Demi Lovato‘s latest single, ‘Give Your Heart a Break,’ is an uptempo pop gem that finds Lovato pleading lyrical declarations to the one who keeps getting away in her dreamy, warm vocal style.

The song is marked by an ’80s and ’90s feel, sounding like the song that would blare during a montage in a romantic comedy where the lead female character is dressing up in all sorts of cute outfits while prepping for a big date. Can’t you just picture it? We can!

‘Give Your Heart a Break,’ in which Lovato sings to the one she desires about accepting love if even for a moment, is another fine selection from her comeback album ‘Unbroken.’ It’s certainly lighter in scope and sound then the gorgeously dense ballad ‘Skyscraper,’ which was the album’s debut single. But the subject matter on ‘Give Your Heart a Break’ is just as mature and adult.

When Lovato coos “Give your heart a break / There’s only so much you can take,” she’s speaking from experience and it allows her to feel like she’s a girlfriend who you can relate to since she has endured similar things in life.

The song does end abruptly, with Lovato singing, “The day I first met you / You told me you never fall in love,” and then it fades t silence. It’s as though she is speaking in hindsight, yet isn’t giving up. Throughout, she’s trying to convince the one she loves not to leave, to stick around and let her love be his strength. It’s powerful stuff.

Source: Pop Crush

There should be a formula for Disney stars turned wannabe hit makers and chart-topping artists. Unlike her predecessors Hillary Duff and Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato has crafted an interesting and impressive set withUnbroken that makes a creative statement while not alienating her loyal, Disney fan base.

Unbroken is the perfect journey for a 19-year-old girl who’s been drug across the coals and is still trying to find her way in a world clogged with too much emphasis on sex appeal and very little on talent. Lovato, however, breaks the mold set by current pop divas Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Ke$ha, and Katy Perry to shift the musical landscape into heartfelt and sincere songs that simply cater to the theatrical crowd.

The first four tracks are mostly star-studded affairs that offer little to an album that would have benefited more with their omission, but they are what help establish her journey. Also, these four tracks – “All Night Long,” “Who’s That Boy,” “You’re My Shorty,” and “Together” – are what will satisfy her built-in fan base.

With the next track comes the album’s first tear-jerking moment, “Lightweight,” and there is almost an audible, crunching shift in its tone from dance-club-ready jams to gut-wrenching and emotional performances. “I’m a lightweight, easy to fall, easy to break, with every move my world shakes,” Lovato cries in the chorus. Her emotional delivery here soaks through from a place of absolute pleading. As a highlight of Unbroken, “Lightweight,” would have been the perfect album opener, though its place in the set makes it a delightful surprise.

Taking a cue from Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale, “Unbroken,” the title track, has a cleverly delicious keyboard and electric backing. “I’m gonna love you like I’ve never been broken,” Lovato sings. Even though a brittle dance beat supports her vocals, the emotional energy punctures its way into the ear drums. A fist-pumping anthem, its lyrics are heavy and meaningful, surging through the veins. This track, in all its synthesized glory, fittingly sets up the piano-driven gem, “Fix a Heart,” which is a desperate however heartfelt plea of sorts. “I try to sever ties and I ended up with wounds to bind like you’re pouring salt in my cuts,” she swoons on the first verse. Lovato’s pain runs so deep that this soul-baring song feels like a punch in the gut. If she’s learned one thing this past year, it’s how to be brutally and often painfully honest.

Lovato continues to pour on the heavy emotional syrup with the next three tracks – “Hold Up,” “Mistake,” and “Give Your Heart a Break” – without skimping on the electrically forceful instrumentation. The album then takes on its most autobiographical tone with the climactic “Skyscraper,” which contains some of Lovato’s finest vocals to date. She pulls back, belts, and sweetly sings in all the right places to deliver the performance of her career.

“In Real Life” and “My Love is Like a Star,” despite lacking a similarly deep or emotional impact, further illustrate her growth and maturity as a credible artist. Save for the Wizz Dumb Remix of “Skyscraper,” “For the Love of a Daughter” takes a page right out of her life, closing out the album in stunning, tear-inducing style.

While Demi Lovato certainly has more growing to do, on Unbroken she suggests that over time she will prove herself more than capable. Lesser pop divas should take note from Miss Lovato she knows what she’s doing.

Source: Seattle PI

There are two ways for pop stars to make a Survivor Album: either power-sing through your problems like Christina Aguilera, or make like Rihanna and dance till you forget what you’re supposed to be getting over. On her first release since checking out of rehab, Demi Lovato wants to have it both ways. She’s front-loaded Unbroken with leave-no-synth-effect-behind R&B (”You’re My Only Shorty,” featuring Iyaz), shy love-in-this-club tracks (”Who’s That Boy”), and Timbaland bangers (”All Night Long,” with Missy Elliott). So it’s a little unnerving when she gets to the album’s second half — the part where, as she told Ryan Seacrest, ”I’m singing about some issues that I’ve never even spoken about before.”

Having struggled with cutting since she was a preteen, Lovato admits, ”I ended up with wounds to bind…and I just ran out of Band-Aids” on the hugely affecting ballad ”Fix a Heart.” The piano confessional ”For the Love of a Daughter” finds her picturing herself at age 4, begging her dad to ”put the bottle down” and keep his ”selfish hands” to himself. And then there’s ”Skyscraper,” an anthem so honest you can hear her voice breaking. Clearly it’s been a tough year for Lovato. But as Rihanna could tell her, sometimes bad years make great songs. B+

Source: Entertainment Weekly

2010 has been a tough year for Demi Lovato. On the surface, it might’ve seemed like she had it all; her own TV show, a hugely successful music career, a Jonas Brother boyfriend. Her image certainly conveyed the happy, wholesome teenager everyone thought she was. You’d be forgiven, then, for thinking there was no more than what meets the eye in Demi Lovato. She was a “Disney teen queen,” after all, and they were little more than programmed products to fit the ideals of parent-approved role models, right? Well, no.

After shocking bouts of violent outbursts, and leaked provacative images, Demi Lovato was admitted to a treatment center. She was ultimately diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and, after nearly 4 months of treatment, she was released in January 2011, when it was also announced she would no longer be taking part in Sonny with a Chance, a sitcom she fronted. After all, she wasn’t the perfect, bubbly teenage girl everyone thought she was, she was a damaged human being with baggage. She was one of us.

With an incredible voice and two great albums under her belt, she reportedly headed into studio right after being discharged, a smart move on her end. She had months of experiences to write and sing about. How well would they translate to song, though? Well, based on “Skyscraper,” the first offering from her upcoming third album, they translated fantastically.

Co-written by Estonian “bubblegoth” singer, Kerli, and producer, Toby Gad (Selena Gomez “A Year Without Rain”, Fergie “Big Girls Don’t Cry”), “Skyscraper” seems like it was tailor made for Demi. With heartbreaking, yet optimistic lyrics placed over minimal yet emotionally effective production, the song seemed like the perfect opportunity for Lovato to emote, and emote, she certainly does.

“Skies are crying, I am watching,” she whispers in the first verse. “Catching teardrops in my hands.” Strangely befitting, she sounds vulnerable, almost broken, over a bare, piano-only backdrop. As the second verse resounds (“As the smoke clears, I awaken,”) she’s already regained most of her confidence and composure as the beat picks up, yet there’s still a hint of fragility in her voice, which diminishes as the song goes on. Until we reach the finale, that is; the final chorus.

The chorus in “Skyscraper” is arguably the best thing about the song. The creme de la creme, if you will.Heartbreaking yet optimistic, catchy yet powerful in substance, it stays with you for all the right reasons. “You can take everything I have, you can break everything I am, like I’m made of glass, like I’m made of paper,”she dares us. “Go on and try to bring me down, I will be rising from the ground,” she then proclaims. “Like a skyscraper, like a skyscraper.” The final rendition, however, is all the more mesmerizing.Openly weeping by the end of the song, it gives Lovato the edge to transform fromDisney princess into fully-fledged, true musician.

Skyscraper will be available for digital download on July 14 according to amazon.

Source: Free Wired

Air Date: Friday 9/3

Us Rating: ***

Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers take center stage in this snappy follow-up to the 2008 smash TV movie. Once again, Mitchie (Lovato), her summer boyfriend, Shane (Joe Jonas), and the gang sing and dance in the wilds — only now they must compete against a snobby new music camp across the lake. Formulaic plot aside, the high-energy performances, such as Lovato’s “Brand New Day” (cowritten by Kara DioGuardi!), are irresistible. (Disney Channel, 8 P.M.)

Source: US Weekly

“After my first full listen-through, there were only 2 songs that I can say I just don’t like.

The first song that rubbed me the wrong way was “Remember December.” I’d seen a Wal-Mart Soundcheck performance Demi did prior to the album release and even then I didn’t care for this song. I feel like her vocals are strained at the beginning and I find the chorus pretty much irritating. You know how there’s always that one song that requires the album booklet to decipher the lyrics? This is it. I have no idea what she’s saying through most of it.

The next let down for me was “Gift of a Friend.” Just by the title I was terrified. I’m not one to really like cheesy songs unless they’re particularly catchy or actually move me, emotionally. However, this was just plain out cheesy. Songs containing phrases like “when you open your heart & believe in the gift of a friend” generally turn me off. However, on a more positive note, her vocals were absolutely outstanding in this song, which was kind of the redeeming factor. • Read full story »

“For the Radio Disney masses, there’s Lovato and Here We Go Again, the Camp Rock star’s second album in less than a year and her latest attempt at swiping Miley Cyrus’ throne. While the native Texan is a self-proclaimed fan of death metal, her latest disc is more Kelly Osbourne than Ozzy Osbourne, and closer in style to fellow Texan Ashlee Simpson than fellow Texan Kelly Clarkson. Lovato’s charm and energy shines through though on album highlights like the synth-heavy “Got Dynamite” and the soulful “Every Time You Lie,” Caryn Ganz writes in her three-star review of the LP.”

Source: Rolling Stone

“American Idol” and Disney are the two strongest pop machines in music today. This week, two of their most promising talents released sophomore albums: “Camp Rock” star Demi Lovato follows up last year’s “Don’t Forget” with the brassy “Here We Go Again,” and 2007 “Idol” winner Jordin Sparks stakes her claim with “Battlefield.”

So, which one will become the summer jam record, perfect for blasting at slumber parties and Forever 21 sales? The good news for the artists is that the world of teen pop is a magnanimous one. Fans are encouraged to listen to all the competitors; nary a beef is in sight.

Sparks might be the “Idol” alumna, but it’s Lovato who’s most influenced by Kelly Clarkson’s style. Even the title of Lovato’s ’80s-inspired “Remember December” could be taken as a vote for Clarkson’s maligned full-length “My December.” • Read full story »

Demi Lovato went from flirting scenes with Joe Jonas in Camp Rock to releasing her brand new CD, Don’t Forget in only a matter of months. She sings in Camp Rock, but her voice on her new CD is a lot more edgy and the CD has a rock image. My sister and I closely associate the CD with Canadian Singer, Skye Sweetnam (“Tangled Up in Me,” “Number One,” “Billy S.”) Demi sings under Hollywood Records, as does Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers. Demi and Miley have similar sounds, but Demi’s definitely got my vote.

Demi does a duet (With two extras?) with the Jonas Brothers in “On the Line.” Anything the Jonas Brothers sing is automatically good, but Demi definitely adds a special touch. This song is nothing like Joe Jonas and Demi’s “This Is Me.” Instead it has more of a rock edge. Very, very sweet song. I’m glad Demi paired up with them. Now, if she could only do a duet with best friend, Selena Gomez of Wizards of Waverly Place …

I really enjoyed track one, “La La Land.” Not only are Demi’s vocals good, but the song has very amusing lyrics that makes her fans  relate to her. For example, the first three lines you hear are “I am confident but I still have my moments/Baby, that’s just me/I’m not a supermodel. I still eat McDonald’s.” Her vocal range varies and it produces a great song. • Read full story »