Demi Lovato doesn’t just have powerhouse pipes—she also has the wisdom of a woman who’s been through a lot in just three decades on earth. And she’s not afraid of sharing that wisdom with the world, which makes her a prolific and deeply personal songwriter.
Long after starring in Disney‘s Sonny With a Chance and Camp Rock, Lovato has compared her more revealing lyrics to “taking [her] top off.” In 2013, she told MTV News of her album Demi, “There are songs that are pretty self-explanatory on this album and when I played those songs in front of other people I almost felt, like, naked. There were several times I had to leave the room.”
The singer, who’s openly struggled with bulimia, bipolar disorder and addiction, has penned lyrics about everything from relapsing (the chilling, heartbreaking “Sober”) to abandonment issues (“Father,” “Daddy Issues”) to her love life (“Yes,” “Ruin the Friendship” and countless others). She delivers empowerment anthems like “Confident” and “Sorry Not Sorry,” in which she relishes in her braggadocio swagger, as well as incredibly vulnerable ballads, including “Warrior” and “Nightingale.”
It’s hard to narrow down Lovato’s most powerful lyrics, especially when you factor in that she began writing songs when she was just a teen. From her prodigy years through adulthood, here are some particularly powerful lines from Lovato to celebrate her 30th birthday and the release of her latest album, Holy Fvck.
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1. “You can take everything I have / You can break everything I am / Like I’m made of glass / Like I’m made of paper / Go on and try to tear me down / I will be rising from the ground / Like a skyscraper.” (“Skyscraper”)
2. “It’s easy to feel like you don’t need help / But it’s harder to walk on your own.” (“Gift of a Friend”)
3. “I’m not down again / I turned the page, the story’s mine / No more watchin’ the world from my doorstep passin’ me by.” (“Old Ways”)
4. “I’m a badass jumping off the moving train / I’m a Jane Bond, putting all the guys to shame / I’m a wild card, and I’m gonna steal your game / You better watch out / I’m a fire starter.” (“Fire Starter”)
5. “Now payback is bad bitch / And baby I’m the baddest.” (“Sorry Not Sorry”)
6. “Some may say I need to be afraid of losing everything / Because of where I had my start and where I made my name / Well everything’s the same in the la la land machine.” (“La La Land”)
7. “This is real, this is me / I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be now / Gonna let the light shine on me / Now I’ve found who I am / There’s no way to hold it in / No more hiding who I wanna be / This is me.” (“This Is Me”)
8. “Now I’ve got thicker skin / I’m a warrior / I’m stronger than I’ve ever been / And my armor, is made of steel, you can’t get in / I’m a warrior / And you can never hurt me again.” (“Warrior”)
9. “Always wished you the best / I pray for your peace / Even if you started this / This whole war in me.” (“Father”)
10. “I need a voice to echo, I need a light to take me home / Kinda need a hero, is it you? / I never see the forest for the trees / I could really use your melody / Baby, I’m a little blind I think it’s time for you to find me / Can you be my nightingale?” (“Nightingale”)
11. “Now if we meet out on the street I won’t be running scared / I’ll walk right up to you, and put one finger in the air.” (“Really Don’t Care”)
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12. “Off to the races, I’m going places / Might be a long shot, not gonna waste it / This is the big break and it’s calling my name, yeah /
So far so great, get with it / At least that’s how I see it / Having a dream is just the beginning.” (“So Far So Great”)
13. “Money won’t pay for your problems / You gotta fix them yourself / Vices and pity won’t solve ’em / Stop feeling bad for yourself.” (“You Don’t Do It for Me Anymore”)
14. “What’s wrong with being confident? / So you say I’m complicated / That I must be outta my mind / But you’ve had me underrated.” (“Confident”)
15. “I’m quickly finding out / I’m not about to break down, not today / I guess I always knew / That I had all the strength to make it through.” (“Believe in Me”)
16. “And we walk together into the light / And my love will be your armor tonight / We are lionhearts / And we stand together facing a war / And our love is gonna conquer it all / We are lionhearts.” (“Lionhearts”)
17. “Waiting till the demons come / Wait for us to see them run in our direction / Now they’re staring at us through the trees / Got us falling to our knees to teach us a lesson.” (“Smoke & Mirrors”)
18. “I want a gentlemen who treats me like a queen / I need respect, I need love / Nothing in between.” (“Everything You’re Not”)
19. “You say that you conquered the lion without even tryin’ / But she only gets stronger / She only bites harder and I only die fighting.” (“Waitin’ For You”)
20. “There’s nothing like this moment / To just be real and let the truth be spoken / Whatever’s broke I can make it unbroken / Turn the lead in my hand into something golden.” (“Me, Myself and Time”)
21. “There’s just one life to live and there’s no time to waste.” (“Give Your Heart a Break”)
22. “And I got what I need right here / It’s in me / I am everything / All that I need and I won’t be defeated.” (“Yes I Am”)
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23. “They say the beat of a butterfly’s wings / Can set off a storm a world away / What if they’re right and the smallest of things / Could power the strongest hurricane / What if it all begins inside / We’d hold the key that turns the tide.” (“Make a Wave”)
24. “I’m sorry that I’m here again, I promise I’ll get help / It wasn’t my intention, I’m sorry to myself.” (“Sober”)
25. “Baby when they look up at the sky / We’ll be shootin’ stars just passin’ by.” (“Neon Lights”)
26. “I got only good intentions, so give me your attention.” (“Ruin the Friendship”)
27. “Some people stand, some people move / Tough times don’t last, but tough people do / As long as you’ve got hope, you’ll find your way / There’s power in the thoughts that you think, there’s power in the words you say.” (“I Believe”)
28. “Remember everything we shared on this planet when we cared / Remember hearts / Remember unity / Remember loving neighbors without expecting favors.” (“Together”)
29. “There’s an ‘S’ under my clothes / On my chest where nobody else can see / I light up when the doors are closed / I am free.” (“Fire Starter”)
30. “Now I know what’s good for me / All that I need / And I can’t wait to sink my teeth in and take another bite / And the best part about it / Is I’m only one who can do somethin’ about it.” (“Old Ways”)
31. “Confederate flag in the window / Givin’ us looks everywhere we go / We’re no different, you and I / Just a couple shades off, but it’s alright.” (“Only Color I See”)
32. “You make me feel like a kid again, before I lost myself / But now I know I don’t have to change for somebody else.” (“Too Much Love”)
33. “They’ll try to speak negatively about us / But they can’t say another word / But they’ll realize jealousy has taken over their minds / And the words they try to break me down with / They only made us stronger.” (“Stronger”)
34. “I’m just trying to keep my head above water / I’m your son and I’m your daughter / I’m your mother, I’m your father / I’m just a product of the problem.” (“SKIN OF MY TEETH”)
35. “Finally 29 / Seventeen would never cross my mind.” (“29”)
36. “F**k the theatrics, what happened to classic? / Give me the real s**t, give me the magic.” (“SUBSTANCE”)
37. “Be more predictable, be less political / Not too original: ‘Keep to tradition, but stay individual.'” (“EAT ME”)
38. “Like a serpent in the garden, I am truth and I am darkness / I’m an angel, I’m a demon / Just depends on what you’re feeling / I’m the fruit that was forbidden, but don’t keep my evil hidden.” (“HOLY FVCK”)
39. “I tried to be your hero / I lent you my voice / I was your poster child, it was working for a while / But it didn’t fill the void.” (“HAPPY ENDING”)
40. “Hey, thank you for your useless information / Hey, never satisfied with my explanation.” (“HELP ME”)
41. “My demons are on the hunt / But my angels taught me how to run / I got two wolves inside of me / But I decide which one to feed.” (“FEED”)
Next, we’ve got spoilers from Demi Lovato’s new documentary.
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