The seventh album from American singer Demi Lovato, Dancing With The Devil, is her most personal to date. In recent years, Lovato has been in headlines due to her struggles with alcohol and drugs. This eventually led to an overdose and hospitalization in July 2018. Multiple perspectives beautifully depict this event on the new album. The result? A highly impressive album with powerful ballads, showcasing her voice effortlessly, along with uplifting pop tunes.
The album’s title refers to the two parts into which it is divided. The first three tracks are part of the Dancing With The Devil section. Lovato sings about details of what was going on in her mind before, during, and after her overdose. Especially on the title track, narrates the impactful and shocking story of the events on the day of her overdose. She acknowledges that it was even worse than what the media reported, singing the lyrics “Almost made it to heaven, it was closer than you know“. Through the accompanying intense music video and YouTube documentary, she vividly recounts and sings about what was going on in her mind that evening and why she turned to alcohol and drugs.
Demonstrating that she hasn’t lost her courage, Lovato immediately showcases it with Anyone as the opening track of her album. This song, her first single after the events in 2018, was released in January 2020. It was written before those incidents which makes it more shocking. It is a genuine cry for help that no one heard at the time. A goosebump-inducing moment that comes straight from Lovato’s heart, singing with all her might. After this, there’s no denying that Lovato has a good, powerful voice.
Following the third track, there’s a spoken intro to the second part of the album. In The Art Of Starting Over, there are more up-tempo pop tunes. Here Lovato sings about how she feels now and expresses regret for the choices she made earlier in her life. She is content with where she is in life now, and no one has a say in that anymore.
This second part also features collaborations with Ariana Grande, Sam Fischer, and Noah Cyrus, among others. The pop track Met Him Last Night with Ariana Grande is a good song. However, it doesn’t quite fit on this album. It leans more towards being a Grande song and fits less among Lovato’s tracks on this album. On the other hand, the collaborations with Fischer, What Other People Say, and Cyrus, Easy, are great additions.
The fact that Lovato built this album specifically around the negative events in her past, is evident in the final tracks. Many sang about the theme of this album before, notably by Tears for Fears in their well-known song Mad World. A cover of this classic is certainly fitting. Throughout the second part, Lovato forgives herself, extending the same forgiveness to her deceased and addicted father. Lovato cleans the slate and mentally finds herself in a Good Place.
Demi Lovato has released an impressive and brutally honest album with Dancing With The Devil. The impactful initial tracks lay the foundation for this album and are certainly highlights. The lyrically heavy album lights up with some pop tunes, making it appealing to fans of pop music. Interested listeners should also watch the documentary on YouTube to get more background information about the songs and Demi Lovato herself.
