Demi Lovato was just nineteen when she entered rehab for the first time, following a ‘public breakdown’ where she infamously punched a backing dancer during a 2010 tour. But the Disney star turned her personal tragedies into inspiration when she sought to become a role model for young women fighting the same disorders and addictions as she did.
The very same year she completed her first rehab stint, Demi made the ultimate comeback, releasing her third studio album, ‘Unbroken,’ and its lead single, ‘Skyscraper,’ to international acclaim. ‘Skyscraper’ was a hit with a powerful message, and when Demi performed it live on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, even Demi was moved to tears by its incredible impact.
Music Man readers can watch this throwback Demi Lovato performance unfold in the video above. But, for all the strength she displayed, this sadly wouldn’t be the only time the star would be forced to publicly recover from her demons…
In a rare moment, the Grammy-nominated vocalist sits at a grand piano, leading her performance alone as she sings the first tender lines of her brand-new ballad, her piano flooded with reverb and her vocals steeped in emotion.
As her band’s full sound gradually emerges, Demi’s rawest lyrics hit like a gut-punch, leaving the singer with tears welling in her eyes, and an angst for survival covering her expression as she sings, ‘Go on and try to tear me down, I will be rising from the ground like a skyscraper.’
Her voice even cracks beneath the weight of her experiences, but Demi reroutes her trauma into grit that lands her a world away from her pre-recovery Disney princess personality.
Surprisingly, Demi Lovato didn’t actually write ‘Skyscraper,’ yet she absorbs its essence entirely, serving its lyrics from the depths of her heart as she belts through her evident pain.
But what drove Demi to connect so profoundly with this ballad? As the singer revealed to Ellen in the pre-performance interview found above, her years-long battles with anorexia, bulimia, self-harm, and bullying had led her to rock bottom, the star self-medicating with drugs and alcohol at the height of her fame, before the notorious incident with her backing dancer occurred.
Demi accepted treatment and, on returning to the limelight, made it her mission to inspire women worldwide to seek recovery by opening up about her own struggles.
As the years went by, ‘Skyscraper’ became an anthem in the eating disorder community; however, Demi’s own battles were far from their end. In 2018, the star made headlines after a near-fatal drug overdose led to her second rehab admission. But, through every up and down, and all the backlash she’s received, Demi continues to share her truth through raw performances packed with hidden meanings. Just check out her rendition of ‘Anyone’ at the 2020 Grammy Awards if you don’t believe us!