Demi Lovato celebrated six years of sobriety with posts on social media and an emotional message of gratitude to her fans during a weekend concert.
The 25-year-old singer noted the milestone on her Instagram and Twitter accounts, where she credited much of her recovery to “learning to love myself and to give back to others.”
The next day, she took to the concert stage at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and got tearful after her supporting acts, Kehlani and DJ Khaled, celebrated her “sober birthday” with a rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
Lovato, on a world tour to promote her “Tell Me You Love Me” album, then shared some of her personal journey with her fans.
“Yesterday was a really big day for me. Yesterday, six years ago, I was drinking vodka out of a Sprite bottle at 9 in the morning, throwing up in the car, and I just remember thinking, ‘This is no longer cute. This is no longer fun. And I’m just like my dad,’” she told the crowd.
“So I took a look at my life and I said, 'Something has to change. I've got to get sober.’ So I did."
The singer then explained why she finds it so important to be open about her struggles with addiction, as well as being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
“I know that there are people here tonight that need to ask for help, and I want you to know that it’s okay. Mental health is something that we all need to talk about, and we need to take the stigma away from it,” she said. “So let’s raise the awareness. Let’s let everybody know it’s okay to have a mental illness and an addiction problem.”
Lovato then thanked her fans for their support.
“You’ve forgiven me for my mistakes, so thank you for being a part of saving my life,” she said.
The singer followed up her message with a performance of "Warrior," dedicating the song to "all the warriors out there" fighting their own battles.