*Disclaimer I’m not a singer but I just want to share my love for this album.*
In case you have been living under a rock for the last few months, Demi Lovato has released their eighth studio album on Wednesday 19th August 2022. Over the course of 16 songs and nearly 48 minutes, we get to dive into the mind of Lovato and get the most real look at them and their life.
The most annoying part is that I don’t have Spotify Premium so I have been trying to listen to it in chronological order – which was hard but I feel like this is a universal struggle for people who don’t have premium when a new album comes out. I knew like everyone else that as soon as Skin Of My Teeth and Substance came out that we were in for a treat when the album would eventually come out… and oh we are!
I never thought I would like pop-rock music at all, if you had said ‘Do you know Avril Lavinge?’ I would ask ‘Who?’ but it wasn’t until this year I got obessed with Complicated and a lot of Panic at the Disco and I love this music so much now!!
When I had first heard the album there was a lot of head banging and maybe there was a bit of dancing and jumping I was just having the time of my life. My initial thought was ‘Wow this is really different’ because I never thought Demi would ever make music like this. It wasn’t until recently I listened to La La Land and I thought they just looked so comfortable singing it. My excuse for not knowing the song existed would be that I was maybe five but let’s move past that. My initial thought right after Freak played was that the album was ‘Just going to be brilliant as it felt like they’re being themselves’ I felt like this is the album that they’re being brutually honest about their life and coming to terms with trauma. I feel like all the fans knew that after Dancing with the Devil that their next album would be top-tier. Even writing this I’m listening to the album and currently a crying mess listening to Happy Ending (just going to put that out there that I cry at anything).
The most dramatic change I noticed across the songs was the use of tempo. All the songs really have a ‘rock’ vibe to it but Happy Ending really feels like a time to breath and just relax as well as 4 ever 4 me. I just love the use of drums and the electic guitar in all the songs – even in Happy Ending I think the drums can still be heard in it. Throughout the album Demi plays with a heavier sounds throughout the album with ‘Substance’ and ‘City of Angels’ bringing the pop-punk sound back to 2022. I hope I am not the only one who thinks Wasted sounds nearly identical to Skyscraper – if someone makes a remix of the to songs I would love you forever because you would be a saviour for mankind.
Lovato posted on Instagram to hint at the album earlier on this year basically saying goodbye to their pop career and we all knew that they were going to try something new. What we didn’t know was that they would be returning back to their pop-rock era which was seen in their debut album ‘Don’t Forget’ that was released in 2008 when the star was still under the ‘disney umberella’ and was largely co-written with the Jonas Brothers. Holy FCVK basically takes this up a knotch, delving further into their rock roots and fusing the sound with lyrics talking about their own life experiences.
Lovato spoken in a recent interview with Apple Music talking about the survivor’s guilt they felt and having to deal with unresolved trauma. It’s like for the first time they are unafraid to face things. Demi speaks about how the album really goes full circle coming from an angry place at the start with ‘Freak and to end in a happy place with ‘4 Ever 4 Me’. It just feels like this album they’re being their authentic self and we love them for it.
After listening to the album again…again…and again, I came to the conclusion it’s in the ‘no skip’ category of awesomeness. I typically have a song on any album that’s my least favourite or at least acknowledging the one’s I don’t vibe with. However, like I said this album is just perfect in my opinion and I generally don’t skip one (really I don’t.) Each time, a different one sticks out for me for various of reasons.
The lyrics to ‘4 Ever 4 Me’ get me every time. The music video for Substance was brilliant and really brought back the old ‘La La Land’ vibes that we all really needed. I’ve looped ‘Happy Ending’ for maybe half an hour and had to stop because I was so tired ; don’t even get me started on Dead Friends and Wasted. I wish I could have been their to witness this masterpiece being made. Like who came up with this line because they’re a literal genius:
‘I danced with the devil, I made it through hell and I don’t know why
How am I different? I did and they didn’t and it doesn’t feel right’
Overall, this album just made me want to cry and journal all my thoughts to deal with unresolved things in my life. Thank you Demi for just speaking honestly about how you feel. ‘4 Ever 4 Me’ perfectly finished the album off and made me smile because it made me want to ‘start speaking honestly’ just like it said in the lyrics of the song. This album really does speak for a lot of people and we love you for it…so thank you.
fangirls world tour 