LOS ANGELES (AP) — On his ninth studio album, Demi Lovato had a revelation: “It’s not that deep.”
It’s the title of her energetic dance-pop record, and a celebration of the joys and messiness of life, all of which appear across its 11 tracks.
“I put so much energy and so much love into this album,” Lovato told The Associated Press during rehearsals for a special One Night Only event at the Palladium. in Los Angeles last week. “I just couldn’t be more excited.”
Next spring, she will tour with the album to 23 cities in North America. The “It’s Not That Deep” tour kicks off April 8 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, and concludes May 25 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Lovato will hit Orlando, Florida; Atlanta; Nashville; Washington, DC; Philadelphia; Toronto; Boston; New York; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Chicago; Minneapolis; Denver; Las Vegas; Anaheim, California; San Francisco; Seattle; Los Angeles; Glendale, Ariz.; Dallas and Austin, Texas.
The artist pre-sale begins Thursday at 10:00 a.m. local time. General sales begin Friday.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Lovato spoke about her new album, her penchant for musical transformation and her upcoming tour.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
AP: You’ve said that this new album, this new era, is a celebration of your journey. You accept the old, the new, the good and the bad – taking the stage with the Jonas brothers and singing “Camp Rock” stuff to the Poot meme. Are you getting it back?
LOVATO: I think it’s a bit of owning it. …I guess I didn’t realize I’d done iconic things. And while they may raise eyebrows with some people, they are amusing to me. …I think it’s like making peace with my past. …I have made peace with my journey and now I celebrate where I am today.
For example: the Poot meme, when it first came along I didn’t realize it was photoshopped. I thought it was a bad angle on my part. So, I was really embarrassed by this meme and I was like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe people are laughing at the wrong angle of me,” and then I realized it was photoshopped and I was like, “Wait, this is really hilarious.” …Life is too short to take yourself too seriously, and I definitely don’t do that anymore.
Demi Lovato performs at “One Night Only” on Sunday, October 26, 2025 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
AP: That’s refreshing to hear a pop star say. When you let go of these feelings, what does it unlock for you creatively?
LOVATO: I think there’s also something about your 30s, where you just take a second and you’re able to let go of some of the pressures that you once put on yourself, maybe in your 20s. And now I’m 33 and I don’t take myself seriously anymore because I realize there’s room for everyone.
Creatively, what this unlocks for me is spontaneity, risk-taking, fun and cherishing moments. … “Kiss,” for example, isn’t the most intellectually stimulating song. It’s a simple party, fun and sexy song. And it feels like that’s it. And I think a lot of my past was like, “I want to try to write, you know, deeply emotional songs about my past,” and with this album, I was like, “I’m in a place where I’m having fun. I want my lyrics to reflect that too.”
AP: You can definitely see that in the music – the party energy and the content of the lyrics. And there is a duality.
LOVATO: It was exactly what I was hoping for. There are also songs like “Sorry to Myself,” which is another celebratory moment but has a very powerful message. And it also bridges the gap between my old music and my music today, lyrically, where it’s a little bit emotional.
AP: You have played with many genres like pop, rock, R&B and more. What motivates these transformations for you?
LOVATO: I think what drives transformations for me is literally what inspires me musically right now. And so, I’m mostly a fan of all genres of music. When I was in my rock era, I listened to a lot of rock music that inspired me.
I started this album thinking, “I’m going to make an even harder rock album. I want to go even harder rock.” So I started this process and I realized I was thinking, “There are only so many happy rock songs you can write.” “I’m in love, I feel powerful, and I’m in a really great place, and I don’t know how to write rock songs that are, you know, all sunshine and rainbows. And there’s only so much you can write. And so, I said to myself: “I have to change gender. » So I tried a few of their genres, but what really inspired me was all girls pop and pop artists that exist today.
AP: Let’s talk about the tour. Your one-night-only show, in an intimate venue that held 4,000 people, was so popular that your team said more than 200,000 people attended. Ticket Master queue. You are in demand.
LOVATO: Well, first of all, I cried when I saw that 200,000 people wanted to come to my show at the Palladium. …It was a dream come true: this level of demand is so reassuring. …I can’t thank my fans enough, like, I wouldn’t be here in this place without them. And so, I’m so grateful. And that’s why I shed tears of joy that day. (It’s) because I was like, “Wow, I’m really confident about this album and I’m confident about this era, but so many people are too and it’s really gratifying.” And I can’t wait to get the show on the road.
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AP Music Editor Maria Sherman contributed to this report from New York.
