THE LATEST (10/16)
Demi Lovato's Confident is here! We've been celebrating Demi Lovato Week these past five days (see below) and now it culminates with a brank-spankin' new albums worth of material. Take a listen to Confident below and then scroll down for everything you need to know about the upcoming album including collaborators, the backstories and more.
Fuse's Demi Lovato Week:
THE BUILD-UP
In late June 2015, Lovatics began rejoicing after a slew of clues indicated Demi Lovato may be releasing new music as early as next month.
On June 6, Demi told reporters at DigiFest that "it's going to be a real exciting summer" and that she "cannot wait for you guys to hear some new music." The news was followed by a Chicago radio programmer tweeting his excitement over hearing the Disney diva's new song.
Furthermore, pop songwriter Savan Kotecha (who has credits on Ariana Grande's "Problem," One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" and Demi's own "Really Don't Care") responded to a Q&A announcement Demi Lovato made with a wink emoji, which is basically the most concrete confirmation of a collaboration one can get in 2015. It was clear Demi was prepping some big and poppy for the summer.
THE MUSIC
--First Single: "Cool for the Summer"
With her brilliantly provocative new banger leading the album, Demi officially kickstarted her new era in a big way. The single hit No. 1 on iTunes Top Songs and remained the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter worldwide all day.
--Second Single: "Confident"
On August 24, a newly surfaced song reportedly titled "Confident" surfaced, which is rumored to be the second single off her upcoming LP. It's a bombastic track that opens with regal trumpets and stomping beats backing Demi's belts about dismissing claims that she's underrated.
A July report from Billboard revealed that Lovato's team was considering a song titled "Confidence" as her forthcoming record's lead single; they chose "Cool for the Summer" for an appropriately seasonal hit. "Confidence" likely refers to this new song.
--"Stone Cold"
On October 8, Demi premiered the new song "Stone Cold" via a black-and-white video of her recording the track in the studio. This one's a straight ballad, built atop somber piano and co-written by Sweden's Laleh and Gustaf Thörn. It's about trying to survive while an ex, newly in love, thrives.
On July 1, our girl stopped by On Air With Ryan Seacrest (above) to spill a few more details about the record, revealing that we'll soon be exposed to a whole new side of the pop star:
"The thing with my music, I've spent so long just kind of people pleasing, making everybody happy with being the best role model I can be. At the end of the day, yes, I'm outspoken about the things I believe in: mental health, advocacy work, I have my own charity. I have all these things that make me a role model. But at the same time, none of these things are representing the badass that I am.
"I'm no longer serious. I'm done with the sob stories and the tales. New chapter, new life, new album, new single, this is a completely new Demi. There's definitely a lot of provocative songs on the album."
Ms. Lovato also indicated a return to her rockier roots for the LP:
"There's also an element that I really wanted to bring to the music. One was the rock element, I wanted to kind of bring back the rock-pop music, but I have a lot of rhythmic flairs in there as well. There's so many things that I wanted to bringing back. I grew up listening to soul music and then I only listened to metal music for awhile. I have all these influences that influenced this album and me growing up.
RUMORED TRACKS
A handful of tracks have been rumored or reported to be included for Demi's LP as they're registered on various performing rights sites under the singer's name. The intriguing titles include:
- Wildfire (co-written by Ryan Tedder)
- Human
- Lionheart
- My Stupid Heart
- Old Ways
- Stone Cold
As seen from the final tracklist, rumored tracks "Human" and "My Stupid Heart" did not make the final cut, but could end up as bonus tracks on deluxe or international versions, if they are real.
CONFIRMED COLLABORATORS
--Max Martin: The superstar pop producer worked on both "Cool for the Summer" and rumored second single "Confident."
--Savan Kotecha: The pop songwriter has credits on Ariana Grande's "Problem," One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" and Demi's own "Really Don't Care." He helped craft "Cool for the Summer."
--Sirah: Demi confirmed in an interview with Capital FM that the rising rapper features on her LP. The female MC featured on Skrillex's GRAMMY-winning single "Bangarang."
--Iggy Azalea: The Aussie rapper is not only featured on album cut "Kingdom Come," she's one of Demi's best gal pals. "I'm super proud to see where she's gone with this album and I'm excited for other people to see what's changed with her," the MC said, adding that she made an exception to her feature hiatus "because shes [sic] my close friend." Demi returned the love Iggs, saying it would be "an honor to have her on my album." Iggy added the "Kingdom Come" was not expected to be a single.
TRACKLIST
Demi enlisted some of her celeb friends to share the tracklist of her new album on Twitter, making a social-media scavenger hunt for fans. Kim Kardashian, Christina Perri and even her boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama were all on hand to share new song titles. Here's what we have so far:
1. Confident
2. Cool for the Summer
3. Old Ways
4. For You
5. Stone Cold
6. Kingdom Come (featuring Iggy Azalea)
7. Waitin' for You (featuring Sirah)
8. Wildfire
9. Lionheart
10. Yes
11. Father
12. Stars
13. Mr. Hughes
RELEASE DATE
After revealing the tracklist on social media, Demi revealed the album would come in October 16. That same week she'll be performing on Saturday Night Live making for a big promo slot.
