Happy Birthday Demi Lovato: 10 of her best songs for the singer’s 32nd birthday

Activist, pop princess, child star, Disney darling – Demi Lovato has been it all. With Revamped, the 31-year-old ushers in a new era as a true rock star, turning 10 of her biggest hits into cheeky anthems. Lovato re-recorded her old music after holding a “funeral” for her pop career last year before releasing her debut punk album Holy Fvck.

Over the years, she has never tied herself to a particular musical trend. One thing remains constant: that unmistakable voice: sharp, powerful, unexpectedly versatile, but not effortless – because it’s hard to sing like her. Demi Lovato turns 32 today, so here’s the best of her.

10. Something we are not

A throwback to the cheeky bubblegum pop of the early 2000s, this 2013 album from Demi is aimed at a flirt who wants to get a little too close. At the end of the bridge, just before the vocal fireworks begin, Demi delivers a desperate “That’s not going to happen, dude.”

9. Remember December

Demi’s second album, Here We Go Again, released in 2009, took things to a new level. With its breakneck pace, Remember December is pop-punk in an electroclash style. A full-throated, anguished cry has never sounded better – in another life, Lovato would be leading a band like Paramore or Metric full-time.

8. Heart attack

Heart Attack, a track so chaotic it threatens to fall apart with every beat change, can only carry Demi Lovato’s voice. During the chorus, she jumps into her high register mid-sentence, as if singers do that all the time (but they don’t!). Heart Attack marks Lovato’s final step out of the shadows of teen pop: “But you make me wanna act like a girl/ Paint my nails and wear perfume for you/ Make me so nervous I can’t hold your hand,” she sings, refusing to belong.

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7. Problems with the father

Okay, Daddy Issues isn’t the kind of song you’d expect from Demi Lovato. It takes Lovato’s strained relationship with her late biological father and turns it into a tongue-in-cheek pick-up line for an older male lover. “Luckily/ I got all these daddy issues.” When you first hear it, it seems ridiculous, but that’s the point! “Forget all the therapy I went through,” Lovato sings, because there’s no better medicine than laughing at your problems. There’s never been a more entertaining arena synth-pop anthem than Daddy Issues.

6. Don’t forget

The title track from Lovato’s 2008 debut album, Don’t Forget, is a teen pop ballad with an important life lesson: Don’t forget your mistakes. The song begins with Lovato telling the story of a broken relationship over a series of clean guitars before erupting into distorted power pop harmonies. They’re gone as quickly as they appeared, a faded memory of joy. “Don’t Forget” was Lovato’s first sign of maturity beyond her years, co-written with the Jonas Brothers. Disney never had a voice like hers.

5. Skyscraper

At age 18, Lovato checked herself into rehab for emotional and physical problems. After entering treatment, she re-recorded Skyscraper, but ultimately released the original version. Although her voice is frayed, Lovato delivers a performance of heroic physical and emotional strength, culminating in a glass-shattering high G note.

Lovato’s “Skyscraper” embodies the radical honesty that has made her a role model for her fans. “Unbroken” was one of her most successful albums and marked the beginning of her second act. Although she sang many ballads, Demi never tried to top “Skyscraper.”

4. I’m sorry, I’m not sorry

Sorry Not Sorry is a crossover hit, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, garnering 309 million views on YouTube and a support from Jay-Z. Lovato now has new opportunities, including a co-headlining tour with DJ Khaled, a pairing that wouldn’t have made sense 12 months ago. Demi belts out the catchiest chorus of her career in a register so high that no mere mortal can sing along. Over hip-hop drums and an unusual gospel chord progression, she belts out the catchiest chorus of her career. Yes, it’s a goodbye to the haters, but it’s also one of the most joyful records she’s ever made.

3. Confident

Demi Lovato begins La La Land, the first song from her debut album, with “I’m confident, but I still have my moments.” Seven years later, Confident brings her full circle – no longer a teenager, but a one-woman army. “What’s wrong with being confident?” Lovato asks over and over, turning a question into a mantra. As a trained martial artist, Demi could one day fight in the UFC. You already know her farewell song.

2. Cool for summer

“Cool For the Summer” by Max Martin and Ali Payami wasn’t the official song of the summer of 2015, but it should have been: With cool piano riffs and hair metal guitars, Max Martin and Ali Payami capture the exact sound of melting ice on a hot day. A neon pink paradise is the backdrop for Lovato’s best music video yet.

Could this be the best song Katy Perry has ever written? It’s commanding, seductive, and a little bi-curious. Still, unlike I Kissed a Girl, Lovato wasn’t going through a phase: Cool For the Summer is forever.

1. Give your heart a break

One of the songwriters behind ’80s pop classics like Like a Virgin, True Colors, Eternal Flame, and countless others, Billy Steinberg co-wrote and produced Give Your Heart a Break. From the Brill Building melodies to the sparkling piano, strings, and gated reverb drums, Give Your Heart a Break is full of elegance. The singer refuses to smooth over the cracks in her voice as she sings against the grain of the song.

Featuring Demi’s voice, it’s more than a love song – it’s the story of a woman who survived the worst and persevered. It earned her a spot in the Top 40 in 2012 and was her biggest radio hit to date. Although Demi Lovato is a thoroughly modern pop star, Give Your Heart a Break remains timeless.

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