Demi Lovato’s Disney Channel stardom may be over, but her new album “Tell Me You Love Me” reminds us all of why she rocks (she rocks, she rocks, she rocks on).
After releasing “Sorry Not Sorry,” an unapologetic jam that fired up our already 90+ degree July and kept morale high before hitting the grind for FDOC, Lovato showed us that she could “talk that talk.” The bar was set for her new album, and she had to prove she could “walk that walk,” too.
Even though Lovato’s album isn’t named after this song, I don’t see the namesake “Tell Me You Love Me” showing up the jam that was more than just “Cool for the Summer.”
What the song does give us is a healthy dose of nostalgia.
The first verse and pre-chorus of “Tell Me You Love Me” sounds like a teenage girl’s confessional diary entry, and we get all the details of Lovato’s thoughts. When she says, “I don't know who I am without you,” I immediately thought of her 2009 hit “Here We Go Again.” Holy throwback, Batman!
Other songs like “Cry Baby,” “Hitchhiker” and “You Don’t Do It for Me Anymore” contain clear odes to her roots as an actress and musician. She shows us yet again that there is nothing wrong with being confident, but it is also completely okay to question who you are (and who you will be).
She’s definitely trying to sort it all out — the “it” being life, that is.
That’s a common theme throughout this album, too. Basically, every song is a list of everything that has ever driven Lovato crazy and her response to them. Me too, Demi. Me too.
Sometimes, you have to listen to your own advice and “Give Your Heart A Break.” Her emotion-dropping adds to our nostalgia and creates a jumbled mess of empowerment and confusion. Can’t we all just go back to "Sonny With a Chance"?
