Demi Lovato has shared that she was considering retiring from music prior to making her documentary Child Star.
Lovato – who now uses she/her pronouns again along with they/them pronouns – co-directed Child Star, marking her directorial debut.
The film explores the experience of being famous at a young age and having to grow up in public, and sees Lovato sit down with various former child stars like herself, including Drew Barrymore, Kenan Thompson, Christina Ricci, Raven-Symoné, JoJo Siwa, and Alyson Stoner.
In a new interview with Penn Badgley for his podcast Podcrushed, the singer said she made the film to answer the question: “‘Why did we turn out the way that we did? And how does it affect me today? Is it something that I still wanna do? Why did I feel like I needed so much outside validation?’”
When Badgley asked if Lovato felt she succeeded in her search for answers, she responded: “I do.”
“One of the questions is, like, ‘Do I wanna still do this today?’ You know, going into this film, I was considering retirement because I didn’t know if it fulfilled me anymore,” Lovato continued. “But for some reason, it was so therapeutic working on this project, realising that, like, I don’t need success.”
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Lovato, who made her onscreen debut at 10 years old, revealed that discussing the impact of fame with other child stars helped her to decide where to take her musical career next.
“I don’t need success, I need to be happy,” she explained. “And at the end of the day, music does make me happy, and that’s why I wanna continue it. I don’t wanna do it because I feel like I have to. I wanna do it because I love it. And working on this film has helped me kind of fall back in love with music.”
Prior to the documentary’s release on September 17, Lovato shared a new single, ‘You’ll Be OK, Kid’, and revealed that she was working on more songs, explaining to Badgley that the track marked a turning point in establishing what direction they wanted to go in with new music.
“That was an example of me going into the studio and, like, finally loving something that I worked on,” they said. “I’m so self-critical that, like… I have had a really hard time, like, finding my sound and going into the studio and finding that confidence again.
“With ‘You’ll Be Okay, Kid’ I was like, you know what? I do love music. I do love writing. I do love working on this, and I wanna still continue it.”
Lovato’s last album was 2023’s ‘Holy Fvck‘, which saw her revisit the rock and emo influences that shaped her earliest music. However, she teased that her forthcoming new album “is not rock at all”.
“I’m having a great time working on it,” she continued. “I’ve spent a year exploring with my sound, like, trying all these different genres, and, I think I know what I’m doing right now.”
However, it’s unlikely that Lovato would be taking any new music on the road. Earlier this year, she revealed that she may never tour again, saying: “It takes a toll on your body, I’m not 15 anymore.”
The ‘Heart Attack’ singer’s last full-length release was 2023’s ‘Holy Fvck’. In a three-star review of the album, NME shared: “If ‘Holy Fvck’ is a funeral for Lovato’s pop music, it also marks a new beginning, with an artist reborn. As the musician explores this ferocious sonic world and celebrating her musical roots, it’s the start of a bold new era.”
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