first saw Demi Lovato perform at Jones Beach in New
York i n Aug u s t 2010 —a nd at 22 , I w a s one of t he olde s t
people in the arena. Lovato, then a Disney superstar, was
on her Camp Rock 2tour with the Jonas Brothers. I
joined the sea of screaming tweens and sang along.
So much has changed since then: Lovato left that
tour early to seek treatment for cocaine use, bulimia, cut-
ting, and bipolar disorder. She received intensive treatment
in 2011 and in 2012 entered a sober-living facility for more than a
year. Severing ties with Disney, she embarked on a major musical
comeback, turning her dark times into smash-hit singles like “Sky-
scraper”; she also judged The X Factor USA, all the while speaking
out about the mental health and drug abuse issues she survived.
Now it’s August once again. And Lovato, 24, is coheadlining a
44-city tour with, this time, just one Jonas brother, Nick. The
singer-songwriter has hit a new level of fame: Her fifth album,
Confident, debuted at number two; her new single “Body Say” is
her eighteenth to land on Billboard’s Hot 100. And while Lovato’s
fans—the Lovatics—have grown up with her, she has millions of
mature female fans too these days. This year she performed for the
Victoria’s Secret swimsuit special and the Grammys and the
White House. Currently Lovato is focused on honing her sound
(sexier, if “Body Say” is any indication): In a mogul move, she’s
writing and recording music for her own label, Safehouse
Records—a venture with Jonas; their manager, Phil McIntyre;
and Island Records.
All of that constitutes her career. But Lovato says she considers
speaking out about addiction and mental illness her true pur-
pose. She has lobbied Congress for mental health reform, started
a program to cover treatment for people who cannot afford it, and
c o n t i nu e d t o s h a r e h e r s t o r y, m o s t r e c e n t l y i n a p o w e r f u l s p e e c h a t
the Democratic National Convention. She’s also now on the board
of CAST Centers, where she herself sought treatment, and recently
partnered with them to host group counseling sessions for fans
b e f o r e e a c h c o n c e r t , r e a c h i n g 1 2 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e i n t o t a l; t h e y ’ l l d e b u t
a wellness conference series in L.A. in November.
In June Lovato split from the partner who saw her through
everything over the last six years, actor Wilmer Valderrama. She’s
single now. She’s moving into her own house. She’s a new Demi.
“That person I was when I was a lot younger is not who I am today,”
she says. So who is the grown-up Lovato? I sat down with her to
find out—but first I wanted to ask about those new beats.
GLAMOUR: You’re e volv i ng t ow a rd t h i s se x ier sou nd. W hy d id you
w a nt t o e x plor e y ou r s e x u a l it y i n y ou r mu s ic?
DEMI LOVATO: I had a conversation with Nick, who said, “You never
write about sex.” And I was like, “What are you talking about?
‘Cool for the Summer.’ ” And he pushed back: “No, but you’ve never
embraced that side of your writing.” I really hadn’t. I shied away
from it; I have parents that’ll hear my music! But I realized I’m
leaving out an element of adulthood. I wrote “Body Say” a few
weeks later—that was liberating. I want to write more about it.
GLAMOUR: W h a t h a s i n for me d y ou r a t t it ude t ow a r d s e x u a l it y?
DL: Relat ionships, a nd being in t une w it h my body, a nd k now ing
what I want—that’s what “Body Say” is about.
GLAMOUR: I f y o u’ v e w o r k e d t h a t a l l o u t a t 2 4 , I ’m i m p r e s s e d. A t 2 8 ,
I’m still working on it. [Laughs.]
DL: We l l , e x p l o r i n g—t h a t ’s w h a t y o u h a v e t o d o t o f i n d y o u r s e l f s e x-
ually. You always think you have it figured out, and then you get
older and you realize you didn’t. For now I’m content.
GLAMOUR: I heard that you were embarrassed to sing “Cool for the
Summer” at the Nordic state dinner at the White House.
DL: Yes, I left it out of the set list because I was like, “Surely it’s too
inappropriate for the White House,” and then [the First Lady]
requested it. And so I was like, “OK, here we go!” [Laughs.] L i k e ,
“Tell me what you want, what you like, it’s OK.”GLAMOUR: [Laughs.] W h a t w a s i t l i k e s i ng i ng t ho s e l y r ic s w i t h t he
President sitting five feet away from you eating his salad?
DL: I didn’t look him in the eyes. And I didn’t look her in the
eyes either. When I normally say, “Shh, don’t tell your mother,” I
changed the lyric to “Shh, don’t tell the President.” [Laughs.]
GLAMOUR: Many fans have cheered you on a s you’ve evolved, but
when you posed nude for your “Body Say” art, some followers com-
m e n t e d , “ P u t y o u r b r a o n .” W h a t d o y o u s a y t o p e o p l e i n t h a t c a m p?
DL: You don’t say anything, because you can never win. Whether
t he y ’r e s ay i ng t h a t y ou’r e u g l y, or t h a t y ou’r e a w hor e , or t h a t y ou’r e
a bad role model, or something else, you’re never gonna win.
GLAMOUR: I hate that people throw out the phrase bad role model
when it comes to a woman embracing her sexuality.
DL: I was judgmental of artists who were exploring their sexual-
ity, and I thought, Why are they doing that? They don’t have to.
They’ve got a good voice.
GLAMOUR: Like who?
DL: Christina Aguilera, during Dirrty [in 2002]. I thought, Her
mom’s gonna hear that—how is she not embarrassed? Now I
realize these artists were embracing a part of life I should be OK
singing about as well. There’s nothing wrong with a woman being
proud of an element of her life that’s talked about in rap music all
the time! We don’t have music that talks about sexuality from a
female standpoint. You know that rap song “Beat the Pussy Up”?
I f a g i rl s a ng t h a t—
GLAMOUR: “Beat the Dick Up”?
DL: First of all, I would love it. But secondly, it would be such a big
deal. We live in an imbalanced society when it comes to encour-
aging male sexuality and discouraging female sexuality. In“I felt an emptiness
inside of me, and I
reached for things to
fill that void. There’s
not a void anymore.”
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