Demi Lovato (pictured above) released two songs since the beginning of 2020. Lovato had taken a break from music after a near-fatal overdose in 2018 (courtesy of wikimedia Commons).
Almost two years after her overdose, Demi Lovato is back to making music.
On Friday March 6, Lovato released a new song and music video, both titled “I Love Me.” The song is an upbeat, catchy pop song with a central theme revolving around Lovato’s question: “I wonder when I love me is enough.”
The lyrics demonstrate the different struggles Lovato has endured in her life, from her eating disorder to her reluctance to love herself as much as she loves those around her. The song ends on a positive note, as the lyrics change to her reminding herself and the audience that she is a “10 out of 10 even when I forget.”
As she has before, Lovato bared her soul in her music—which makes her new song powerful. She detailed her struggles in a way that allows the audience to empathize and relate to them through her irresistible pop songs.
The chorus is a lively look at Lovato’s struggle to love herself. The paradox between the song’s message and tempo allows the singer to present a statement about her struggles that anyone could sing along to. Body positivity and self-love are not always easy topics to discuss, and Lovato gives an accessible platform to talk about them.
This song also fits nicely with the recent trend of singing about self-love. Lovato’s new song joins Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” and most of Lizzo’s discography in the recent category of pop music about loving yourself. These empowering songs bring to light difficult topics to talk about in a non-threatening way.
The music video that was released alongside the song added to Lovato’s message of self-love. Throughout the video, Lovato encountered different stages of her life as an artist. She passed by all these stages with a smile of acknowledgment, as though she has come to peace with what happened. She passed by her persona from her Confident era, fought with her persona from her Here We Go Again era, looked fondly on her Camp Rock time and even reached out to a person being taken to an ambulance.
Lovato passing by all these eras with a positive outlook was a touching portrayal of overcoming and finding closure with your past. Watching Lovato reach out to the person on the stretcher was the most heart-wrenching part as she almost died from an overdose two years ago. She is coming back stronger and more at peace with herself than she has been in years.
As she has in the past, Lovato has been outspoken about her struggles she went through the past couple of years. When she visited “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” last week, Lovato candidly opened up about her eating disorder and substance abuse problems. She also gave words of encouragement to those going through a difficult time. “If you do go through this, you yourself can get through it,” she said. “You can get to the other side and it may be bumpy, but you are a 10 out of 10.”
“I Love Me” can easily be the newest summer hit about self-love from Lovato. The rhythm and words will allow it to get stuck in your head for days. You’ll want to sing along to the chorus of “I wonder when I love me is enough” and look for the nod to the Jonas Brothers in her music video.