Three years ago, Demi Lovato ushered in her sixth album by singing, “Tell me you love me, I need someone… you ain’t nobody till you got somebody.”
Oh, how things have changed.
On Friday (March 6), Lovato released “I Love Me,” an upbeat anthem about her journey towards self-love and self-acceptance. “I’m a black belt when I’m beating up on myself / But I’m an expert at giving love to somebody else,” she sings, as we see her literally fight herself in the accompanying video. Putting her MMA skills (and her comedic acting chops) to good use, two versions of Demi face off in a heated battle, as her zen inner self watches. It all builds up to the question at the heart of the song: “I wonder when I love me is enough?”
Later, Lovato ventures outside in a fabulous red-hot jacket, strolling the streets as scenes and people from her life pop up around her. They’re subtle, but look closely — the mom taking her young daughter to an acting audition, the trio of shiny-suited brothers (ahem, Jonas Brothers), the stone-cold Demi guarded by a tough entourage, and the adorable Camp Rock setup featuring a mini Demi lookalike. In one scene, Lovato even walks past an ambulance and reaches out to a young woman on a stretcher — a poignant moment nodding to her overdose in 2018. The message of the song is clear: Demi is ready for a new chapter of her life, and she’s learned that she’s enough on her own. “I’m a 10 outta 10, even when I forget it,” she asserts. Oh yeah, and because this is Demi Lovato we’re talking about, there’s also an out-of-this-world high note that’ll bring you to your knees.
“I Love Me” comes amid Lovato’s recent return to the public eye following her health struggles. Earlier this year, the 27-year-old stunned the Grammys with her emotional performance of the power ballad “Anyone,” then sang the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. On Thursday, Lovato told Ellen DeGeneres that “I Love Me” is the latest taste of her upcoming seventh studio album, expected later this year.
“This song is fun and lighthearted and it’s got a positive, upbeat message,” Lovato said during the talk show appearance. “There are songs that are ugly-honest and heavy and will make you cry and will take you there. But I’m so excited.”
