Even after a high-energy performance, Demi Lovato remains effortlessly radiant. Clad in a plush white jacket, the star takes a moment to share her current pop music rotation. “Zara Larsson is a must,” she tells Billboard. “I’m always a massive Lady Gaga fan, and Sabrina Carpenter is absolutely killing it.”
Mid-sentence, she pauses with a laugh. It is well past midnight, and the adrenaline of a sold-out show is finally giving way to a bit of fatigue. “I’m sorry, my brain is still in performance mode,” she adds with a smile.
We are speaking backstage at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden, where Lovato celebrated a career milestone on Friday, April 24, by headlining the legendary arena for the first time. Between greeting fans—who are clearly enjoying the fresh scent of a TheraBreath partnership—Lovato reflects on their evolution within the pop landscape.
“Honestly, all the current pop stars are doing incredible work,” she notes, seemingly amused by their own status as a staple of the scene—a position that felt worlds away only a few years ago.
After a temporary pivot to rock with 2022’s Holy Fvck—even staging a symbolic funeral for her pop persona—the hitmaker made a triumphant return to dance-pop in October 2025 with It’s Not That Deep. The record reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200, and today, fans received a deluxe expansion, It’s Not That Deep (Unless You Want It to Be). The new edition includes eight additional tracks, including the fan-favorite “Low Rise Jeans,” which became an instant highlight during her current tour.
Lovato explains that these new tracks deepen the narrative of an era already close to her heart. “I knew the studio work wasn’t finished when the original album dropped,” she says. “We started writing again, and ‘Pretty Catatonic’ was the spark that set the whole process in motion. It just blossomed from there.”
At the Garden, Lovato balanced fresh anthems with career-defining hits like “Heart Attack,” “Sorry Not Sorry,” and “Cool For The Summer.” The night was punctuated by special moments, including a surprise duet with JoJo on “Too Little Too Late” and an emotional performance of “Iris” with her husband, Jutes, marking their first time sharing the stage for a track that holds deep personal significance.
Earlier in the tour, the Orlando stop featured a nostalgic reunion with Joe Jonas, with whom she performed the Camp Rock classic “This Is Me.” With Camp Rock 3 in development, the pair is currently diving back into that iconic franchise. It is part of a broader wave of Disney-era nostalgia; just as Selena Gomez has been busy with her Wizards of Waverly Place reboot and Miley Cyrus revisited her Hannah Montana roots, Lovato is embracing the past.
“There is a genuine hunger for nostalgia right now,” Lovato observes. “For those of us who grew up together during that Disney era, these moments are special. It feels right to step back into that world and relive those memories.”
Ultimately, this communal look back has acted as a bridge, allowing long-time friends to reconnect. “It’s been wonderful,” she adds. “Everything feels like it’s coming full circle at the perfect time.”
