Demi Lovato has released a new YouTube documentary and ground-breaking album, both titled “Dancing with the Devil… The Art of Starting Over.” She went in-depth about working with unsympathetic producers and her struggles with addiction, among other things. However, after I listened to her album, it seems that there is a lot more depth to Lovato to which many people are not privy. I am going to break down some of her songs from the album, and the meaning behind each one.

Best Song: “I Love Me”

Worst Song: None – All of them are incredible!

My Personal Favorites – “Anyone,” “ICU (Madison’s Lullaby)”

The first song on her album, “Anyone,” talks about her struggles of not feeling heard or truly seen by anyone in her life. People around her, such as her producers and agents, would body shame her, call her ugly and tell her she was fat. In the lyrics, she sings, “ I tried to talk to my piano/I tried to talk to my guitar/ Talked to my imagination/ Confided into alcohol/ I tried and tried and tried some more/ Told secrets ’til my voice was sore/ Tired of empty conversation/ ‘Cause no one hears me anymore.” She was reaching out for help, and everyone in her life turned a blind eye, and her pleas fell on deaf ears.

The title track that displayed the overall theme of her album “Dancing With the Devil” is a masterpiece. In this song, she sings about her overdoses and overcoming her addiction to heroin: “It’s just a little white line, I’ll be fine/ But soon that little white line is a little glass pipe/ Tin foil remedy almost got the best of me/ I keep praying I don’t reach the end of my lifetime.” She was gambling her life and treating it with reckless abandon because she felt like she had no one by her side. 

In the song “ICU (Madison’s Lullaby),” Lovato describes the terrifying moment in the hospital when she was blind and unable to recognize her little sister Madison. In her documentary, Lovato said that she wanted to be a role model for Madison and didn’t want her following in her own footsteps, which she states in her lyrics: “Tried to protect you, I wanna direct you/ To keep you from my mistakes, yeah/ I wanna be the one you look up to when you wanna run/ I want you to see my face/ Whenever you’re feelin’ out of place/ You can pick up the phone/ If you’re ever feeling scared and alone.”

Overall, Lovato is an inspiration to all people, especially those battling mental illness and substance abuse. Not only that, she is an advocate for social reformation and equal rights for all. She uses her social media to help campaign for others and uses music as a way to reach people’s minds and hearts.