Dancing With The Devil...the Art of Starting Over
| Demi Lovato
Dancing With The Devil...the Art of Starting Over
Dancing with the Devil ... the Art of Starting Over is the seventh studio album by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on April 2, 2021 by Island Records, and was recorded alongside a docu-series by YouTube Originals, titled Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, which documents their recovery and self-discovery. Produced by a variety of collaborators, such as Mitch Allan, Lauren Aquilina, Tommy Brown, Oak Felder, Jussifer, Matthew Koma and Pop & Oak, the album is a pop record with lyrics on Lovato's journey through their hurdles and self-empowerment. It follows a reformative period in the singer's life and career, after being hospitalized for a drug overdose in 2018. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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The Daily Free Press
What makes this album special is Lovato’s vulnerability as she deconstructs her emotionally jarring yet inspiring story. Such openness is rare in a commercial society that prides itself on material worth and external facades. Lovato’s raw honesty will hopefully set a precedent and help dissolve the music industry’s superficiality, improving the culture for her fellow pop stars while reassuring and empowering her listeners.
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PopMatters
As she attempts to shed the weight of her past, Demi Lovato embraces every part of herself and creates some of her most unapologetic music to date on Dancing With the Devil.
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Variety
there’s no doubt that she’s alive, well, singing more than just well, and stepping around smallish problems like how to make an album that feels coherent instead of dancing with Mr. D.
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The Times
pop stardoms dark side.
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musicOMH
After everything Lovato has been through over the last few years, it would be understandable if she never wanted to record another album again – the fact that she’s produced one as coherent and occasionally powerful as this one is all credit to her.
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Commedia
“Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over” is a strong return for Lovato. She has found the music that best suits her voice. Although some tracks could be left on the shelf, and some collabs didn’t quite hit the nail, Lovato’s emotional and powerful vocals soar through every single track.
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Evening Standard
polished pop inhibits her power.
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The Ithacan
“Dancing with the Devil” proves that Lovato practices what she preaches — she took a hiatus from performing to focus on her health and returned stronger than ever. Her sincerity in sharing her story publicly is a testament to her ability to create art from agony. Through this album, Lovato expresses the deepest parts of her soul with authenticity while delivering a groundbreaking performance.
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AllMusic
Lovato's frankness is disarming, forcing the listener to reckon with the depths of the singer's distinction, yet the album works best when it veers toward lighter territory, letting the slick R&B rhythms and sugared hooks carry Lovato's emoting.
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Medium
At a bloated nineteen tracks, Dancing with the Devil … the Art of Starting Over is far from perfect, but that’s exactly the point Lovato is trying to make.
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Black Boy Bulletin
Nevertheless, Dancing With The Devil… The Art of Starting Over is Demi’s best album yet. She has truly tapped into the essence of her artistry and created a record that feels distinctly hers. It’s great to hear Demi sing again because that’s what she was put here to do, and she has so much more life ahead of her.
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The Red Ledger
The lyrics are raw, the melodies are simplistically encompassing, and the interviews tell a moving story. It’s Lovato back at her prime, and perhaps that’s what rebuilding means to her.
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Daily Nexus
Demi Lovato Dances With The Devil And Comes Back Stronger Than Ever.
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Spinnaker
Lovato’s album lacked individuality. Most of the songs felt jumbled together, and they didn’t feel distinct. A lot of the songs sounded way too similar to stand out from one another. I felt as if I was listening to the same three songs over and over again. Overall “Dancing With The Devil… The Art of Starting Over” was lacking and doesn’t stand out apart from many other albums today.
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Pitchfork
After an overdose nearly ended her life, Demi Lovato sings powerfully and directly about her past and who she wants to become.
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NME
"The non-official soundtrack" to the star's documentary Dancing with the Devil deals with heavy themes, but also finds her sounding playful and free.
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Sputnik Music
After all the hardships and scrutiny Demi Lovato has faced, it’s really nice to hear something that addresses her darkest moments head-on. It may be slightly unfocused and occasionally cliched, but that doesn’t stop it from being the best pop record of the year so far. Hopefully Lovato can keep this momentum going for her next record and deliver something even more poignant, because she’s definitely on the right path with this album.
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The Line of Best Fit
Demi Lovato opens her seventh studio album with a warning. Not in the literal sense, but through a trio of deeply affecting material that sets it apart from any of her previous collective work.
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The Daily Californian
Although Lovato might have delineated her story just as clearly with fewer tracks, each song bares her heart and soul: Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over triumphs as a shaky exhale of relief. On this strikingly candid album, Demi Lovato finally knows her worth — and she wants the world to know it, too.
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Stereoboard
Unfortunately, the album's unimaginative production washes out the message behind the music. Lovato tackles rape, coming out as pansexual and her late father over upbeat, finger-clicking beats. Carefully, for example, is a mess of sadness undercut by an instrumental that doesn't fit the music's raw aesthetic. If ‘Dancing With the Devil…The Art of Starting Over’ had continued to the same tone and standard as the two opening tracks, it might have culminated in a monumental work.
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Stereogum
All we can do is assess whether those struggles have translated into compelling pop music, and on balance, The Art Of Starting Over succeeds on that front. Here’s hoping she just keeps getting better from here.
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The Guardian
Lovato delivers lacerating lyrics about the trauma she’s faced since childhood, but the music is less startling.
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The Forty-Five
comeback pop with a powerful recovery narrative.
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