Background
At 15 years old, Lovato was discovered by Disney Channel during an open call audition in her hometown of Dallas, Texas and made her debut on the short series '' As the Bell Rings'' in 2007. Lovato subsequently auditioned for a role on the television series '' Jonas'', but did not get the part. Instead, Lovato received the lead role in the musical film '' Camp Rock'' after she impressed network executives. Later, Lovato auditioned for a role on the series '' Sonny with a Chance'', which Lovato also received. For ''Camp Rock'', Lovato submitted an audition tape and Gary Marsh, Disney's president of entertainment, asked her to sing. Lovato recalled that "They kind of put me on the spot. I don't mind it. When people put me on the spot, it's kind of like, 'Hey, I'm not going to get nervous. I'm just going to do what I do.' So I did what I did." Lovato performedDevelopment
In September 2007, Lovato began writing the songs with the Jonas Brothers, during the filming of ''Camp Rock''. In early 2008, they co-wrote ten songs in a week during the band's Look Me in the Eyes Tour. Lovato said, "I wrote it with them and they helped me. They obviously knew the situation, and then we got on the bus one night — songs just started pouring out." Before the tour's European leg, they went to the studio where the band co-produced the songs with John Fields. Speaking of the experience of co-producing, Nick Jonas said: "Being able to co-produce was really cool and definitely something we'll be doing a lot more of." Nick also complimented working with Lovato. The album was recorded in ten and a half days in Fields' home studio in May 2008. The inspiration behind " Get Back", a Jonas-penned track, was Lovato not wanting to write a mean or heartbroken song as she felt that there was enough of them. Instead, Lovato wanted to write about getting back together with an old boyfriend. "It's kind of a fun, upbeat song and it's kind of just fun to sing to the person that I wrote it about", Lovato said of the song. " La La Land" was written by Lovato and the Jonas Brothers about "the pressures of fame". Lovato said, "You get to Hollywood and a lot of times people can try to shape you and mould you into what they want you to be. The song is just about keeping it real and trying to stay yourself when you're out in Hollywood". " Don't Forget", was written by Lovato and the Jonas Brothers, the song is about Lovato's experience of falling in love with someone who "just walks away and goes somewhere else". "I went through an experience like that and wanted to write about it. I got over it, and now a year later I don't have those feelings about that person anymore", Lovato said. Musical influences for the album included Paramore, Kelly Clarkson,Composition
The songs of ''Don't Forget'' draws fromPromotion
As a part of promotion, Lovato performed tracks from the album on several televised appearances and occasions. Lovato performed "Get Back" for the first time at the 2008 Disney Channel Games on May 3, 2008. Later, Lovato performed the same song in '' Good Morning America'' and '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show''. Later on January 19, 2009, she performed "Get Back" and "La La Land" at the Kids' Inaugural: "We Are the Future" event on January 19, 2009, in Washington D.C. at the Verizon Center. The event was held to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States. On April 7, 2009, Lovato performed "La La Land" on the eighth season of '' Dancing with the Stars''. The same month, Lovato also performed "Don't Forget" on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''. On April 25, 2009, Lovato appeared on the final episode of singing competition ''My Camp Rock'', where she presented the award to the winner and performed "La La Land". Apart from the live performances, Lovato embarked on her first headlining tour Demi Live! Warm Up Tour in 2008 and continued with Demi Lovato: Live in Concert in 2009, with dates in North America. After days of speculation on blogs and fansites, it was confirmed on April 15, 2009 that David Archuleta would serve as the tour's opening act. Lovato announced it on her Myspace blog, where Lovato also wrote, "I'm so excited about headlining my own tour. I love life on the road. I'm in a different city every night, and it never gets old." Singer Jordan Pruitt and girl group KSM joined on select dates. Tickets for the tour went on sale on April 25, 2009, and a special pre-sale offer was made available through Lovato's newly-launched official fan club on April 15. Lovato said of the tour, "I've always dreamed of headlining my own tour, and it's so exciting to have that dream come true. I'm looking forward to seeing all my incredible and supportive fans, and play new music for them." The tour launched on June 21, 2009 at XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut and was originally supposed to run forty-seven dates through August. The last three dates were rescheduled for October and November 2009, and three other dates were canceled completely, making it 44 concerts in total. The tour was produced by AEG Live and sponsored bySingles
" Get Back" was released on August 12, 2008, as the lead single from the album, through digital distribution. It received positive reviews from critics, who compared it to works by Tommy Tutone and Greg Kihn. "Get Back" enjoyed little chart success, reaching number 43 in the United States and 93 in Canada. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Philip Andelman and shows Lovato and her band performing the song on top of an abandoned building with Manhattan Bridge in the background. The song has sold over 560,000 copies in the United States. " La La Land" was released on December 18, 2008, as the second single from the album. The song received positive reviews from critics, who noted it as one of the album's top tracks. "La La Land" reached number 52 in the United States and cracked the top 40 in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The music video was directed by Brendan Malloy and Tim Wheeler and was used to promote Lovato's sitcom '' Sonny with a Chance'', featuring appearances by her co-stars. " Don't Forget" was released on March 17, 2009 as the third and final single from the album.Sources concerning the single release of "Don't Forget": * * It debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number sixty-eight on October 11, 2008 and fell off the chart the following week. On April 4, 2009, it re-entered the chart at number eighty-four. The song steadily ascended the chart for three weeks, before eventually reaching a peak of number forty-one on its fifth week on the chart. It was Lovato's best performing solo song on the chart until " Here We Go Again" reached number fifteen on August 8, 2009. In Canada, "Don't Forget" debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number eighty-two on May 2, 2009. The next week, it reached seventy-six, which became its peak. The song also reached number sixty-two on the now defunctCritical reception
''Don't Forget'' was met with generally positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote a positive review of the album, calling it "pure pop for tween people". He said that the "parade of urgent, insistent guitar pop" is what makes the album memorable, stating, "the kind of pop that feels disposable but winds up sticking around longer than its more considered cousins. This kind of trashy fun was missing on ''A Little Bit Longer,'' so it's nice to find that it surfaces proudly on ''Don't Forget''." Nick Levine of Digital Spy noted that the album sounds "like a female-fronted Jonas Brothers". Levine was positive regarding Lovato's vocals on the album, saying that "she is certainly a stronger singer than the Jonases. In fact, her full-bodied vocal performances are consistently impressive." He noted that the album's "relatively risqué moments ..come on the tracks that the Jonases have nothing to do with." Levine rated the album three out of five stars and wrote "None of its eleven songs is terrific, but none is terrible either, and Lovato makes a good first impression, coming off like a more innocent, less try-hard Katy Perry." Joey Guerra of ''Houston Chronicle'' stated that the album "casts Lovato as a female counterpart to the Jonas Brothers". Guerra was mixed regarding Lovato's vocal delivery on the album, calling it "at times too earnest". He also noted that "her rock tendencies sometimes dwindle into unmelodic misses". He concluded his review, writing, "at 16 years old, Lovato should be allowed some wide-eyed wiggle room. ''Don't Forget'' does its job and leaves her room to grow." Michael Slezak of ''Entertainment Weekly'' graded the album a C and wrote, "The ''Camp Rock'' star Demi Lovato's debut album might be an indication that today's crop of rocker ''grrrls'' are taking their inspiration from Ashlee Simpson rather than, say, Janis Joplin."Commercial performance
''Don't Forget'' debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 89,000 copies in its first week of release. The following week, the album descended to number 16. It spent a total of 45 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album was certifiedTrack listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Don't Forget''.Performers and musicians
* Demi Lovato – lead vocals, guitar , piano * Nick Jonas – lead vocals , guitar , background vocals , keyboard , drums , percussion * Joe Jonas – lead vocals , background vocals * Kevin Jonas – guitar , background vocals * John Fields – guitar, bass, keyboard * John Taylor – guitar , background vocals * Will Owsley – guitar , background vocals * Robert Schwartzman – background vocals * Kara DioGuardi – background vocals * Devin Bronson – guitar solo * Jason Reeves – guitar * Tim Pierce – guitar *Dorian Crozier – drums * Jack Lawless – drums * Michael Bland – drums * Ken Chastain – percussion * Tommy Barbarella – organ , keyboard *Stephen Lu – keyboardProduction
* John Fields – production, programming * Jonas Brothers – production * Chris Lord-Alge – mixing *Nik Karpin – assistant mixing * Ted Jensen – mastering * Ken Chastain – programming *Stephen Lu – string arrangementDesign and management
* Jon Lind – A&R *Cindy Warden – A&R coordination *Phil McIntyre – management *Kevin Jonas, Sr. – management *Eddie De La Garza – management *Dave Snow – creative director *Gavin Taylor – art direction, design * Sheryl Nields – photographyCharts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Notes
References
{{Authority control 2008 debut albums Albums produced by John Fields (record producer) Demi Lovato albums Hollywood Records albums