Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series Barney & Friends, she starred in the Disney Channel short series As the Bell Rings. Lovato rose to prominence for playing Mitchie Torres in the musical television film Camp Rock and its sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. The former film's soundtrack featured "This Is Me", her debut single with Joe Jonas, peaking at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.
After signing with Hollywood Records, Lovato released her pop rock debut album, Don't Forget, which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. Its follow-up, Here We Go Again, debuted at number one in the US. Her third and fourth studio albums, Unbroken and Demi, delved into pop and R&B, debuted at numbers four and three in the US, and featured the US top-ten singles "Skyscraper" and "Heart Attack". Lovato's fifth and sixth albums included soul influences; Confident earned a Grammy Award nomination, while "Sorry Not Sorry" from Tell Me You Love Me reached number six. After a hiatus, Lovato released her seventh and eighth albums, Dancing with the Devil... the Art of Starting Over and the rock-influenced Holy Fvck, peaking at numbers two and seven in the US. Her ninth album, It's Not That Deep, followed in 2025, debuting at number nine in the US.
On television, Lovato starred as the titular character on the sitcom Sonny with a Chance, judged the American series of The X Factor for two seasons, appeared on the musical comedy Glee and the sitcom Will & Grace, and hosted her self-titled talk show and the docuseries Unidentified with Demi Lovato. She also starred in the comedy film Princess Protection Program, the animated films Smurfs: The Lost Village and Charming, the musical comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, the co-directed documentary Child Star, and the drama film Tow.
Lovato has sold over 24 million records in the United States. Her accolades include an MTV Video Music Award, fourteen Teen Choice Awards, five People's Choice Awards, and a Guinness World Record; she was included on the Time 100 annual list in 2017. She co-founded the record label Safehouse Records with fellow singer Nick Jonas in 2015 and has been active in social causes. Her struggles with an eating disorder, substance abuse, and self-harm led to her self-help memoir Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year, and the documentaries Demi Lovato: Stay Strong, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, and Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil.
Early life and career beginnings
Demetria Devonne Lovato was born on August 20, 1992, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Dianna De La Garza and engineer and musician Patrick Martin Lovato. Lovato has an older full sister named Dallas, a younger maternal half-sister, actress Madison De La Garza, and an older paternal half-sister, Amber, whom Lovato first spoke to at age 20.In mid-1994, shortly after Lovato's second birthday, her parents divorced. Her father was of Nuevomexicano descent, with mostly Spanish and Native American ancestors, and came from a family that had been living in New Mexico for generations; he also had distant Portuguese and Jewish ancestry. He was a descendant of Civil War Union veteran Francisco Perea and Santa Fe de Nuevo México governor Francisco Xavier Chávez. Lovato had no interest in forging a relationship with Patrick after her parents divorced. Her mother is of Irish descent.
She has been vocal about her strained relationship with her father, calling him abusive and once stated, "He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person. And he wanted to have his family, and when my mom married my stepdad, he still had this huge heart where he said, 'I'm so glad that taking care of you and doing the job that I wish I could do.'" After Patrick died of cancer on June 22, 2013, Lovato said that he had been mentally ill, and she created the Lovato Treatment Scholarship Program in his honor.
Lovato was brought up in Dallas, Texas. She began playing the piano at age seven and guitar at 10, when she began dancing and acting classes. In 2002, Lovato began her acting career on the children's television series Barney & Friends, portraying the role of Angela. She appeared on Prison Break in 2006 and on Just Jordan the following year. Due to her acting career, Lovato was bullied and consequently requested homeschooling, through which she eventually received her high-school diploma.
Career
2007–2008: Breakthrough with ''Camp Rock'' and ''Don't Forget''
From 2007 to 2008, Lovato played Charlotte Adams on the Disney Channel short series As the Bell Rings. Lovato auditioned for the channel's television film Camp Rock and series Sonny with a Chance during 2007 and got both roles. Lovato played the lead character, aspiring singer Mitchie Torres, in Camp Rock. The film premiered on June 20, 2008, to 8.9 million viewers. Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Lovato's acting skills were underwhelming and that she has "the knee-jerk smile of someone who is often told she has a great smile". The film's soundtrack was released three days earlier; however, the music was considered less current than that of High School Musical. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, with 188,000 units sold in its first week of release. Lovato sang four songs on the soundtrack, including "We Rock" and "This Is Me". The latter, Lovato's debut single, debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at number nine, marking her first entry on the chart. That summer, Lovato signed with Hollywood Records and began her Demi Live! Warm Up Tour before the release of her debut studio album, and appeared on the Jonas Brothers' Burnin' Up Tour.Lovato's debut studio album, Don't Forget, released on September 23, 2008, was met with generally positive reviews from critics. Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly said, "Demi Lovato might satisfy her 'tween fans but she won't be winning any rockers over with Don't Forget". The album debuted at number two in the US, with first-week sales of 89,000 copies. Ten of its songs were co-written with the Jonas Brothers.
Don't Forget was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for US sales of over 500,000 copies. Its lead single, "Get Back", was praised for its pop rock style and peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, also selling over 560,000 copies in the United States. The album's second single, "La La Land", was cited for its strong rock elements and peaked at number 52 in the US, and cracked the top 40 in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The music video for the song was directed by Brendan Malloy and Tim Wheeler. The third single and title track, "Don't Forget", peaked at number 41 in the US.
2009–2010: ''Sonny with a Chance'' and ''Here We Go Again''
Lovato's Disney Channel sitcom Sonny with a Chance, in which she played Sonny Munroe, the newest cast member of the show-within-a-show So Random!, premiered on February 8. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times described Lovato's acting ability as "very good", comparing her favorably to Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus. That June, Lovato starred as Rosie Gonzalez / Princess Rosalinda in the Disney Channel film Princess Protection Program, alongside Selena Gomez. The film, the fourth highest-rated Disney Channel original movie, premiered to 8.5 million viewers. For the film's soundtrack, the pair recorded the song "One and the Same", which was later released as a promotional single.Lovato's second studio album, Here We Go Again, was released on July 21, 2009; she described its acoustic style as similar to that of John Mayer. The album received favorable reviews from critics who appreciated its enjoyable pop-rock elements, echoing reviews of Don't Forget. Lovato's first number-one album, it debuted atop the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 108,000 copies, and was later certified Gold. The album's lead single and title track, "Here We Go Again", debuted at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100, and managed to peak at number 15, becoming Lovato's highest-charting solo single to that point. The song also peaked at number 68 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 38 in New Zealand. "Here We Go Again" was additionally certified Platinum in the US. The album's second and final single, "Remember December" failed to match the success of its predecessor, but peaked at number 80 on the UK Singles Chart. Lovato made her first 40-city national concert tour, Live in Concert, in support of Here We Go Again. The tour, from June 21 to August 21, 2009, had David Archuleta, KSM, and Jordan Pruitt as opening acts. Lovato and Archuleta received the Choice Music Tour award at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards. Lovato was featured alongside the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and Selena Gomez on the song "Send It On", a charity single and the theme song for Disney's Friends for Change. All proceeds from the song were donated to environmental charities supported by the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. Lovato recorded "Gift of a Friend" as a soundtrack for the Disney movie Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure. The movie was released in October 2009.
In 2010, Lovato and Joe Jonas recorded "Make a Wave" as the second charity single for Disney's Friends for Change. That May, Lovato guest-starred as Hayley May, a teenager with schizophrenia, in the sixth-season Grey's Anatomy episode, "Shiny Happy People". Although critics praised her versatility, they were underwhelmed by her acting and felt that her appearance was designed primarily to attract viewers. Later that year, she headlined her first international tour, Demi Lovato: Live in Concert, and joined the Jonas Brothers: Live in Concert tour as a guest.
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, with Lovato reprising her role as Mitchie Torres, premiered on September 3, 2010. Critics were ambivalent about the film's plot, and it has a 40-percent approval rating
on Rotten Tomatoes. However, Lovato's performance was called "dependably appealing" by Jennifer Armstrong of Entertainment Weekly. The film premiered to eight million viewers, the number-one cable television movie of the year by the number of viewers. Its accompanying soundtrack was released on August 10 with Lovato singing nine songs, including "Can't Back Down" and "Wouldn't Change a Thing". The soundtrack debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 41,000 copies. Jonas Brothers: Live in Concert was reworked to incorporate Lovato and the rest of the film's cast; it began on August 7, two weeks later than planned. The Sonny with a Chance soundtrack was released on October 5; Lovato sang on four tracks, including "Me, Myself and Time". It debuted at number 163 on the Billboard 200, her lowest-selling soundtrack. In November 2010, Lovato announced her departure from Sonny with a Chance, putting her acting career on hiatus and ending the series; she later said that she would return to acting when she felt confident doing so. Her departure led to the actual spin-off series So Random! with the Sonny cast, featuring sketches from the former show-within-a-show. The series was canceled after one season.