"Substance" is a song by American singer

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

. She co-wrote the track with Jutes,

Laura Veltz Laura Veltz is a Grammy-nominated American songwriter and musician. She previously was the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of family pop-rock group Cecilia. She was nominated for the first ever Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year at the 65 ...

, and its producers Alex Nice, Keith Sorrells, and Warren "Oak" Felder. It was released on July 15, 2022, through

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. It serves as the second single from Lovato's eighth studio album, ''

Holy Fvck ''Holy Fvck'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on August 19, 2022, through Island Records. ''Holy Fvck'' is primarily a pop punk and hard rock record, being a return to her early rock-influenced roots f ...

''.

Background

Demi Lovato released the initial teaser for "Substance" on June 29, 2022. The teaser, posted in the form of a video on

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, features Lovato singing over the track. The teaser was posted two weeks after the release of her previous song, "Skin of My Teeth", the lead single of ''Holy Fvck''. The song's cover artwork has been described as "abstract". It shows Lovato "sitting at the base of a circular opening, as black sludge spills out".

Composition

"Substance" has been described as a "raucous", "anthemic pop-punk" song. The "rock" genre has also been used as a descriptor for "Substance". On the single, Lovato sings loudly over guitars and drums inspired by the earlier years of punk music. The lyrics present in the song are a direct criticism of contemporary society, as well as evoking Lovato's previous drug-related problems and mental health problems.

Music video

In the Cody Critcheloe-directed music video for "Substance", Demi Lovato "wreaks havoc on" different pieces, such as a gold certification award and a wall, which she vandalizes by spray-painting the title of her album, ''Holy Fvck'', on it. There are references to different controversial issues in her life, such as unfair treatment by record labels, attacks on her physical appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity and drug use, which is alluded to in a scene where she stumbles into a "

This Is Your Brain on Drugs ''This Is Your Brain on Drugs'' was a large-scale US anti- narcotics campaign by Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) launched in 1987, that used three televised public service announcements (PSAs) and a related poster campaign. 1987 ver ...

" PSA. It also contains similarities to the video clip of the song "

La La Land ''La La Land'' is a 2016 American romantic musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress, respectively, who meet and fall in love ...

", from the album ''

Don't Forget ''Don't Forget'' is the debut studio album by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on September 23, 2008, by Hollywood Records. She started working on the album in September 2007, while filming the Disney Channel original movie ''Ca ...

'' (2008). At the end of the video,

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...

makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

and sets off a stick of dynamite, as her and Lovato are seated on a motorcycle together. Lovato impersonator Demetria Cherry appears in the video as well.

Live performances

"Substance" was performed on July 14, 2022, the day prior to the song's release, on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's lead ...

''.

Credits and personnel

Obtained from Lovato's official website. *

– vocals, songwriting * Warren "Oak" Felder – production, songwriting, recording, programming, keyboards * Keith "Ten4" Sorrells – songwriting, co-production, programming,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, bass,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Alex Niceforo – songwriting, co-production, guitar * Jutes – songwriting *

– songwriting * Oscar Linnander – recording, production assistance, *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

– mixing * Chris Galland – mixing engineering * Zach Pereyra – mixing engineering * Anthony Vilchis – mixing engineering *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{Demi Lovato 2022 songs 2022 singles American pop punk songs Demi Lovato songs Island Records singles Songs written by Demi Lovato Songs written by Oak Felder Songs written by Laura Veltz Songs written by Keith Sorrells