Culture

In a way, 2023 was Demi Lovato‘s reset year. Across myriad projects spanning various genres and formats, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter spent the year flaunting both their versatility and their distinct star quality — two attributes that make their brand new Roku special, A Very Demi Holiday Special, an effortless winner.

They kicked off the year with “Still Alive,” an original song for the box office-topping Scream VI that earned them a best song nomination at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards. The single soon gave way to the promotional campaign for Revamped, a reclamatory endeavor that found Lovato re-recording their biggest pop hits in the rock-focused style of their recent music. Included on the album were rock-ified versions of Billboard Hot 100 hits such as “Sorry Not Sorry” (No. 6), “Heart Attack” (No. 10) and “Cool for the Summer” (No. 11), all of which were included in Lovato’s MTV VMAs performance, which Billboard ranked as the fourth best of the night.

At that ceremony, Lovato enjoyed a best pop nomination for “Swine,” a blistering protest song they released two days before the anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade. The track peaked at No. 12 on Alternative Digital Song Sales.

By September, Revamped — which also featured collaborations with Slash, The Maine, Nina Strauss and The Used’s Brett McCracken — became their ninth career entry on the Billboard 200 (No. 60), reaching the top 10 of Top Album Sales (No. 4), Top Rock Albums (No. 10) and Top Alternative Albums (No. 8) in the process. Nonetheless, the new projects didn’t stop there.

Outside of their own music, Lovato also found time to appear Le Sserafim’s K-pop-meets-Jersey-club “Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife” remix and Luísa Sonza‘s Portuguese-language “Penhasco2,” both of which made the Billboard charts. They also released a cover of “Let Me Down Easy” from the Emmy-nominated Daisy Jones & the Six miniseries. Of course, the multi-hyphenate maintained their presence in the film and television arenas, appearing as Anonymouse on the kick-off show for the tenth season of The Masked Singer and guest-starring as herself in the third season of the FX comedy Dave.

Ready to wind down for the holidays and bask in her delightful new holiday special, Demi Lovato catches up with Billboard for a light-hearted conversation about family traditions, her upcoming Child Star documentary, a potential Christmas rock album and plans for new music next year.

Why was this the year for you to hop into your holiday bag and put on A Very Demi Holiday? 

That’s a good question and I don’t really have an answer for it! [Laughs.] It just was an opportunity that presented itself and I had to take it because I love the holidays! 

What’s your absolute favorite thing about the holidays? 

I love getting to spend time with my family. I think that’s my favorite part of the holidays. 

What are some family traditions that you guys hold near and dear to your hearts? 

Sometimes we wear onesies on Christmas morning. Other times, we have s’mores on Christmas Eve, but those aren’t traditions we do every year. We do do this tradition where we come down the stairs and look at presents, and we’ve been doing that since I was a kid — just having my mom say, “Okay, it’s time for the presents!” and then all three sisters come down at the same time. It’s cute. 

I remember you recounting those moments in the special. When it comes to getting into the Christmas spirit, what’s your personal favorite Christmas song and which performance in the special would be your top pick? 

I’d say that “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is probably my favorite Christmas song. My favorite song in the special would probably [also] be “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” because I got to do it with JoJo and we had a really great time performing together. 

You guys have worked together previously. What was it like reuniting for a Christmas cover? 

Oh, it was so great! She’s so sweet and funny and being able to work with her again was such a joy. She’s so talented. She’s such a powerhouse vocally and she’s incredible. 

It’s always a treat to hear two vocalists like yourselves joining forces on a track. In terms of the music in the special, how did you guys decide which of your original non-holiday songs to include, and what was the aim of those arrangements? 

You know, it wouldn’t really fit if I did a rock concert for a holiday special, although it depends on who you who you ask! [Laughs.] I wanted to have a different approach to it, so my band was different than my normal band and they were incredible. We had a really great time. I wanted it to feel more in line with the Christmas spirit, so that’s what I did! 

Do you have plans for this to be a recurring special, or is this one-off thing for you? 

I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see! Wait until next year. 

Between making ugly sweaters and learning the Nutcracker ballet, what was your favorite thing to really sink your teeth into and show out in front of the cameras? 

I think making the meat cakes for my dog was one for the books. Paris and I had a really great time, and I would do anything for my dogs. So, getting to dress them up and see who liked the cake more was really cute. 

Did you look to any past Christmas specials and concerts for inspiration for your own? 

No, I didn’t. I just. I just kind of winged it! [Laughs]. 

What draws you to the holiday season? Why do you think that it’s such an inspiring time of the year for so many artists? 

The holidays inspire so many people because there’s a lot of downtime, so there’s a lot of opportunity to be able to listen to what inspires you during downtime that you wouldn’t have normally throughout the rest of the year. 

There is a segment in the special where you’re consoling this young lady whose grandmother had recently passed away and it was such a beautiful, sentimental scene. What was it like getting to involve fans in this project in such a special way? 

Getting to involve my fans was really fun. It was great to be able to sing with them too, you know? We sang “Joy to the World,” and they seemed really enthusiastic. Getting to surprise my fans was really fun and gave me nerves. I had butterflies to tell each person, but it was fun! 

At the very end of the special there’s this animated thing that comes across the screen and you do a voiceover where you’re talking about aliens and you’re like, “Bye, b—ches, I’m going to Mars!” Did you freestyle that?

Well, the holiday special was trying to show what it would look like if an alien came to Earth and saw what Christmas was like. It would be showing them how absurd Christmas is. How a jolly old man comes down the chimney to give gifts, and there’s a tree that we decorate, you know? So, that was kind of a through-line through the special and I don’t remember how that last line came about! Maybe I freestyled that, I’m not sure. [Laughs.] 

So, for the fans that didn’t get to sing with you in the special, what can they expect from you musically come 2024? 

Hopefully, I’ll have an album by then. I would love to put out new music. I’m kind of just always releasing new music, it feels like, because I’m always trying to top myself or do something that feels fulfilling in the moment. So, hopefully, I’ll have new music out or new music to release next year. But I’m also not putting any pressure on it. 

Do you have any plans to officially release any of these holiday covers for fans to stream? 

I don’t have any plans to do that, but maybe next year I’ll come out with a Christmas album or something! 

Okay if we get a Christmas album, can we get some rock Christmas songs on there? 

Yeah, that would be cool! 

Outside of music next year, you’re also continuing to make some moves in the film world. You’re currently prepping your Child Star documentary, what are some updates you can give fans on that project? 

I’m getting some really great people to participate in the film. I’m really excited about it and — nothing that I can share with you right now! — but it’s turning out great. I’m having some deep and meaningful conversations with people that obviously were child stars previously. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. 

Okay, now it’s time for some “this or that,” holiday edition. Peppermint or Gingerbread? 

Peppermint. 

Eggnog or apple cider? 

Eggnog! 

This is the tricky one: “All I Want for Christmas Is You” or “Last Christmas?” 

“All I Want for Christmas Is You!” [Laughs.] 

What is on your Christmas playlist? What’s playing around your house as you countdown to the 25^th? 

This isn’t Christmassy at all, but I’ve become a really big fan of Lola Young. I’ve been listening to her album a lot. 

When you look back on the year, what’s your favorite overall moment? What’s one moment that you’ll always remember from the making of A Very Demi Holiday? 

I think my favorite moment this year — I mean professionally — I would say the VMAs performance was really fun for me. Yeah. also filming the “Swine” music video was really fun, getting to release the Revamped album was awesome. I think, personally, anytime I’ve been able to spend with my best friends, my boyfriend and my loved ones.