Demi Lovato Albums (2)
What The Critics Say
Like Britney Spears before her, Demi Lovato pretty much admits in the title of her sophomore album that she's serving up more of the same the second time around, but unlike Britney, that may not have been Demi's intention. For Here We Go Again, Lovato makes a relatively clean break from the Jonas Brothers, who penned much of her debut, Don't Forget, drafting sensitive AAA singer/songwriters Jon McLaughlin and John Mayer presumably to give Lovato a bit of mature veneer, a subtle shift buried underneath the relentlessly cheerful Radio Disney production and Lovato's irrepressible spunk. Both sonic characteristics tend to camouflage Demi's biggest moves away from teen pop -- the fussy balladeering of "Falling Over Me," the mock-Mraz jazz-pop "Every Time You Lie," the sober soul searching of the Mayer collaboration "World of Chances," the Celtic flair of "Gift of a Friend" -- which also happen to be the very things that make Here We Go Again not quite as much fizzy fun as Don't Forget. Not quite as much fun, but still fun, particularly when Lovato tears into hooky power pop like "Here We Go Again," "Solo," "Remember December," and the stomping "So Far So Great," the theme song to the TV show Sonny with a Chance, songs that are ideally matched to Lovato's adolescent energy and spirit, which remain her most appealing qualities. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Considering that Demi Lovato's debut album Don't Forget appeared in the fall of 2008, just as Miley Cyrus was inching away from Hannah Montana and into more adult territory, it's hard not to think that Demi isn't being groomed as a replacement for Miley, but a better musical comparison for this Radio Disney queen is the Jonas Brothers. Lovato appeared in the Disney TV movie Rock Camp with the Brothers and toured with them prior to the release of Don't Forget, but the more crucial connection between the two camps is revealed in the album's credits: six of the 11 songs here were co-written the Jonas Brothers. Given this, it shouldn't come as a great surprise that Demi's music sounds a lot like the Brothers: it's bright, sugary, snappy power pop, fueled by big, fuzzy guitars and big, muscular hooks. Unlike the Brothers' 2008 album A Little Bit Longer, there is no attempt to sell Demi Lovato to an audience broader than tweens, so this is pure, unapologetic bubblegum, a fizzy rush of singalong hooks occasionally punctuated by a bit of sighing puppy love, which surfaces most strongly on "On the Line," an actual duet with the Jonas Brothers. This is fine fodder for a middle school slow dance, but what's really memorable about Don't Forget is its parade of urgent, insistent guitar pop -- 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. It's pure pop for tween people. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
