IN IT TO WIN IT
Lovato sets sights on earning a coveted Grammy
A Grammy nomination helped Demi Lovato feel re-energized in her career.
The singer, 25, who released her debut in 2008 at 16, earned her first nomination at the 2017 Grammy Awards for her 2015 album, Confident. Fans will get a behind-the-scenes look of her latest album, Tell Me You Love Me, and Lovato’s personal life, in her upcoming YouTube documentary I Am Demi.
Q People were impressed with your performance during the Lionel Richie tribute at the 2016 Grammys. Do you feel like the respect for you grew after that?
A I definitely think that I’ve gained more respect as a vocalist and an artist. I feel like I got recognition from my first Grammys performance and I was so nervous. I was like, ‘This is my opportunity to show people why I deserve to be here.’ And I sang the best that I could. And I used that 30-, 40-second little section of the song to showcase my voice the best that I could. And I just left it all on the stage and I feel like that led to people listening to my album, and then leading to the Grammy nomination, and then the performance the next year.
Q You mentioned negativity online — how do you make sure it doesn’t ruin your day?
A There are certain things said online or even the other day I had someone say something in person that was like really rude ... But I’m so sure of who I am, and so sure of my talent, and so sure of the person that I was raised to be, and the person that I’ve grown into, that I don’t let that stuff affect me anymore. And I think I was insecure with my music and the success of my music whenever I was dealing with, you know, the negative press and I let it get to me. Whereas after that Grammy nomination it kind of was like, ‘No, like look at your talent. You’re recognized for it. Like, cherish that. ’The paparazzi guy that said something to me the other day said something about my drug use and my past. But I know I have five and a half years sober, and so when he said that it didn’t bother me because I was like, ‘That’s not who I am anymore, say what you want but this is who I am and I’m sober now.’
Q The song Daddy Issues sounds deep, but the track is very upbeat. What was it like recording that song ?
A Daddy Issues is something that I’ve definitely had with the relationship with my birth father and it affects me to this day, you know, the way that I have relationships with people. So I wanted to write about that because I feel like a lot of people can relate.
And so I went into the studio but I wanted it to be uptempo because I didn’t want it to seem like too heavy. It could easily go that way. And so I thought it would be kind of fun to have like an upbeat kind of pop song that’s kind of ironic that it would be about such a heavy subject.
Q Do you pay attention to the Billboard charts?
A I don’t, and here’s the reason why: I used to look at the Billboard charts when it was more important.
And as time has gone on there’s so many charts. It’s like the Trending charts. There’s the Billboard Hot 100 chart. There’s the iTunes chart. There’s what’s ... the most streamed song on Spotify. It’s like there’s so many charts that you could be No. 1 in one, and No. 10 in another ... If somebody tells me, they’re like, ‘Hey, your song went blah, blah, blah.’ Like, great, awesome, but if it doesn’t beat Despacito it’s not the end of the world (laughs).
Q I asked because we’ve seen men dominate in the past two years and I wondered if you also noticed that?
A Timing is everything ... I don’t think it’s like for a specific reason. I don’t think it’s like sexism or anything like that ... Ariana (Grande) is not putting out music right now. Adele’s not putting out music right now. Taylor (Swift) just released her song ... Rihanna is not putting out music right now, so it’s just a matter of timing.
Q What are some of your other goals?
A My biggest goal in my career would be to win a Grammy. And that is like my ultimate music goal.