Article by: Stephan Cook, Contributing Writer

With a little over a year and a few months since her rock-influenced mixtape, Revamped, Demi Lovato has released her ninth studio album, It’s Not That Deep. 

Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the singer, songwriter, and actress began her musical career as early as the age of ten. Lovato was in the media from a very young age through acting, which also fueled her musical career with shows and movies like “Sonny With a Chance” and “Camp Rock.”

On October 24, 2025, Lovato released the 11-track LP on all streaming platforms with production from Zhone, Sarah Hudson, Jake Torrey, Leland, and many more, through DLG Recordings, LLC, under exclusive license to Island Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. 

The album’s heavily influenced dance-pop sound showcases the true meaning of its title. Many people are used to her heavy-hitting ballads and heartfelt lyrics, but in this album, she decided to have some fun and dance, amidst everything being so serious in the world. Throughout the album, Lovato doesn’t focus on the most serious lyrics and sounds, but returns to her pop sound, and focuses on just living in the moment. 

The three singles that began this album’s era were “Fast,” “Here All Night,” and “Kiss.” 

“Fast” (track 1) opens the album with a heavy hitting sound that makes sure to give the listener a taste of what’s to come for the rest of the album. It has rave features and elements that make one feel as though they are actively at one. Though the track is titled “Fast,” her verses appear to be a bit dragged out and the song opens with her voice being a little more hushed and sultry than what listeners are used to. All in all, this song was the perfect pick for the mission behind what Lovato wanted to accomplish with this project. 

“Here All Night” (track 2) has a video game loading-screen instrumental in the beginning, which then leads to an epic build-up that leaves fans with a bit of what they heard from her in the past. This song sounds exactly like what the lyrics describe. It sounds like something that would play on a dance floor of a club that one would go to after a bad heartbreak. “Begging for the bass ‘til it’s hitting me right/ Sweating on the dance floor under the lights/ To get over you/ I’ll be here all night” are lyrics that Lovato belts in the chorus of the song that really have the earworm feeling. It is the kind of song that you’d randomly find yourself singing because the lyrics are so catchy, yet irrelevant; it is just about wanting to feel the music and not care about anything else. 

The third single from this album, “Kiss” (track 9), continues on with this theme of unseriousness and fun, but takes a new approach to it. The melodic talking rhythm that Lovato has when she says, “I kiss for fun, It’s fun to kiss/ I use my tongue, la- la- la- like this” reminds listeners of the 2024 album, Brat, by Charli XCX. This track states exactly what it means and leaves no room for interpretation with lyrics like: “It’s not that deep if you don’t want it to be” and “Me lips, your lips, take me to the chorus.” 

This song resembles “Frequency” (track 3), for the melodic-talking that happens in the beginning, and the straight-forward lyrics. In “Frequency”, Lovato “… found somebody who can match her frequency” and feels as though no one or nothing can mess up the high that she is on right now from meeting them. It can be paired with fan favorite “Little Bit” (track 6) for the upbeat, dancehall sound for wanting to just live in the moment. It happens to be a song that has the most successfully executed lyrics on the album. She made sure to incorporate the slight seductiveness and flirtatious nature of the dancefloor, as seen on television. She does this with lyrics like, “What if we talk a little bit, touch a little bit, move a little bit/ Just a little bit, kiss a little bit, undress a little bit/ Say you’re over it, not even a little bit.” 

Though this album is known for avoiding serious tones, with complex and double-meaning lyrics, there are a few tracks that may make you double-take quickly, before returning to your natural state of carefree joy. 

If you are familiar with Lovato’s music, you know she will belt here and there on her albums. In the case of this album, “Sorry To Myself” (track 5) and “Before I Knew You” (track 10) were notable moments of her well-known signature. “Sorry To Myself” is a song about self-reflection and forgiving yourself about the hurt and pain that you put yourself through. In Lovato’s case, it would be understandable, seeing as how she went through very traumatic experiences through the media, but coming to terms with loving and accepting herself. This song strayed away from the sad and slow songs to reflection, and gave an up-tempo, preppy take on the narrative. 

“Before I Knew You” has reflective elements in it, but is about a relationship that she wished she would have paid more attention to. With lyrics like, “Oh I, I missed it, I missed the red signs/ The signs, so cryptic, too much to unpack/ It’s fine, I fixed it, I only look back sometimes”, Lovato shares the feeling of wishing she didn’t brush off the signs and left the person where she found them to avoid her own heartbreak. She takes accountability for her own faults and makes it sound in a way of a fairytale, though it has opposite undertones. It’s reminiscent of “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, though they have two totally different meanings. 

Throughout it all, Lovato makes her way back to her signature pop sound and does it in a way that allows others to have fun in such a dark time. This year, her life has been full of growth, fun, and happiness with things like getting married, helping to produce another installment of the “Camp Rock” franchise, and success from her cooking show. She made sure to transfer that light to her music. It gave listeners uptempo beats without the seriousness of her normal ballads.  

Now, if you think that this era is done, think again, because Lovato plans to embark on another tour since her last tour in 2022! The “It’s Not That Deep Tour” will begin on April 8, 2026, in Charlotte, North Carolina, with special guest Adéla.