"Don't Forget" 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 ...
, from her
debut album of the same name. It was written by Lovato and the
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised i ...
, who co-produced the song with
John Fields. It was released as the album's third and final single in 2009, through Hollywood Records.
[Sources concerning the single release of "Don't Forget":
*
*] The inspiration of the song came from Lovato falling in love with someone who later left her. According to Lovato, it is one of the songs on the album that she most relates to. Musically, "Don't Forget" is a midtempo
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on div ...
ballad that features Lovato singing with breathy
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...
vocals. An accompanying music video was released on March 2009.
Upon the release of the album, "Don't Forget" was well-received from music critics, who noted the transition from her "
tween
Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...
sound" to more mature material. The song achieved moderate commercial success, reaching number forty-one on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached number seventy-six on the
Canadian Hot 100. Lovato has performed the song numerous times including on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...
''.
Background and composition
"Don't Forget" was written by Lovato along with the
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised i ...
, who produced it with
John Fields.
The song features Dorian Crozier and
Michael Bland
Michael Bland (born March 14, 1969) is an American musician best known as a drummer for Prince starting in 1989. He was with Prince during The New Power Generation era and played with him live and on albums for seven years.
From 1995 to 1997, B ...
on drums, and Fields on bass, guitars and keyboards.
Nick Jonas also played the guitar and percussion on the song.
The song is registered as "Did You Forget" with the
Broadcast Music, Inc.
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 milli ...
Lovato has stated that "Don't Forget" is one of the songs on ''
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 '' ...
'' that she relates to the most, and that she felt "a lot of emotion while recording it".
In an interview with PopEater, she elaborated, "Everyone goes through the experience of falling in love, but then the other person 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."
The song and "
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 ...
" were included as bonus tracks on European editions of her sophomore album ''
Here We Go Again''.
"Don't Forget" is a midtempo
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on div ...
ballad sung with vulnerable and breathy vocals in a
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...
tone.
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...
, the song is set in
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
with a metronome of 92
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
. It is composed in the key of
E major
E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equiv ...
and Lovato's vocal range spans from the note of C
4 to the note of E
5.
The song includes a "rocking" instrumental and a heavy guitar break.
Ed Masley of ''
The Arizona Republic
''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $ ...
'' compared the track to songs by
Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...
.
Lyrically, "Don't Forget" is about one of Lovato's old love interests who left her just as she was falling in love with him.
[ The theme is demonstrated in lyrical lines such as, "Did you forget that I was even alive? Did you forget everything we ever had?"]
Music video
"Don't Forget" was directed by Robert Hales
Sir Robert Hales ( – 14 June 1381) was Grand Prior of the Knights Hospitaller of England, Lord High Treasurer, and Admiral of the West. He was killed in the Peasants' Revolt.
Career
In 1372 Robert Hales became the Lord/Grand Prior of t ...
. According to Lovato, different video treatments had been written, but she rejected them as she wanted to come up with the idea herself. Lovato said, "They had treatments or the video but I was just like, 'No, scratch them.' I want to come up with the idea. I want to show you the colors, I want to show you everything. This is art to me, and I don't want it to be somebody else's decision." In an interview with PopEater, Lovato said of the video:
"It was actually really freezing cold n the rain You could see your breath. And I was in the rain for only a short time – my whole band was out there for an hour-and-a-half. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do on a shoot. But it went by so quickly. I had a body suit on underneath my clothes, so there's a little fun fact for you. I was trying not to break my focus pretty much the entire shoot, because I was really in that zone – thinking a lot about the position I was in a year ago... thinking about the situation and how much I wanted to get all that emotion off my chest."
Steve Helling of ''People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...
'' magazine wrote that Lovato shows her mature side in the video, saying that "it's hard not to notice that the 16-year-old ''Camp Rock'' star is growing up." The video begins in a tour bus with Lovato's band. She is seen sitting next to a window in the back of the bus, where Lovato precedes to sing the first lines. As the song progresses, she walks out of the bus in the rain, holding an umbrella. She walks out of the parking lot and into an amusement park, where Lovato stands in front of a carousel in the rain as she continues to sing. After the second chorus, Lovato and her band perform in the rain with the water altering colors in the background. As the last verse approaches, she is back on the tour bus. A single tear rolls down Lovato's cheek and the video ends.
Live performances
Lovato performed "Don't Forget" on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...
'' on April 14, 2009. Also in April 2009, the song was performed as part of the ''iTunes Live from London'' series. The full performances were released as an iTunes Store-exclusive extended play featuring recorded live versions of the tracks. In May 2009, Lovato performed the song at a Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
concert, which was later released as part of a live album entitled '' Demi Lovato: Live: Walmart Soundcheck'' (2009). The release featured recorded live versions of the performers on a CD, and the full performances on a DVD.
During the summer of 2008, Lovato performed the song in both her Warm Up Tour and the Jonas Brothers' Burnin' Up Tour, for the latter she served as the opening act. Later in 2009, the song was performed during her Summer Tour 2009. While reviewing a show in Glendale, Arizona, Ed Masley of ''The Arizona Republic'' wrote that the song "survived the transformation to an unplugged ballad, making the most of Lovato's most vulnerable vocal performance of the night." In 2010, she performed the song during her South American tour
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
. Lovato also performed the song during her set at the Jonas Brothers Live in Concert World Tour 2010
The following is a list of tours by the Jonas Brothers.
American Club Tour
The American Club Tour was the debut concert tour of American boy band Jonas Brothers, launched in support of their debut album, '' It's About Time''. Most of the tour w ...
. Scott Mervis of ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
'' wrote that Lovato performed a "high-energy, high-volume" version of the song. In September 2011, Lovato performed the song during the revue concert An Evening with Demi Lovato. Lovato also performed an acoustic medley of "Don't Forget" and "Catch Me" at the Vevo Certified SuperFanFest in 2014.
Critical reception
The song was well-received from music critics. Ed Masley of ''The Arizona Republic'' included "Don't Forget" on his "Top 10 from the Disney girls" list at number two, and wrote, "She really sells this epic glam-rock ballad with her choked-up vocals, ..She wrote it with the Jonas Brothers, one of whom has clearly been enjoying Green Day's latest work. But truthfully, this would have been among the more compelling anthems on '21st Century Breakdown
''21st Century Breakdown'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on May 15, 2009, through Reprise Records. Green Day commenced work on the record in January 2006 and forty-five songs were written by vocalist/guit ...
'." Judy Coleman of ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' wrote, "Lovato has already mastered the limited range of skills required of today's pop starlets: the vulnerable-kitten verse, the banshee-shriek chorus, the stiffly sexy whispered asides. She rhymes 'we used to be so strong' and 'our love is like a song' without irony". Michael Menachem of ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' wrote that Lovato, like Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...
before her, "has also stepped away briefly from the tween sound with her album's title track, 'Don't Forget'." Menachem wrote, "She may be reaching a new level with a poised vocal performance, as she too is looking to be taken seriously." Joey Guerra of ''The Houston Chronicle
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' called the track an "age-appropriate blueprint laid out by Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her ac ...
and ileyCyrus".
Chart performance
Due to strong digital sales when the album was released, "Don't Forget" 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. As of October 2017, it has sold 1.1 million copies in the nation. 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 defunct Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles s ...
chart.
Credits and personnel
Recording and management
* Recorded at Wishbone Studio
* Mixed at Mix LA
* Mastered at Sterling Sound
George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s.
Biography
Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...
* Seven Peaks Music obo Itself and Demi Lovato Publishing (ASCAP); Jonas Brothers Publishing LLC (BMI)/Sony/ATV Songs LLC administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.
Personnel
*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 ...
– vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...
, guitar, songwriting
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
*Nick Jonas
Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...
– songwriting, guitars
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 strin ...
, percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
*Joe Jonas
Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin and Nick. The group released their debut studio album '' ...
– songwriting
* Kevin Jonas II – songwriting
*Dorian Crozier – drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
*Michael Bland
Michael Bland (born March 14, 1969) is an American musician best known as a drummer for Prince starting in 1989. He was with Prince during The New Power Generation era and played with him live and on albums for seven years.
From 1995 to 1997, B ...
– drums
* John Fields – bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gu ...
, guitars, keyboards, programming, production, recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
*Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised i ...
– production
*Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...
– mixing
*Nik Karpin – assistant
*Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' '' Come Away with Me''.
Biograp ...
– mastering
Credits adapted from ''Don't Forget'' liner notes.['']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 '' ...
'' liner notes DHollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Record ...
(2008).
Charts
Weekly charts
Sales
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Demi Lovato songs
Music videos directed by Robert Hales
Glam rock songs
2000s ballads
Rock ballads
Songs written by Joe Jonas
Songs written by Nick Jonas
Songs written by Kevin Jonas
Hollywood Records singles
Songs written by Demi Lovato
2008 songs
Song recordings produced by John Fields (record producer)