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Demi Lovato says song she wrote before overdose a 'cry for help'

"How did nobody listen to this song and think, 'Let’s help this girl?'" Lovato said of "Anyone."
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Demi Lovato is speaking out about addiction and encouraging those struggling to get help after the recent death of a friend.Getty Images

Demi Lovato called a song she wrote days before her overdose, "a cry for help."

“I almost listen back and hear these lyrics as a cry for help,” she said during an interview with "New Music Daily with Zane Lowe."

“And you kind of listen back to it and you kind of think, ‘How did nobody listen to this song and think, 'Let’s help this girl?’”

The song, titled "Anyone," will be debuted at Sunday's 62nd annual Grammy Awards.

The interview marks the first time the 27-year-old singer-songwriter spoke at length about her "state of mind" before she overdosed at her home in Hollywood Hills, California in July 2018.

“I was recording it in a state of mind where I felt I was okay, but clearly I wasn’t,” Lovato said. “I even listen back to it and I’m like, ‘Gosh, I wish I could go back in time and help that version of myself.’"

Lovato, who recently reentered the spotlight after taking a break for recovery, is set to perform for the first time since the overdose at the Grammys. She will also perform the national anthem before the Feb. 2 Super Bowl game, adding to a stacked halftime show lineup that includes Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. The "Confident" singer has returned to acting recently as well, appearing as a reoccurring guest star on the third and final season of "Will and Grace."

She told Lowe that following her overdose, she reprioritized what was important in her life and that she has learned not to measure happiness through success, but rather, through her relationships with friends and family. She added that the overdose has caused her to reevaluate these relationships and dissociate with toxic people.

“You still have to make a decision every time like, ‘Is this somebody I want around?’" Lovato said. "If it’s not conducive to your journey that you want to be on, there’s no reason for them to be around."

Yet, she acknowledged that learning who to trust and finding healing is an ongoing process.

“When I’m struggling or when I’m going through a rough time, I look toward the future for hope,” Lovato said. “To change my perspective on things — especially when I got through something difficult, I always stop and I think, ‘Why is God putting me through this?’"

For Lovato, that future includes the goal of eventually having children of her own.

“I want to start a family. That would be dope,” Lovato said. “I don’t even know if I see it with a man or a woman. I just know that, at some point, I would love to do that this decade.”

Meanwhile, Lovatics — as Lovato fans are called — are speculating when her next album will drop, since the singer has been hinting at new music on social media. In May 2019, Lovato signed a deal with Scooter Braun, who also manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.