"Stone Cold" 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 p ...

for her fifth studio album '' Confident'' (2015). The song was co-written by Lovato with

Laleh Pourkarim Laleh Pourkarim ( fa, لاله پورکریم, ; born 10 June 1982), known mononymously as Laleh (), is an Iranian-Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist, pianist, and record company manager. Following a short acting career, she en ...

, who also served as the song's producer, and Gustaf Thörn. It was released to digital retailers on October 9, 2015, through Hollywood Records and

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as the first and only promotional single off the album, one week prior to the album's release. The song was initially premiered on radio via 97.1 FM on February 6, 2016.Sources regarding the Stone Cold radio premiere: * * * It was sent to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on March 21, 2016, as the third and final single from the album. On April 8, the song was sent to

hot adult contemporary radio Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

. A power

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, "Stone Cold" discusses the pain of watching an ex move on and be happy with someone else. The song incorporates

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

influences, and is centered on a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

melody, with a stripped-down production aimed at highlighting Lovato's vocals. Some critics drew comparisons to Lovato's 2011 single " Skyscraper" and the works of Adele.

Composition

"Stone Cold" is a

. It was written by Lovato,

and Gustaf Thörn. According to the digital sheet music published by Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., "Stone Cold" was originally composed in the key of F minor with a "moderately fast" tempo of approximately 144 BPM. Lovato showcases a vocal range on the track, alternating between belting the verses and delivering other lines such as "I'm happy for you" softly, and spans from the low note of F₃ to the high note of G₅. The song features a stripped-down production style that focuses primarily on

and vocals. The song's lyrics portray the pain of watching an ex move on after a breakup and trying to be happy for them once they find happiness with someone else. A writer from ''Billboard'' compared the song to Lovato's 2011 single " Skyscraper" and the works of Adele. During an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Lovato stated, "This song is your heartbreak song. I wanted to have a song that people can listen to when they're going through it, or they're thinking about a time they were heartbroken." She also added that "Stone Cold" "is the type of song that I wanted people to feel in their hearts and ripped their guts out."

Critical reception

Christina Garibaldi of

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praised Lovato's vocals, claiming that she had "reached new heights" on the song, as well as her emotional delivery.

Music videos

A video featuring a "live in studio" rendition of the song was uploaded to Lovato's Vevo account on October 7, 2015, in promotion of the song's release. On February 19, 2016, Lovato revealed a teaser video for the song's official music video on

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. The full music video, directed by Patrick Ecclesine, was released via her Vevo channel on February 23, 2016. The music video was shot in Park City, Utah. The music video shows Lovato at various locations, such as snowy mountains and a bathtub clothed, singing in a depressive manner. The video ends with a shot of Lovato in the snow.

Live performances

Lovato debuted the song on September 29, 2015, during her performance at the

Highline Ballroom The Highline Ballroom was a music venue and nightclub located at 431 West 16th Street in Manhattan in New York City. Description Primarily featuring musical acts, its capacity was approximately 700 people hosting diverse concert programming fr ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. On October 17, 2015, she performed "Stone Cold", as well as a medley of "

Cool for the Summer "Cool for the Summer" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released as the lead single from her fifth studio album '' Confident'' (2015) on July 1, 2015, by Hollywood Records and Island Records, and premiered on radio on the same da ...

" and " Confident" on ''

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'' during the series' forty-first season. Furthermore, "Stone Cold" was a part of Lovato's setlist at the 2015 106.1 KISS FM Fall Ball on November 14, 2015. On December 11, 2015, she performed the song at ''Billboard'' Women in Music 2015 event in New York City where she was honored with the first Rulebreaker Award. Lovato also included the song in her setlist during the 2015 Jingle Ball Tour. On February 10, 2016, she performed the song on '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show''. Lovato performed "Stone Cold" on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

'' on March 3, 2016, and on '' The Late Late Show'' on March 16, 2016. On April 2, 2016, she performed the song at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards in

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where she received the

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. The next day, she gave another rendition of the song at the 3rd iHeartRadio Music Awards joined by Brad Paisley on guitar. On May 14, 2016, Lovato performed "Stone Cold" as a part of her setlist at the 2016 edition of Wango Tango. She performed the song on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...

'' for the second time, during the Carpool Karaoke segment, which appeared online on May 16, 2016.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Confident''. Recording *Recorded at MXM Studios, Los Angeles, United States *Mixed at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, United States *Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City, United States Management *Published by Ddlovato Music ( ASCAP) and MXM (ASCAP) *All rights administered by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing (ASCAP) Personnel *

– lead vocals, songwriter, piano, background vocals *

– songwriter, producer, engineering, cello arranging, drum programming, piano, synth, bass, background vocals *Gustaf Thörn – songwriter, engineering assistant, string arranging, synth, piano, background vocals *Eru Matsumoto – cello, drum programming *Serban Ghenea – mixing * Tom Coyne – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Other appearances

* In 2016, the song was performed live by

Teodora Sava Teodora Sava (, born November 27, 2001, Piatra Neamț) is a singer, former Antena 1 television channel star, and former contestant on the international music talent competition '' X Factor Romania''. Biography Teodora Sava was born on Novembe ...

when she was 14 years old, as a special guest of the Romanian kids talent show Next Star. *It was covered by '' The Voice'' contestants Alisan Porter, Brooke Simpson, Presley Tennant, and the young duo Hello Sunday in seasons 10, 13, 16, and 17, respectively. *Kazakh singer Daneliya Tuleshova sang a cover for her blind audition on '' The Voice Kids Ukraine'' season 4, where she eventually won, which became a viral video. *In 2022, Welsh singer

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching ...

performed the song as Mushroom on the third series of Masked Singer UK.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2010s ballads 2015 songs 2016 singles Demi Lovato songs Hollywood Records singles Island Records singles Republic Records singles Safehouse Records singles Songs written by Demi Lovato Songs written by Laleh (singer) Soul ballads Torch songs