramatically more inclement weather Like 

Isn't there also like a carousel in the background when she's in the rain

there's a carousel Yeah Yes

But okay but tell me why this was the music video This was the song It was like the other two songs were like the Radio Disney song and then this one came out and I was like oh this is like an actual rock girly Like for 2009 Disney this song went so hard and the video felt edgy because it was the debut of Demi's like black hair era

Mmhmm

It was a bit fuller than before and like had more eyeliner on

Mmhmm I love that you're saying all of this because you don't maybe you do know this This was the one video that Demi had a lot of involvement on She read the script and what they had for shots And she was like I don't want to do any of this This is how I want it to go This song means a lot to me and I want it to portray a certain way on the video And I think it's why this was the video

I'm surprised they listened to her

I know I know Apparently also it was literally freezing She said her band was out there playing for an hour and a half and she only had to be in certain shots in the freezing rain and that it was terrible

ah Yeah yeah sounds like it

The music video also peaked at number one on iTunes so just to speak the praise of it a little bit more

And to date it

Yeah Yup Some accolades for the album It debuted number two on the Billboard 200 which Hot 100 is for singles and 200 is for albums I had to look this up because I didn't know and then we started doing this I was like what the hell's the difference So if you don't know now you know It debuted at number two which is wild It went certified gold and it was on the charts for 45 weeks And I think we need to let that sit

That's almost a year

her first Her first album was on the charts for almost a year and debuted at number two Behind the only person she was behind was Metallica

Wow

And she was ahead of the Pussycat dolls and Kings of Leon which is just wild for a Disney star like People saw so much potential in her and knew the um like sheer amount of talent that she possessed from such a young age because that is just unheard of

And this is more typical of the first album after a Disney career that kind of success but this still being her debut all she's done is camp rock So people know she can sing but it's on Hollywood records and the majority of the promotion would have been on the Disney channel and Radio Disney

Yeah

That's nuts

I know

Which also like guys if you don't know Hollywood Records is owned by Disney Almost all of the albums by people who are on Disney Channel come out on Hollywood Records and almost all of those singers if they continue after leaving Disney Channel switch labels Because generally its promo sucks and it just kind of is very Disney-centric

Yeah and I think it really was used at that time as like a bargaining chip like we need you to do this for us on Disney so we'll also produce your music like the Hollywood Records was never like the focus of the contract it was like Disney wanted them for something else and then threw in that as like a bonus

In addition to charting in the US it peaked at number nine in Canada and number 13 in Spain So this is the kind of start of her growing internationally as well This is her really don't forget is her trying to establish herself as a solo musician She doesn't want to be known for Camp Rock She doesn't really want to be known as that Disney girl She wants to be known for her music but at the same time this is a 15 year old 16 year old 15 16 at this time who loves metal music and loves the themes of metal music and that is really you know went to warped tour like that is the scene that they thrived in and the type of music they listened to so the reason they brought in the Jonas Brothers is Demi was like they know how to do this Disney thing they know how to gain a mass audience and I need their help to refine my songwriting and refine my sound to appeal to more people and to find my audience because if I lean into my love for metal music and those themes it's probably not going to speak to the audience that I have or that is going to seek me out um So that's why they were so involved with Jonas Brothers at that time is they really felt that they needed them to help establish their career

that makes sense I did read an article that was about her late her more recent work that is very rock we'll get into it But like from this beginning of like an old interview from like 2008 or 2009 where they asked someone on a carpet ask Demi like who are your favorite musicians right now And they were like I'm really into metal and like like listed a few And then after a beat was like but Disney would probably never allow that Ha ha So yeah as Jess was saying like this has truly always been in Demi's like being an interest as an artist

Yeah And I think it's like we'll note that this album does sound very JoBros But I think it was her being like I'm at loss on how to make this a success And I need to bring in people who have already made this a success to help guide me because what I'm interested in is not going to align with what people want to see from me

to know that at that age

That's pretty yeah it is very mature And it also makes sense because they had just done Camp Rock together So someone that Demi has or were doing Camp Rock together probably when she did the recording So someone she knows well has a personal relationship and a working relationship with And also they were the closest thing to Rock that Disney had

Yeah Yeah

just by the nature of being a band

but Sorry I have to laugh

I know I know it's It is laughable but just by the nature of being a band even though they've always been a pop band they were the closest to rock

True

They had instruments

It's more than anyone else could say

they did have instruments This album so don't forget kicked off her first headlining tours including the Demi Live warm up tour which was like a limited run And then the Demi Lovato live in concert which was a larger like full tour What was happening in her life around the time that the album was being made and then came out was that Camp Rock premiered June 20th of 2008 And the album was primarily worked on and written while she was filming Camp Rock Plus she joined the Jonas Brothers on their Look Me in the Eyes tour So that's really when the album was formulated They wrote 10 songs in one week which is like

I remember something I've seen of Demi talking about just being on like their tour bus after shows writing her album

Yeah like think you're performing shows you're making a movie and then you're also writing 10 songs in one week like just wild

No wonder

I know It's like no wonder she ended up this way

I was like no wonder they were all on drvgs like

Yeah that too

And then they went in the studio and recorded it all with John Fields and did it all in a week and a half 10 and a half days

Little bit more somber note but um it was revealed that around this time that she was working on this album getting her start in Disney she revealed this a few years back But she was r4ped by a Disney co-star when she was 15 And that she didn't really know how to speak about it And then when she did nothing was done And that person still had a career And this really just adds to everything going on with like her and kind of the progression that she ends up taking I also want to mention this is at the same time that like Demi the Jonas Brothers all of them like all of the Disney stars all wore purity rings at this time So this was really that era of Disney

Yeah

I know Also at this time Sonny with the Chance premiered in February 2009 so just a few months after the album And it knocked American Idol off of its number one viewing spot for TV which is crazy that more people tuned in for Sonny with the Chance than American Idol especially at that time also with this era like we've touched on it a lot that she is just busy busy busy busy In interviews I was watching I heard her say this at least twice And I was like this is really funny But they joked oh maybe I'll get some time off in 2020 And I was like did Demi predict the pandemic Like what is happening

That's funny I also lowkey am like thinking about the research that we did I wonder if that was around the time that her contract was going to run out But but yes Demi has psychic abilities as well

Getting into our favorite songs songs we love songs maybe we didn't vibe with just how we how we felt with about the album I love this entire album This is what got me onto Demi I was listening to it on my tiny little iPod shuffle going to and from school on the bus But I would say standouts for me that I like loved are like La La Land Trainwreck Don't Forget Gonna Get Caught The Middle and Believe in Me I also just on the line with Jonas Brothers will always stick in my brain but I don't think it's because it's a good song I just think it's because the Jonas Brothers are on it

Mmhmm Yeah it's not a very good song I just like this album Jess has mentioned it it sounds so much like the Jonas Brothers And I didn't listen to that much of the Jonas Brothers but like you can hear them in every track even though they're not on every track they're only on on the line and maybe one other But the compositions sounds so much like them at that time the composition but also the lyrics to me for me a standout was believe in me because it very much like I could see the three of them the well the four of them the Jonas Brothers and Demi sitting down to write and them being like Disney likes this sh*t like Be uplifting Be like this is how you be PG This is how you write lyrics for like the 12 year olds that are going to buy your album

Yeah totally

my favorite songs are all the same as yours pretty much So I didn't add like what I liked what I disliked I didn't really dislike any of them to be fair There are some albums where that won't be the case I think sonically it has a good sound 

I think it has a good sound I would argue it's not cohesive but it has a good sound It's a good album

I think it's cohesive in that every single song sounds like the Jonas Brothers

Okay sure

I guess except for Trainwreck technically has a solo writing credit I have a special thing that I didn't tell Jess I'm going to do which is for every album I am going to name the Deadbeat Dad songs

oh okay

Because I think lyrically you can hear at least one song about Demi's now dead was Deadbeat Dad So I don't forget's one of the harder ones okay I will say that

Mm-hmm

But to me train wreck and don't forget both sound like even though I know Demi has said that oh my God don't forget about like a relationship and like someone I was in love with and stuff like I feel like train wreck and don't forget give like daddy abandonment issues

Yeah Trainwreck really does

Yeah but also did you forget I was even alive like

Yeah Yeah Mm-hmm

but train wreck especially and knowing that's the solo credit and it's like it's called train wreck and her dad was an abusive alcoholic like and an addict like

Now some iconic moments from each we're gonna touch on iconic moments from each album era I wouldn't say these are iconic but maybe they are One which I would say is this is the time when Demi and Selena were doing all their little like vlogs and videos from home on YouTube and they were blowing up because they were like best friends and it was Demi and Selena and then Miley and Mandy copied it and everyone was like ooh are you a Demi and Selena person Are you a Miley and Mandy person It was a whole thing

If you want to know more about that Mila Tequila on her second channel has an incredible deep dive specifically into that feud 

Oh

And it's a great watch

The other thing these are not iconic but I have to talk about them guys

Yep

While on tour with the Jonas Brothers they would do the hokey pokey before every show And that is just the most Disney weird children ritual I've ever heard of I hate it

Why do I feel like that was like the Jonas Brothers' dad who decided that And why do you know that

I feel like the Jonas Brothers dad probably made them all pray because that feels very him I don't know who started the Hokey Pokey but also don't I don't know how I know I know

but But the Hokey Pokey is giving like church camp counselor vibes That's why I think he made them pray and do the Hokey Pokey

Yeah probably honestly The other just quick shout out I have to give is the Scratch and Sniff Jonas Brothers video that like if have you watched that do you know

What the f*ck are you talking about What in the smell o vision

OK so Amanda is canonically more chronically online than me However I was chronically online in the space of musicians because that's one of my passions So all of these videos that ended up on Demi Lovato's album ah or um YouTube around this time I have watched all of them The Scratch and Sniff video I probably have seen like 40 times I rewatched it last night when I saw it because I was like oh my God this video I don't really know what to say other than it just gave me 2009 vibes It's Joe saying that he created the first ever Scratch and Sniff website and him and Nick are sitting on a couch and Demi comes in and she's like I want to test it out And then Joe is just holding an orange near the laptop while she leans in to sniff it But it's just them doing like silly bits like it was so cheesy and so dumb but I think really showcases like they were just trying to have a good time and be kids you know be silly

And also to that end about the like the the YouTube videos and stuff something that Mila Tequila talks about in her deep dive is how like this was the wild wild West right Because on the one hand this is like the peak of Disney channel where our stars have been getting bigger and bigger and bigger with Hilary and Raven and then Miley and Miley Selena Demi were like this trifecta but also it's the start of social media So it's before Disney has rules for what they can and cannot post and proper training for how they can have their social media if at all So you get this like really weird content that comes out of these kids You get to actually see them be teenagers

Yeah And I think that's what I enjoyed which is why I have seen all of those videos numerous times

Oh yeah

Okay getting into album number two Here We Go Again and which premiered July 2009 it has 14 tracks runs about 47 minutes It was released by Hollywood Records collaborated with a bunch of different producers and songwriters on this one But John Fields was also brought in to produce a few songs who produced Don't Forget but no Jonas Brothers on this album She wanted to separate

As she should

she also collaborated with John McLaughlin and William Beckett from The Academy Is and For the Love of a Daughter was written during the writing sessions for this album with William Beckett but it was held off because it was considered too mature And so we'll see later on that it was included in the next album on um Unbroken once they left Disney Channel Catch Me's the only song with solo writing credits on it And then she also wrote three songs with John Mayer wild it's just crazy to me Think of the hold he had at that time like kind of crazy

yeah yeah I have a note about this later but let's go

World of Chances Love is the Answer and Shut Up and Love Me And only World of Chances made the final cut for the album And then I know I said no Jonas Brothers slight lie Nick does sing on one of the albums and help co-write Stop the World but that's the only collaboration on here And then songs that she did not write include Here We Go Again Got Dynamite and So Far So Great which is the Sonny With a Chance theme song

Yeah which didn't belong on this album

God we will yes Again Disney's like gotta throw this one in there This one is really similar to Don't Forget I would say it's a continuation of the kind of pop rock vibes that um she had in the first album

Yeah I think Demi definitely has sonic genre sounds And to me these two feel like a package almost They're like two albums of the same style

yeah Yeah you can hear her like experimenting with a little bit more of like the synth pop and maybe some subtle R&B influences in this album but it really is still leaning more pop rock At the time this album was heavily compared to Kelly Clarkson which was often to Demi's detriment and I hate that they kind of like pitted these two power voices against each other for why can't they both just make good music

But Demi has listed Kelly as like a huge influence in their life

Mhmm mhmm And this is also this album is really where we start to see Demi maybe growing up trying to separate from Disney but still having some Disney influence And then her quoted musical influences for this album are John Mayer um which I'm guessing is just because she worked with him but she didn't everything I listened to she didn't quote anyone else is like direct influences on this album Our lead single was the title track Here We Go Again It was released on June 23rd of 2009 It was her first solo single to reach top 20 on Hot 100 and it peaked at number 15 and went certified platinum The music video was on Disney Channel after the premiere of Princess Protection Program this music video is the one where she like gets a call from a boyfriend or that's what you assume and then you see her get off the call and is sad She's like ripping up all the photos And then she goes on stage and she's emotional because she's getting over this person And then you see him in the crowd And then afterwards you see him tap her on the shoulder after her show implying that it's an on again off again relationship hence here we go again Something that I thought was really cool is in the shots of this music video she's performing like at a intimate concert venue and it's full of fans and it actually was 150 of her fan club members

Love that

Here We Go Again was written and produced by SuperSpy who also produced You Got Nothing On Me and produced two tracks on Selena Gomez's album Kiss and Tell

I remember when Here We Go Again came out because remember December not remember December don't forget was my like okay so this is a rock girly like the other two were more radio Disney pop and then when Here We Go Again came out I was like okay that wasn't a fluke Like she is being more of a rock girly And I loved seeing her like in her leather jacket performing for a crowd with her eyeliner and stuff I was very into it like the whole aesthetic

yeah which is very interesting because we'll see as we continue she kind of separates from that for a while and I feel like she was really establishing herself as that

Mmhmm

And it really worked At least it worked for me i I like seeing that kind of hardcore grungy rough around the edges side of Demi that we really get in these first two albums The second single was Remember December It was released on January 18th of 2010 This one was kind of funky It was only a single in Europe like it wasn't released as a single in the US So it peaked at number 70 in Scotland and number 80 on the UK singles chart

I feel like that had something to do with the synth pop vibes of it because that because like Europop and whatnot

Yeah

I think that was more popular in Europe at the time but I don't understand why you would make a Camp Rock Girl music video for a European single

yeah so it's a european single but the music video she wanted it to be very girl power and include a lot of people in her life And so she included all of her Camp Rock co-stars Everything she says she says this was her decision However was it Disney's influence Probably we could say it's likely um So it kind of shows her like rocking out on stage performing and then having like a girl's night out with um her co-stars

From Camp Rock 2

She performs in these black studded gloves that I need

Again the gloves a moment a moment for the gloves

A moment for the gloves But instead of being confusing gloves these are badass gloves

Also she mentioned that she loved performing this song because she gets to rock out during it So I think this really shows that like We're saying she kind of is in her like grungy rocky era but she is really enjoying it too she's like She loves the songs where she gets to just like go a little harder and jump up and down and shake her hair Like she just wants to rock out while performing

I think the song is a really good style for Demi that she kind of lost later on but it's like a very good blend of what most of her career has been of either this like synth poppy or rock kind of combines the two

Mmhmm Yeah it is really good

It feels different to me to the rest of Here We Go Again

Yeah it does which is why I thought it was interesting that they chose it as a second single because it didn't it doesn't really feel like the sound of the rest of the album But then also just put it in the UK But I think your theory that this is because it was more synth pop makes sense

Yeah because i I know Hollywood did that with a Miley song like a few years later that they did like this is a European single because it's more like Europop style

Interesting The video we said it has camp rock girlies but it included Megan Martin Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and ah Chloe Bridges Here We Go Again debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 second album number one certified gold and it ended up at 109 in the end of the year charts It peaked on the weekly charts in many countries including Belgium Canada Greece New Zealand and Argentina and it went certified platinum in Brazil as well And it was nominated for the 2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice Pop Album which ended up going to My World 2.0

Mmm

Mhmm Which I'm like of course Bieber had a hold on the Teen Choice Award polls versus Demi

This year mhmm Oh yeah

yup Yep 

Isn't that the girlfriend album

I think so yeah 2.0 yeah I had both of those CDs 

I did not

This is really I've said it but it's just her still trying to find her sound separating from the Jonas Brothers still kind of exploring um She backed this album by touring the Live in Concert show which overlapped with Don't Forget and Here We Go Again so that tour covered both albums And then she also did the Jonas Brothers Live in Concert and the cast of Camp Rock II Final Jam tour

Which we'll get into more in the next one

Mmhmm But she was touring this song these songs a lot while performing on that tour other things happening with Demi at this time is Princess Protection Program was premiered with Selena Gomez It was released in June It won Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Also we should do an episode on Princess Protection Program

Yeah let us know if you want us to because I haven't seen it that many times but I already am formulating thoughts

Yeah me too

because what

Yeah

Anyway

And then Camp Rock 2 the final jam was released September of 2010 Also at this time is when Demi is dating some Disney boys So she dated Trace Cyrus for a few months in 2009 and then very very briefly but was all over media dated Joe Jonas for one month in 2010

Literally her most known relationship And it was one month

Also Trace Cyrus was not on Disney Channel but like her Brenda Song like he had an in I mean obviously his in was Miley but I'm just like I i i don't see the appeal but okay

i think he has bde i gotta say 

He gives Pete Davidson kind of bde 

yeah mhmm mhmm but like sad boy bde i don't know i kind of see it i still think he's hot even though i don't want to

I still like shake it so whatever

You made this note I don't know what it means

Oh The song You don't know Send It On

Oh it's the Disney song Yes I do

Yeah In 2009 Disney's Friends for Change did send it on which was the Demi Miley Selena and Jonas Brothers all together I've seen a clip of Nick Jonas in the last couple of years react to a clip of that and he was like wow the amount of over-singing that's going on in this But also why is the song kind of good it's great

Yeah

Um It was him on BBC Radio 1 but Also then in 2010 she and Joe made Make-A-Wave Both of these were related to the environment

Also around this time is when she meets Wilmer Valderrama at the beginning of 2010 and then they start dating later that year when she turned 18 starting like the beginning of an on and off again six year relationship between the two

And then just in terms of our lives like we were in our sophomore year of high school This was her sophomore album And I think that they have similar energies of like you're not the new kid on the block anymore And you want to be respected as a little bit cool And I think that's part of why this album and vibe from Demi really resonates so much with our generation in my personal opinion

I completely agree As my first note when I was re-listening to this album was I f*cked so hard with this album I loved this album I would say of the early career this in re-listening and just remembering what songs I loved like this album was the demi album for me

More than don't forget

More than don't forget

Wow

I think because that was like her first you know I was like oh this is really good And then this one like sold me on her

Mmhmm

Songs I Love again is the whole album but I specifically love Here We Go Again Quiet Catch Me Got Dynamite Remember December and Everything You're Not

Same I know I loved quiet quiet goes hard 

quiet goes hard It also has this line that says I want to disappear I'm hearing myself thinking too clear It's way too quiet in here And I just like I still have moments now as an adult where I feel that way But I think that's just like yeah it goes hard It's just so good Okay Catch Me is the only song that has solo writing credits I mentioned that already I need to share with you who this was written about rumored to be written about

Mm-hmm you wrote because I have weird pop-punk knowledge Oh okay So this is the photo that you're sharing I'm assuming this is someone who was on warped tour at this time 
 
I'd have to check actually fact check so we are talking about Catch Me was rumored to be written about Alexander deLeon of the cab

Who is this man

Just like Demi that's who you wrote this about This is really who your were head over heels about

Guys this looks like a stock photo that she sent me

i'm sending 

This man's eyes are so strange They're so large

I'm sending I'm sending you another photo of the two of them together

I'll put these over the video for listeners

Yeah I figured you could do that

Oh I hate that I hate this photo of them together First of all because he looks at least 10 years older than her and she looks 15 like ugh

Yeah there was an age gap issue but she was 16 He was 20 So still questionable but not 10 years But yes I just find it funny because this is it's such a sweet such a personal song It's really really well written for how old she was but it's just funny to me that this is the man she chose to write it about I do not know if the cab was ever on Warped Tour but they did open for Fall Out Boy once That's how I knew about them

How do you know about these rumors

Oh girl you want to go on a tangent

No okay okay I guess my better question is did you know about these rumors in the moment 

Yes

or ah okay okay

Yes He was like all up on forums answering questions about it He was tweeting out how much he loved this song how much it meant to him while like interviews and photos were coming out of the two of them together even though their relationship wasn't confirmed And even like years after he was like this is my favorite Demi song like There is a lot he wrote a follow-up song I Don't Have the Name to this song that kind of references lyrics from Catch Me

So if it's not about him he's stealing the clout from it Or stole the clout from it if it's not

Sure Other people rumored also that Remember December is potentially because they dated for a year from 2008 to 2009 is rumored that Remember December could also be about him But the only one that kind of has like legs I would say is the Catch Me theory

songs that confused me on this album that would be Gift of a Friend Why is it on this album it feels 

Because Disney made her

It feels so weird It was released as the soundtrack single for Disney's Tinkerbell and The Lost Treasure it was weird

It sounds like it I have to say as far as much as so far so great doesn't belong on this album gift of a friend is like is like it

belongs less

left field doesn't no no not the same thing but the funny the funny thing guys if you really want to laugh just watch all of demi's older music videos in the order that they come out in because this music video is like demi in a dress in a forest looking all tinker belly and then you have the here we go again music video and remember december which are like so different

Yeah

And it's just so funny to me that Disney was like mmmm but you wrote a song for our movie and so it's going to go on your album But like this is a trend not necessarily of going on her albums I think Demi pretty much cuts that off after this album after she leaves Disney Channel still though with Hollywood Records but she just continued to do a lot of soundtrack songs in throughout their career

yeah

My notes about this album falling over me the bridge sounds so much like time after time It has that da da da da da da da da da da da da da that when I listened to it I thought surely this was sampled it's not in the credits I don't blame demi I blame mccloughlin he helped write it Also I didn't know that John Mayer helped write these songs but I listened before doing any research and I immediately knew World of Chances was a John Mayer song Like that's how much it sounds like him

Me too It came on in my first note was check to see if John Mayer was a writer or influenced on this song because it sounds like John Mayer

Yeah I also thought Every Time You Lie was and it's not He only did World of Chances but it sounds so much like him

Yeah

catch me to me the vibes feel very much like don't forget part two Like it's very much that like quiet quiet quiet until it's not

Mm-hmm

And then I already mentioned this Here we go again Music video was like Okay I wrote that it was my identity It wasn't my identity but it was like who I wanted to be as a person when I was 16

Mm-hmm It's like if your inner

Yeah Like that's still who I want to be

Who you want to be Yeah

Like that's still my desired aesthetic

yeah 

as a 30 year old woman

Ugh I agree I want to be a badass goth chick but I'm like I just don't think I am

And I think it's the perfect blend of goth rocker pop mainstream

but very femme 

Where like yeah yeah I love a femme rocker

Yeah

Okay any other thoughts on that 

No

on the sophomore album

No

Okay guys we're gonna go off the rails or at least Demi's life is so Getting into our third album Unbroken which

That was too casual Too casual

um I'm sorry I've spent so many years with Demi's trauma parasocially that it's all gonna be casual

Fair Fair

So Unbroken has 15 tracks a runtime of 52 minutes so although the I mean they're all pretty standard And it was released by Hollywood Records 

A little long

Yeah I love an album that's ah just about an hour

Yeah

released by Hollywood Records September 20th of 2011 Now a lot happened in Demi's life but we're going to get into that Multiple producers were involved in this album and boy does it show But the main ones as in they did more than like three songs were Timbaland Yeah that's right Timbaland in 2011 mhmm Dreamlab which is known for doing like pop dance hip hop They did stuff on Miley's and Selena's albums as well as well as some other top 40 artists And Toby Gad who I had never heard of before but from a brief look at his Wikipedia page is a ballad king like has done a lot of like Adele Beyonce ballads She did work with Ryan Tedder on a few songs but only one of them made it on this album which was Who's That Boy And personally I don't think that song should have made the album

I'm just laughing because I have so many thoughts but I'm holding i'm holding them

yeah yeah yeah and guys if you're wondering why like we we switched um so jess did the research on the first two albums because jess like knows those albums really well and for some reason and you'll we'll get into this later i know this album in my bones i know this album in my core so everything that i say nonchalantly like it comes from years of trauma through this album

Yep

Collaborations on this album include Missy Elliott Timbaland Dev who I had never heard of Iyaz Yeah remember Iyaz i um Barely And Jason Derulo Jason motherf*cking Derulo Songwriting involves a lot of people one of them least involved being Demi herself But Demi did help write all night long together unbroken holed up and for the love of a daughter So five of the 11 tracks on the album were co-written by Demi the rest not The album is pop and wannabe R&B hip hop I said wanna be okay We got Timbaland and Missy Elliott so we've got some like actual R&B hip hop elements and influences but it just comes across as like they were writing it for a Disney star I'd say

Yes

Demi cited her influences for this album as being Rihanna and Keri Hilson personally I love that because what you think because of Rihanna um no ask like junior year Amanda what her favorite artist was and it was Keri Hilson yeah energy I have listened to energy a hundred times at least And the vibe also of this album I said is we're sad but we party

Yeah it is

Yeah I don't really think there's anything more to it It's not really a lovey album I'd say in contrast to the first you know

Not like the last two

Yeah

The last two were very like heartbroken boys breaking up getting back together processing love And this one is not that at all

No we're not processing in this album Though we think we are

Yeah

And that brings us to our lead single guys You know it You love it You've cried to it It's Skyscraper It was released July 12th of 2011 Written by Toby Gad Lindy Robbins and Kerli Koiv It's Estonian I don't know And produced by Toby Gad So I forgot that Kerli existed And then I read this note that Jess wrote because she did the the cursory research because again um she is to thank for this entire episode that we're doing Please thank her for all of the hours of her life that she can't get back I forgot that Kerli existed And then I went down a rabbit hole because of this one note So thank you so much Jessica for that Because I did have a Kerli phase in high school

Oh 

Did you know about Kerli Cause I did

I didn't know about Kerli gotta be honest

Oh God If there's one thing that

Oh maybe I did know about Kerli because I just googled her and she looks familiar

If there's one thing that I'm going to like it's going to be a somewhat obscure European pop star Okay 

Checks out 

Especially me in high school

Yep

Oh God ah the things I almost just revealed about myself in this moment Okay pulling it back so But what I did find was interesting in looking up the stuff about the writing is that Kerli was inspired first of all by an apocalyptic image of like just a barren wasteland with like some buildings which I think is kind of interesting and coming from a small town in Estonia but also has personal struggles with bipolar disorder and self-harm So even though Demi didn't write Skyscraper which I personally have always felt attacked about and wronged for in no justifiable way it did come from someone who had similar experiences to Demi And also I had it in my brain that Jordan Sparks wrote this song because I had seen an interview from her from like whenever this came out saying about how she knew this song had to go to Demi but she didn't actually write it but she did provide background vocals I'm pretty sure that they instead I think it was given to Jordan and Jordan recorded the background vocals but then it like was also an option for Demi and she was like no this song needs to go to Demi

Mm-hmm

Oh my God I forgot the deadbeat dad of the previous album

Oh taking it back Guys (rewind sound) that's rewinding noises We are going back to Here We Go Again Deadbeat Dad song Go

world of chances obviously
 
Oh yeah Duh

So obviously

duh 

Got a world of chances for you chances that you're running through Okay anyway Okay so back to skyscraper The music video is of Demi wandering in a desert in a dress singing crying There's a glass heart it breaks She walks over you the broken glass And she specifically chose this director Her manager gave her various treatments which I take it is like a storyboard it's like an option for a music video And she chose this one as being very simple and about the meaning of the song The song is notable for her pre-treatment vocal breaks She recorded this before going into a rehab center that we will get into when we get into her personal life while this album was being made Most of the album was recorded post-treatment butShe chose to keep these vocals that were scratchy and impossible for her to replicate later because her throat was so damaged from her bulimia Peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 number 18 in Canada number nine in New Zealand and number seven in the UK It was certified platinum in the US There is a Spanish version of it as well that came out not long after Highest first week sales since This Is Me and until heart attack continues to be performed on almost every tour Demi has a dozen VMA Noms nominations but Skyscraper is the only one the only win that Demi has ever gotten for a VMA which just like blew my mind when I read that And it was for best video with a message which like okay but that's a category that they started in 2011 and Born This Way won and then she won it in 2012 So it just I kind of and she also was nominated for that but for Dancing with the Devil and didn't win

And I'm like anyway

Oh I feel like Dancing with the Devil definitely should have won

Yeah Do you have any thoughts on Skyscraper before I move on

It's a bop I feel like it's a classic Demi If you think Demi especially if you didn't listen to her early stuff and if you're like name a Demi Lovato track most people could name Skyscraper

Yes The second single was Give Your Heart a Break which was released January 23rd 2012 It was supposed to be Who's That Boy with Dev had the Dev feature but then Dev got pregnant so they swapped it to Give Your Heart a Break Honestly so valid So valid like Not for the pregnancy reason but just for swapping in general

Yeah

Written and produced by Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg which like we're not getting into the producers too much but I feel the need to point out that sometimes you look at a producer's credits and like everything makes sense and that's how I felt looking at these producers credits because a lot of the songs that this song was compared to by the critics were just other songs written by these producers and that is a trend in Demi's career

Mhm

The music video is Demi arguing with the dude that she's clearly with and then she's singing the song and you see flashes of them like being in love And meanwhile she's making this like stalker sized photo collage of all of their happy moments together that somehow becomes the perfect image of them

Mm mhmm

Do you remember that

Yeah yeah

Yeah I don't like it That's fine It peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100 reached number one on Billboard's pop chart certified four times platinum as of November 2023 So 

Woah slow climb

until Halsey's Eastside this had the slowest ascent of a pop song on the charts And yeah that was jess had ah mixed information from her cursory research about like the platinum certifications because in some places it said this was three times platinum and in some places it said four times platinum It was three times platinum in like 2014 and four times platinum in 2023

Whoa Yeah

Yeah And it is actually listed as the most played radio song of Demi's discography I believe

Interesting That makes sense though because I feel like I listen to this song a lot

Right Like i I never think of it when I think of Demi Lovato but I do believe I have been forced to listen to this song against my will 

Yeah Mm-hmm 

on numerous occasions

Yeah

And I have to say that I personally really underestimate this song because like I said I never think of it as a Demi Lovato song But I do think that it really is the start of the signature 2010s Demi sound that we're going to get into in the next two albums I think it really like is a transition from her like pop rock into her pop star sound

Yeah like pop bubblegum pop synth pop it's really into that area yeah

Some accolades for this album debuted and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 certified platinum God sorry I was one of those purchases Peaked at number one on the digital album charts Peaked in the top 40 in 11 countries So Demi's reach is getting broader and broader including New Zealand Canada Argentina Mexico Uruguay and certified platinum in Brazil You go Brazil and golden Chile and the Philippines

This is really like you'll see like Demi's world presence grows as more albums are released

In a critic review Jess made this incredible find In a critic review by Mike Schiller of the album For Pot Matters he wrote Unbroken is a strange beast an abomination of sorts a fully realized album with an extra head and shoulders sticking out the midsection

I read this and I went you know I understand that this is not the most positive review but if this is not the most accurate sentence written about this album

It's a really incohesive sound and album It's so all over the place guys

Yeah I like that he says it is a fully realized album because it is

Yeah

And then you have these offshoots that just feel confusing And you're like what am I listening to Is this Demi Lovato What's happening like

But for Demi's career it does start this level of personal vulnerability that Jess mentioned was not allowed in previous albums like the song that I don't have the title of in front of me but it is below in my notes that was removed from Here We Go Again because it was too personal 

For love of a daughter

Yeah for the love of a daughter like That song being included on this album obviously Skyscraper so and Those are topics that Demi continues to sing about throughout her life

Yeah

It also is a note of transition to pop and mainstream with so many notable collaborators like you know You can see it with each album getting bigger the way that she worked with the Jonas Brothers on the first album and then they worked with John Mayer on the third or second album and now they're working with Timbaland and Ryan Tedder on this third album like that's a pretty steady incline of mainstream success

Yeah totally

Also when this album was coming out Demi officially left Sonny with a chance um to focus on music More on that soon Became a contributing editor for Seventeen briefly to write articles about their struggles and of course this was one of the three albums released with a documentary so Demi's first ever documentary called Demi Lovato Stay Strong was released March 6th 2012 on MTV and it was an accompaniment to the Unbroken album Demi would later go on to make two more of these documentaries and say that a lot of what was said in Stay Strong was actually inaccurate and she was hopped up on coke while talking about her sobriety Personally I just really like that when you look at her filmography her next acting credit isn't until 2017 when Demi was cast in Smurf's The Lost Village 

Yeah

I forgot that live action Smurf movies were a thing that existed

Yeah that's funny I also just want to say if you want to watch this documentary because unlike the other two that are on YouTube and you can watch them you can watch this one Just Google it You might have to find a weird Vimeo link and it might have Spanish subtitles the whole time but it is the documentary


For this album there's going to be more about Demi's life than we've had in the previous two albums because it's such a documented and momentous time So for Demi's life with regards to this album The album began production in July 2010 before going on the her live in concert tour with the Jonas Brothers which side note was a bananas tour because the Jonas Brothers were promoting their fourth album Lines Vines and Trying Times and the Jonas TV show soundtrack Demi was promoting Here We Go Again and then they were all collectively with their Camp Rock people promoting the Camp Rock 2 soundtrack

yeah 

Why are we having one tour to promote one two three four five four and a half albums Like that's bananas

yeah one you're putting too much pressure on these poor teenagers and two like no fans are going to be happy because they're not going to be able to play all the things off of all of these things that people want to hear when you say you're promoting all of them

Well I don't know how long those concerts were

That's true but still

So while on this tour Demi punched a dancer named Alex Welch and then Demi's family and management had a little intervention and basically said you need to get help You need to get treatment And so on November 1st 2010 Demi went out and sought treatment and then resumed production on this album after

Yeah And by a little intervention they flew a plane to show up after the tour and said you are getting on that plane and going to rehab or you're not continuing the tour Like it was a full on like you are doing this That is your only option

And I thought in my little brain I always thought that this was early on in the tour but apparently this tour it only ran from August 6th to November 18th So Demi really didn't miss that many shows

No only a couple weeks

And I i know it was a full intervention with family and friends but I believe I've heard Demi say that it was the Jonas Brothers dad primarily that stepped in but I don't know the legitimacy to that So as I mentioned Demi did record Skyscraper before treatment and it's actually been reported that Demi was like doubled over in pain while recording it because she internally felt like it was a cry for help and chose not to use the re-recording afterwards when her voice is more healed because of like the pain and rawness in those original vocals Also while recording the skyscraper music video which she wanted to be very intimate and it was a very small shoot still also like repeatedly broke down crying because of how personal the song felt to her at this time coming out of treatment She performed it at the Do Something Awards in August 2011 and it was her first performance post rehab Also at the time when she first went into the treatment facility I think people would just said it was like her mental and physical health And we knew that there was like probably eating disorder stuff We knew she had been bullied She'd already talked about bullying But it was after she came out we found out the full It was it did like it was disclosed the full detail of that which was Demi admitted to suffering from anorexia and bulimia from self harm from cocaine use She was bullied and that impacted a lot of those things And she also claimed at the time which she now no longer does a bipolar disorder And it really started like her openness and advocacy about mental health about addiction But I also I think one could argue that she felt forced into it because of how publicly she was forced to go to rehab It's like when when you're 17 years old forced into rehab 18 And you're like a pop star on Disney Channel Did she have any other choice then for her first song out of it to be about how strong she is

Yeah I feel like and we'll see this kind of evolve in the later documentaries and the later albums but I think this is a really prime example of like a star going through all this immense pressure and not knowing how to process it on top of just the normal parts of being a teenager Leaving to go get help on rehab and then coming back and being forced to be like this strong confident advocate and be like yes I self harmed but I got help and yes I did these things but I got help and I'm better now and so all the same pressure she had before rehab are still there but now I would say intensified because she's being forced to be this like healthy look you could get help too and you could speak up and be just like me and it's like she didn't sign up to be that advocate and face for everyone 

And her dirty laundry is out there for everyone 

Yes

She doesn't have the option to I mean she does kind of keep it a secret later but she can't ever take back what happened Everyone knows also at this time she like started getting tattoos that Demi became known for So on her wrist she has the stay strong tattoos And she got the here we go again like album cover heart tattooed on her wrist as a connection with fans because apparently I thought I just thought this was a cute note There were fans who drew it on their wrists every day until she left treatment

Yeah It's also her So not only is it the here we go again heart it is when she signs signatures that's the heart she puts on the eye So like fans had a huge connection to this heart and yeah she really felt connected to fans telling her to stay strong and adding the heart So that's why she really really wanted to get it tattooed on her it like makes my heart like Oh

As I said they went into treatment November 1st 2010 They left treatment January 28th 2011 So they weren't in for very long moved into a sober house where they lived for over a year And then she resumed work on the album in February because does she take breaks No and confirmed her leave from Sonny with a chance in April which in the 2020 like you know when everyone was doing COVID reunions virtually like cast reunions there was like a Sonny with a chance slash so random cast reunion that I remember watching And Demi mentioned in there that as a teenager on Disney Channel you really think that like your own show can't go on without you And it was a very humbling experience for her to watch it go on without her And I i know that Demi has always said that they were leaving Sonny with a chance to like focus on their music and would return to acting when they felt comfortable But I also wonder if there was a bit of an ego attached to that because Disney actually started working on so random as a like contingency plan in November when she went to rehab So it was already kind of in production

They're thinking ahead

Oh I mean they have to yeah

In like personal relationships that impacted this album obviously we mentioned Dated Joe Jonas briefly in 2010 began dating Wilmer Valderrama in August of 2010 officially I say that for a reason when he was 29 and she was 18 (intentional cough) And that would be an on and off relationship for the next six years of Demi's life Also they officially began dating in August of 2010 and she's 18 and goes to rehab a couple months later Like I'm sorry the age difference and an addict in the height of a breakdown

Yeah mhmm mmmmmhmm

More on that later

on what was going on in our life slash Demi's too um So in support of the Unbroken album Demi went on the special night with Demi Lovato tour and I actually went to that tour I thought in my brain I went with Amanda because I'm like who else would have I gone with but I've learned I went with a different mutual friend because I asked her I'm like we went together and Amanda was like no absolutely we did not

And I am like deeply upset that you went with someone else

I'm sorry like

I've never seen Demi live and it's like one of the great pains of my life

So the only thing that I think could have happened is the show was late August of 2012 and that is when we were off to college So the only thing I can think is that you were in Canada

I was about to be I started school like September 4th Why I know that don't ask me
 
also that still doesn't check out to why I didn't go with you but it was held at the college event center and my mom worked there so I got discounted tickets and went with my friend and it was awesome but The standout memories from that show to me is all the people who were there for college orientation got to go for free And there was an entire group of men behind us like 12 men who had no business being at a Demi Lovato concert And they had no idea what they were getting themselves into And you could tell at first they were like what the f*ck is going on And then she sung a bunch of covers on this tour and I think now listening to interviews my theory behind why that is is she has since spoken about getting sick of singing these songs live that these songs didn't really feel like her and so I think adding in covers was a way for her to like brighten up the live show and make it more exciting for her so she sung How to Love by Lil Wayne turn up the music by Chris Brown and she sung American Honey by Lady A which is a country cover But when she sung those two hip-hop covers the group behind us was sold They were like okay we're into this like

I'm so jealous of these people that got to go for free because I'm thinking about when I was in college it was 2013 when Demi did her neon lights tour and tickets in Vancouver were $90 and I was a broke college student that could not go and I was so upset

Yeah this is why I'm like why didn't you go with me Because we got 50% off all tickets because of my mom

You didn't ask you clearly didn't ask because I would have said yes So why didn't I go

Okay

Because you didn't ask Because you thought that like I don't know I wasn't a good enough friend to you at that time Like I wasn't graced with that

Oh god I'm getting attacked

Why didn't I go Because of you Because of you

Okay okay

Okay anyway this is the first album The reason that I took this one over is because it's the first album that I bought or listened to um And that is because if there's one thing I'm gonna do it's find interest in a tragedy

Yeah

Unfortunately I am a partaker in trauma p0rn You know when I started watching Glee was when Corey Monteith died Demi's albums I own three of them and two of them were after overdoses So or not overdoses rehab I just I don't know if I find people fascinating And even as a teenager being 17 listening to this album on repeat at Thanksgiving while my cousins and I played air hockey in the garage I knew that some of these songs were just not it You know I knew it wasn't a great album but I was still like such a supporter of Demi that I didn't care

Yeah

And Lowkey I don't think that this album should have been made 

Yeah I think she needed more healing time And like I think that if she was given that then she would have maybe been able to co-collaborate or co-write more and the album could have been more cohesive But it is huge that she only worked on five songs on this album and it just shows It shows

Yeah Yeah I think there's a substantial difference to the albums that she works on versus the ones she doesn't

Yeah

I mean she works on all of them but you know what I mean

Yeah

I do think it's really interesting that Disney or Hollywood didn't drop her after the overdose I think it was probably because or not overdose sorry rehab I think it was probably because it was so public they would look bad to drop like an 18 year old who was suffering from mental health issues that they were partially responsible for I couldn't find more information on if they tried

my thing too is like here we go again debuted at number one like they would have like Hollywood would have been dumb to drop someone who was charting and going platinum and selling that many albums and selling that many concert tickets like the average revenue from this tour from the unbroken tour on an average night they were pulling in $300k in ticket sales So it just would have been really silly for Hollywood to drop Demi It just wouldn't have made sense

And they did keep Demi longer than they kept most of their other stars and past a point of outspokenness and s3xuality and maturity than they normally allow for anyone on their label but especially their like teenage Disney originators

Yeah

No yeah when I say that I feel like this album probably shouldn't be made though There is a lot of sentiment Demi's had about her management at the time and feeling like she had to keep working all the time And it does feel like that to me like It does feel like an album that they were forced to make like you said before the healing was done before there was enough processing because suddenly she's now the poster child for like addiction recovery and sobriety while not actually living that life as we later find out getting into our favorite ah moments or not favorite moments Skyscraper is that song like It is that song It's so good

Yeah it is really really good

And I have to say I mean to this album but it does have some bangers I do like lightweight I do like fix a heart I do like hold up

I agree with those I also like Unbroken Give your heart a break and my love is like a star I have just a special thing in my head for my love is like a star I don't know why I just really enjoy it

It has a fun vibe to it

It does It does 

Songs we hate 

Yeah

All night long you're my only shorty Yeah that's a that's a track on this Who's that boy Which you have a really um fun fact about one of those that I hate

Yeah I agree that I hate all those songs but I also want to say that You're My Only Shorty was originally recorded by Ariana Grande for her debut album but then was given to Demi for Unbroken

And that's the one Iyaz does the chorus of

And I would argue that neither of Ariana or Demi should have been given this song Check's out as an Iyaz song 

Yeah

but um not a Demi or Ariana song

No

For the love of a daughter to me very much which Jess mentioned is on this album but was written for Here We Go Again very much gives Confessions of a Broken Heart by Lindsay Lohan

Yeah it does

The like daughter to father But they're about very similar things about deadbeat alcoholic abusive dads So it makes sense And that is of course the deadbeat dad song of the album

Yeah Also they put all four of those big collabs with those big names that we mentioned which also three of the songs we said we didn't like were those collab songs right at the top of the album which is weird because then you transition into the rest of the album which is the cohesive part that makes sense But then you just listen to these four tracks that don't make any sense for Demi And then They start off the album with the Missy Elliott collab and then you end with For Love of a Daughter And you're like what did I just listen to

and it follows that classic album structure I think of like a few poppy songs and then a ballad and then like it doesn't tell a story it does more of the like we're gonna give you a few of the same and then we're gonna break it up and then we're gonna give you feel the same and then we're gonna break it up and it kind of gives you whiplash 

Yeah

and I didn't fully think about this until I said it earlier in this recording but I do think I hit the nail on the head about I think why like those songs feel so weird those big feature songs which are typically the more hip hop-esque ones is because those were written and produced by actual artists in the mainstream making hip hop For an 18 19-year-old at this point who has just left Disney and has a Disney image and they don't know how to write for her and she doesn't yet know how to write as a not Disney artist

Yeah

I think that's really like where that disconnect is

Yep

why is Timbaland writing for Radio Disney That's what it sounds like

Why was missy Elliott on a track I just have a lot of

She asked to be on it

I know she did

Missy Elliott heard it from Timbaland and was like can I be on this track guys And it's not good I mean I think all night long is the least offensive of those ones but still

Yeah

some iconic moments for better or worse And in this case worse The only one I could think of I mean aside from the whole like journey that we've been on through Demi's life is that in her Simply Complicated documentary she admitted to performing often hungover while faking sobriety and reference to specific performance of Give Your Heart a Break on American Idol That's unbroken

guys we're three albums into our eight albums It's going great so far I hope you're enjoying it But Demi has a lot and we like to talk as you guys know So we are gonna take a break here We'll see you in the next episode to pick up the deep dive of Demi Lovato's music career part two and we'll kick off with the self-titled album Demi which came out in 2013 As always please please please give us a like subscribe if you're on YouTube rate us five stars on any of the podcast platforms leave us a review It really really helps us And you can follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Nineties Babies Nostalgia spell out the word nineties but on TikTok use the numbers And with that we will be back with more Demi for you 

Stay proud Bye

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