Singer and songwriter Demi Lovato delivered power and vulnerability in her seventh studio album “Dancing with the Devil… The Art of Starting Over,” which follows up with the release of her Youtube Original documentary series “Dancing With the Devil.” Pairing with the show, Lovato opens up to her listeners through her 19-song album, recounting her trauma and personal battles over the past few years, including her almost fatal overdose in 2018. Throughout the album, Lovato tears down her walls and establishes herself as free and ready to share her story with the world.
“Dancing with the Devil… The Art of Starting Over” draws listeners into a dark but empowering atmosphere. Despite not experiencing anything close to what Lovato discusses in her songs, I connected with the conversation and message she conveyed. Lovato broke through the surface level of what fans have interpreted from the media. Despite the complex, sensitive topics her new album pushed her to juggle, Lovato handled them with passion and openness that radiates throughout the album.
The opening song “Anyone” set the tone for the emotional album. Lovato cries out for help from anyone as she faces several battles in life. This is one of her many songs where she takes a complicated conversation and experience and compacts it into a heart-aching track that has every listener relating and empathizing in some way.
In one of the main songs of the album, “Dancing with the Devil,” Lovato narrows in on her past struggle with addiction and substance abuse. Additionally, Lovato produced a music video to go with the song where she reenacted the day of her overdose, from the moment she was taken advantage of while under the influence to her recovery in the hospital. It is impossible to imagine how difficult it must have been to reenact this traumatic event in her life, but she took her trauma and reclaimed it, and this empowerment emanates throughout the song and the video.
Alongside these eye-opening songs, the rest of the album is filled with profound breakdowns on Lovato’s experiences. As Lovato expands on her battle with addiction, she also ventures into other topics such as in “Melon Cake,” where she describes the abusive control her old management team had over her that led to her eating disorder and eventual overdose. She also refers to her pansexuality in the track “The Kind of Lover I am,” writing, “Doesn’t matter, you’re a woman or a man. That’s the kind of lover I am.”
Lovato’s vocals in each song paired in harmony with the song lyrics, sounds, and meanings. Her voice seemed to explode with emotion and rawness that listeners could feel from head to toe. Although she is known for heartfelt singing, I was still pleasantly surprised by the emotional quality of her voice and tone in each song.
Lovato’s album deserves applause for its emotional vulnerability and its storytelling about the singer’s rise above her trauma. However, the album outside of this storyline is on the verge of cliche, and it lacks the uniqueness that some listeners would have hoped for given the heavy topic she explored. Although I enjoyed the insight into her emotions as I listened to the album, the music lacked the outstanding quality that would make me click “Add to Playlist” on Spotify.
As a story and a form of expression, “Dancing with the Devil… The Art of Starting Over” checks several boxes that make it a beautiful album that listeners can sympathize and relate with. Yet, the album lacks a certain level of freshness or excitement that makes one want to hit replay. Despite this complaint, Lovato opening up about her experiences that are often stigmatized and quieted is a milestone in the music industry, showing that artists are not only feeling more comfortable to break down that pop star wall but also that the public is more willing to listen and accept.