There were two paths Demi Lovato could have taken after her 2011 post-treatment album "Unbroken". She could have continued on the same palette as "Unbroken" and offered another poor-to-solid set of songs with two radio hits and nothing else, or she could have flipped the album on its head, and turn back to the frothy tween-pop that bedecked her first two albums. Oddly enough, Demi doesn't do either on her fourth album "Demi".
Instead, she essentially decided to re-work "Unbroken", and create a set of songs that are not as doggedly serious, don't overload of artist collaborations (but still posts a head-spinning list of producers and songwriters), and showcase what could be Demi's most underrated quality: her voice. In fact, maybe her decision to take a seat on The X Factor judge's panel wasn't for a paycheck, it could be that she's been trying to prove her vocal chops all along. She's easily the most mature judge on the panel (but to be fair, Britney Spears and Simon Cowell don't offer much competition), but she's also the most tangible persona that the show has. This works well on "Demi", an album that was meant to show Demi Lovato, the person, not Demi Lovato, the ex-Disney actress. Although, the results throughout the album are mixed, as lead single "Heart Attack" as powerful and catchy as it is, emulates Kelly Clarkson a little too well, "Fire Starter" is her bid to be Katy Perry, and "Something That We're Not" gets dangerously close to becoming a One Direction song. For all the exertion in trying to create an album that's purely Demi Lovato, the mixed bag of personalities makes it hard to believe that's really what she intended. It's obvious that she's still trying to find a style and sound that's one hundred percent herself, but in her quest to make a better, and more personal, album than "Unbroken", she definitely succeeds on that note. The ballads feel genuine, not affected, and the rest of the album is just Demi back to having fun before the tumult of 2010-2011. "Made in the USA" (in contrary to its title, it's not a rip-off of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA") uses a Chevy reference to describe her love for someone, and she includes some folk-style guitars in the bridge, but it doesn't sound awkward. "Never Been Hurt" re-writes the title track from her last album, "Unbroken", fairly well, and "Something That We're Not" is basically One Direction with substance, and "Really Don't Care" only drafts Cher Lloyd for a brief amount of time, but it's still a summer-ready anthem filled with bubblegum sweetness and some spicey attitude for good measure. Most amazingly, "Demi" proves that Demi Lovato does have a rightful place to judge aspiring singers on a TV show, because throughout each of its 13 tracks, she carries the big choruses and gargantuan hooks with the strength of a Russian weight lifter, sweet charisma, and and she maintains her genuine appeal.
That's her stock in trade, her humanity. Even when "Demi" stumbles, (see "Neon Lights" and "Shouldn't Come Back"), it's still utterly human. It's flawed, but instead of trying to prove that she can do it all like she did on "Unbroken", Demi actually puts her flaws front and center, and has made her best album because of it. She celebrates the fact that she's imperfect, she stumbles, she doesn't always follow through on her promise, but this is the closest she's come to making an album that shatters the tough exterior. "Unbroken" was a very necessary move for Demi, because she's now on the way to becoming an artist unafraid of taking risks, digging deeper than just surface emotions, and "Demi" is a perfect postcard for that journey. It may or may not elevate her to a new level of stardom, it may not be the most memorable set of songs she could have produced, but it affirms her most endearing qualities, and it sure does sound good while it's on. After enough spins, you too will learn to accept the bad with the good.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Heart Attack 2. Made in the USA 3. Without the Love
4. Neon Lights 5. Two Pieces 6. Nightingale
7. In Case 8. Really Don’t Care 9. Fire Starter
10. Something That We’re Not 11. Never Been Hurt
12. Shouldn’t Come Back 13. Warrior
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