Just Loving Lovato

Demi Lovato has only been super famous for less than a year, since last summer's "Camp Rock," but already she has made such a career for herself. She is starring in "Sonny With A Chance," a her first full-length sitcom, has recorded an album ("Don't Forget," which will see a deluxe editon on the 31st), is doing many concert dates globally, and is planning if not already begun to work on album number 2.

I hope to do a more in depth post on Demi after I purchase "Don't Forget" deluxe in a couple of weeks, but for the time being, I thought I'd just do a more general survey of her short career. Her first gig was "Barney," where she, along with best friend and fellow Disney star Selena Gomez, was one of the children who Barney the Dinosaur would play with a teach life lessons. I only saw her on the show in repeats when my sister was a bit younger (and didn't have a clue who Demi was yet.) My formal introduction came from the same place it did for many, "Camp Rock."

It was already September or October when I first saw the movie, and I was wholly impressed with Demi's voice (her acting wasn't half bad either). "This Is Me" is a great song in general, with her and Joe Jonas singing over each other and such, but just on her own, it really shows her impressive range.

Her new show, "Sonny With A Chance," is a comedy about a girl named Sonny (Lovato) who joins the cast of a popular sketch show called So Random!. Lovato herself compares the premise to that of "Thirty Rock." The plots focus on relations between castmates, as well as between the cast of So Random! and the cast of their rival show, a moody teen drama called Mackenzie Falls. The show has been generally well-recieved. I find it a bit campier than other shows like "Wizards" or "Hannah Montana," but in of itself it is an entertaining show.

Aside from her album, Demi has done other musical releases. She has five "Camp Rock" songs:

• "We Rock" - with the full cast
• "Our Time Is Here" - with Meaghan Jette Martin & Aaryn Doyle
• "This Is Me" - with Joe Jonas
• "Who Will I Be?"
• "This Is Me (Acoustic)" - a solo version released only as a single

Demi is also on The Jonas Brother live album, on a concert performance of "This Is Me." (Maybe next year Demi will be the one with a "3D" concert film!)

There are also two songs she has done for compilation albums:

• "That's How You Know" - a cover of the song from "Enchanted" on "Disneymania 6"
• "Wonderful Christmastime" - a cover of Paul McCartney's Christmas song on Hollywood Records "All Wrapped Up" (a Target exclusive)

There is the song "Moves Me," that Demi did for a DVD called "Be Like A Pop Star With Demi Lovato." She was much younger when she recorded this number, which accompanies dance moves. It is sold on iTunes with the regular version, as well as extranous 'Karoke' and 'Instrumental' versions. Demi came a long way from this bland number. Her song "La La Land" was remixed (the "Caramel Pod D Remix") for the Japanese version of "Don't Forget."

All the above items are officially available (many on iTunes), but she also has a Demo album, only available as a bootleg (although with songs this good, maybe she'll get around to releasing them.) The demo has 10 songs, some only in fragments. Some cuts may be older than others, as some embrace a darker rock vibe, probably what she was refering to when she said her songs were too dark, and she needed the Jonas Brothers to lighten her material a bit. Others a cheesy bubblegum tracks, not dissimilar to "Moves Me"

• Stronger - The lyrics are "heavy," but the arrangement itself it quiet. Demi gives it both her breathy whisper like vocals as well as a few loud and forceful bits
• Shadow - again the lyrics are cool, but this one has more of a rock vibe.
• Open - The last two are from happier perspectives, but this one is about being in a bad / somewhat abusive relationship.
• Trash - in this song, Demi sings as a girl whose learns her boyfriend left her for another. She never uses the title, but that is what the character of the song must feel like.
• Ride - a forty second fragment about "strawberry bubble bath" or something, with really cheesy music. Not the stuff that Demi does now.
• Mirror - a fragment with okay vocals (she's trying a bit to hard, or the pitch is off) and basic and trite music.
• Not Yet - she sound like she's very young on this fragment, with piano (is it her playing?) accompaniment.
• I Can Only Imagine - a snippet of Demi singing this song
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• The Christmas Song - two Christmas numbers with little arrangment (again, is Demi playing?) and two oppurtunities for Demi to stretch her voice over well known numbers.

(Demi may well have other remixes, by the way, but I don't keep up with them.)

Demi has many upcoming projects, like the "coming soon" Disney TV Movie "Princess Protection Program," which will also star Selena Gomez, many more concert dates, a new album, and a sequel to "Camp Rock" (which Lovato has been saying she hopes to get a funnier role from, I guess since she has been enjoying working on a sitcom so much.) She is on a success-laden path, and seems ready to take it on.