Recording information: Chalice Recording, Los Angeles, CA; Dinning Room Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Dreamlab Studios, LA; Kite Studios; Patriot Studios, Denver, CO; Rock Mafia Studios, Santa Monica, CA; Strawberrybee Studios, CA; Sunset Sound Studio, Bryn Mawr, PA; The Hit Factory Criteria, Miami; Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: Hilary Walsh.
Breaking into a whirlwind schedule of filming Disney TV movies and touring the world with the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato checked into a treatment facility in the fall of 2010. Denying rumors of substance abuse, her management team confessed that Lovato was being treated for emotional issues that manifested themselves in bulimia and cutting, serious matters that can't be swept under the rug, so Lovato attempts to clear the air via her post-treatment record, 2011's Unbroken. Clearly, the title is intended to convey strength, while its lead single, "Skyscraper," conveyed vulnerability, setting a precedent for Lovato specifically addressing her problems on "Fix a Heart," where she runs out of Band-Aids to bind her wounds. These stark ballads are paired with a half-album's worth of songs that act like nothing is wrong in Demi's world at all, that she can keep partying "All Night Long" and shaking her hips for her only shorty. Ryan Tedder attempts to push her onto the charts while Timbaland knocks off his own production of Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous," the frivolity clashing with introspection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine