Demi Lovato appears in the spring 2013 issue o Cosmo on Campus. In the article, she opens up about living with recovery, dealing with bullies, and jumping in to her ‘X-Factor’ job too soon.

Happiness Is A Choice
She’s the former Disney star whose albums have sold millions and who spent the first months of her twenties sandwiched between Britney Spears and Simon Cowell on the U X Factor udging panel. But Demi Lovato is no cookie-cutter star. What sets her apart from the pack is her strength. She’s not afraid to admit there have been dark times and that they weren’t easy to get through.

Demi, 20, was bullied and called fat at school— she’s battled an eating disorder since she was in her early teens. On tour in 2010 she was in a really bad way. She was starving herself before she went on stage, making herself sick six times a day, cutting herself and using alcohol and drugs to numb her emotional pain. But hitting rock bottom made her seek professional help; she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and she spent time in rehab working through her issues. Today Demi is a strong, stylish, and sorted woman who puts campaigning to help other young women above anything else. She’s the spokesperson for anti-bullying organizations, and, as the woman who had the guts to call Simon Cowell “a bit of an asshole”, we had to find out her secrets to coming back from the brink…

The Glass Is Half Full
“My teens were years of experimenting and hitting rock bottom. I had to pick myself up and try to make it through. Yes, I had a lot of success, but mostly it was me and my disease. I was very sick and I did not enjoy the opportunities and rewards of my hard work. You can have all the number-one songs in the world, or Grammys, or whatever, but I don’t believe they alone make you happy. I could be twice as happy on a Sunday, running errands and spending time with my friends and family.

The thing I’ve learnt over the last couple of years is that happiness is a choice. I read a quote that said ‘Pain is inevitable but optimism and happiness is an option.’ I could look at any day and think, ‘I have so much to do, I have back-to-back meetings and I’m so tired.’ Or I could think, ‘Wow, I have this incredible opportunity to meet these people who could potentially further my career.”

Talk About It
“I was about 12 or 13 when I developed my eating disorder, and at the time nobody in the public eye talked about their body issues. I looked up to these very, very skinny girls in the tabloids— they were seen as the cool girls. But that was never my natural body type. It was was frustrating. I feel that if someone had admitted they had a problem, then I wouldn’t have gone down that route myself. That’s my goal in talking about my problems.

I want to be the person for other girls wh needed to admire when was looking for help and strength. It’s OK to love your body the way it is and it’s OK to reach out for help if you have drug and alcohol problems, or if you’re self-harming or being bullied.”

Put Men Last On Your List
“It is very unhealthy when girls devote all of their time to a guy and forget their friends and family. I did that. I was always looking for distractions because I was so afraid of being alone. I was too busy focusing on trying to get a boyfriend, but I have spent the last year focusing on myself and it’s been incredible. More has come out of the past year than in my entire career so far, and I truly believe it was because I was taking care of myself and not focusing on guys.”

Everyone Deserves Love
“I am totally fine being single, but if I did meet someone I would take things slow. Before, I was the type of person who didn’t feel I deserved a lot from the relationships I was in, so I self-sabotaged them. I broke up with the guy first or messed up the relationship. I would get so afraid of falling in love and then being hurt that I would just run away and move on to the next guy, when the real reason I was trying to find a relationship so many times was because I was not happy with myself. Now I’m in a place where I can finally trust and love and be a better person for the man I am in a relationship with, instead of being a clingy girlfriend or being jealous.

Be Nice To Yourself
“Taking care of yourself is so important; it builds your self-esteem. It’s the little things— even something like cleaning your room. You feel better about yourself when you are good to yourself. I eat six small meals a day, I love juices and I eat tons of fruit and vegetables, I have to follow a meal plan because I’m in recovery. When I exercise I don’t overdo it— I just do enough to give me energy and so I feel happy with myself.”

Stand Up For Yourself
“I’m a southern Texas girl. I have a really strong personality— I speak my mind and I don’t hold back. You have to find a guy who isn’t afraid or intimidated by you and your opinions. I’m the type of woman who doesn’t put up with bullshit, so when I date I have to find someone who won’t either. I don’t think any woman shoul ever hold back what she’s really thinking.”

Work Hard
“I don’t think I was ready when I started o The X Factor in autumn 2012]. In an ideal situation I would have maybe waited a year or more [after coming out of treatment]. But everything happens for a reason. I’m a working woman, I have bills to pay, I have a house… if I don’t continue to work I won’t be able to afford the house and all the luxuries that come with this life. I dove into work really quickly and maybe that wasn’t the best idea at the time, but the place I am in today is so much better than I could have ever imagined, so I’m really glad.”

On the day after her song “Give Your Heart a Break” officially became her first-ever number one single, Demi Lovato is making a whirlwind visit to New York City to appear on three TV shows, participate in a mini junket to promote her gig as a mentor/judge alongside Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, and Britney Spears on The X Factor, and, finally, give her Teen Vogue interview, which—because she’s due back in Los Angeles that very evening—takes place in the back of a luxury SUV as it speeds toward Teterboro Airport. By all rights, she should be exhausted. But the New Mexico–born, Texas-raised 20-year-old seems anything but as she talks about the superpacked schedule she’s been keeping over the past few months. “The amount of success that I’ve had, even just in the last six months, is incredible to me,” Demi says. Read on for her thoughts about music, boys, and the importance of being real.

TEEN VOGUE: So, did you hesitate at all when Simon offered you the chance to join The X Factor? Or were you just totally psyched to do it?
DEMI LOVATO: It was a no-brainer! Right before I got the offer, I’d been sitting in a meeting feeling really discouraged [about my career], wishing I was further along. And I decided that I needed to stop thinking about what I wished I had and start thinking about what I was going to have. I was ready to do something new, and I wanted to put that out there, in the universe . . . and then he called, literally, a week and a half later.

TV: That’s kind of scary!
DL: It is. I was nine when American Idol premiered, and I remember thinking, I’ve been waiting this whole time and working on my career—and now I’m sitting on a panel with Simon.

TV: And with Britney! What’s she like? You must have looked up to her when you were starting out. . . .
DL: Yeah, she was one of the first concerts I ever went to. She’s incredible. She’s such an icon that I didn’t know what to expect, but I was excited to find out that she’s really sweet and funny and quirky. We have so much fun. We’re the two girls on the show, so we’re always laughing together, and we kind of have each other’s backs.

TV: Still, you’re a little young to be a mentor. What kind of advice are you going to give your team?
DL: There’s so much more to it than just being a talented singer. I’m going to help them mentally prepare for everything that’s coming—like, all these things that have happened to me recently, I really attribute them, in part, to the work that I’ve been doing on myself. The second that I became more centered and aware of who I am, my performances got better, and I was better able to relate to people. For a long time, I was pretending to be someone that I wasn’t, and I was miserable. When I came out and said, “I’m human, I’ve got problems, but I’m willing to share them,” that’s when I started to really connect. I’ve just begun working on my fourth album, and I want to do that in my music too. I’m tired of songs that don’t have much emotion in them.

TV: The way you’re talking suggests, like, an album of back-to-back ballads. Is that what you mean?
DL: No. I love the way that Adele has carved out a path for a singer that’s very emotional, but I also love how Taylor Swift can do the same thing—she puts a lot into her songs yet they’re still very catchy. I will say that I’m tired of all the dubstep that’s on the radio right now—I think it’s going to be out in two months. I want to make something that people will listen to for a while, rather than something that’s just trendy. I feel like I’ve grown as a person, and I want my music to grow with me.

TV: Two years ago, you left a tour and checked yourself into rehab. What are you doing now to ensure that you stay healthy?
DL: Obviously, I sleep, eat right, exercise, and meditate. And even when I’m filming or touring, I keep up my daily routine. I know that I can’t miss my therapy appointments or things will get a little rocky, so I always put my recovery first.

TV: Is it hard for you to be okay with saying no to things?
DL: It’s something I had to learn. I’ve always been a really hard worker, and so many of the opportunities I’ve had were exciting. But I’m still glad that I started working so young, because I’d dreamt about this for so long, and I might not have had the same opportunities if I’d waited.

TV: What do you like to do when you’re not shooting, or touring, or recording?
DL: I’m consistently busy, but I make sure I spend a lot of time with my friends and family. I did kind of a friend cleanse right after rehab, where I weeded out people who didn’t have my best interests at heart. Now I have friends who love me for who I am and don’t care about what I’m doing. Most of them aren’t in the industry. Some of them don’t even know my songs!

TV: And yet you’ve still got some friends in the business. For example, there’s no shortage of rumors about you and Niall Horan from One Direction.
DL: He’s a really awesome, sweet guy. But he’s not my boyfriend…. I’m in a place right now where I really need to focus on myself. Obviously, I’m still going to like people—or love them—but I need to not be in a relationship for a while because I need to be okay with being alone, first. I’m really happy right now. I never thought it was possible to be happy because of how depressed I was my entire life. But I feel so incredible. It’s like I’m living in a dream.

Demi Lovato is opening up about her bipolar disorder in the July issue of Cosmopolitan, telling the magazine that being diagnosed was a relief because it meant she could treat the problem.

“I felt relieved when I found out. Like I’m not completely crazy; there’s a medical reason for all of it,” Lovato says in the July issue. “It’s a daily thing; you don’t get time off from it. And if I feel myself slipping back into old patterns, I have to ask others for help, which is hard for me to learn, because I really like doing everything on my own.”

The new “X Factor” judge revealed earlier this year in her MTV documentary “Demi Lovato: Stay Strong” that her issues manifested themselves in self-harm, including an eating disorder and self-medicating that resulted in a stay at the Timberline Knolls treatment facility in Illinois.

“I had so many issues that were underneath, that needed to be taken care of, and we kept putting Band-Aids over it. It literally drove me insane. I was not eating, and purging, and self-harming. It was really difficult to be able to stop,” Lovato recalled to MTV. “This is a daily battle that I will face for the rest of my life. Everyone kind of made me a role model, and I hated that. I was partying, I was self-medicating. I was always stressing out. I felt like I was living a lie. I felt guilt and shame. I decided to take it out on myself. I harmed myself. It was my way of taking my own shame and my own guilt out on myself, and I was just depressed.”

Having gotten the help she needed and with her new high-profile gig on “The X Factor” opposite Britney Spears, the pop star is back on the right path now, and she tells Cosmopolitan that she sees herself with a family in the not-too-distant future. “I want to be married with kids in 10 years,” Lovato revealed.

The 19-year-old singer/actress’ past struggles have given her a new perspective on dating as well, teaching her that she should not rush to judgment when it comes to guys — with the exception of one characteristic that she simply will not abide.

“I don’t have many deal breakers. I’ve done so much in my life, it doesn’t feel right to judge other people,” Lovato tells the mag. “Oh, I know one quality I won’t tolerate. I would never be with a guy who is controlling.”

We added photos from the 2012 photoshoot Demi did with M Hayman for the Fabulous Mag she did last month in the UK! This is for sure one of our favorite photoshoots, Demi looks absolutely stunning!

When skinniness didn’t provide her with the friends or happiness she yearned for, Demi sought solace in drugs. It was reported that she was snorting cocaine, but Demi – aware of the influence on her young fan base – is reluctant to go into detail.

Club promoters gave me drugs and alcohol in clubs

“It’s something I don’t really want to talk about,” she says apologetically. “What I can say is that I was depressed. I would come off stage in front of 18,000 people and suddenly be alone in a hotel room. I’d come crashing down and would try to find a way to recreate that feeling, to stay ‘up’.”

Being based in Hollywood made it easier to get access to illegal substances.

“Promoters gave me drugs and alcohol in restaurants or clubs. They wanted me to come back so I would be seen there. They were basically kissing my ass,” she says, a flash of anger briefly interrupting her sunny demeanour.

“I thought they were my friends. I thought I was having fun. Being a celebrity can be dangerous. Nobody says ‘no’. That’s why so many end up overdosing and dying. It could definitely have happened to me.”

When the drugs didn’t block out her pain, she cut herself. “It started with my wrists. People saw that, so I cut in places they couldn’t see,” she says.

“You do it because you feel so bad inside. You don’t know how to take it out other than on yourself.”

Demi – whose mother Dianna, a former cheerleader, divorced her father Patrick when Demi was just two – felt unable to confide in her parents.

“I’d just get scolded if they found out,” she says. “They were worried, but I knew they wouldn’t understand. I had a hard time opening up to friends. People were there for me but I didn’t utilise them. Do I wish I had? Yes.”

Instead, she threw herself into her work. Demi’s first album, Don’t Forget, was released in 2008. The following year she starred in the Disney film, Princess Protection Program, and released her second album, Here We Go Again. It shot to No.1 in the US charts.

“I went from movie to album to touring to television and back,” she says. “Being in the limelight wasn’t the root of my problems, but it didn’t help. I never took more than two weeks off in four years and it caught up with me.”

Nor does Demi plan to resume acting until she is fully confident. “I need to be secure in my body before I go back in front of the camera. Anyone in recovery from an eating disorder would find that triggering, and I’m not ready,” she says.

She admits her stunning new size 10-12 body is taking some getting used to: “After so long being thin, it was terrifying being heavier. But I am a naturally curvy Hispanic girl. I don’t deprive myself – I had a Kit Kat last night, but I don’t eat s*** every day. I have a meal service that brings my food to my home so I don’t have to think about being healthy.”

Although she no longer drinks, Demi admits that she has self-harmed and made herself throw up since leaving rehab. “I’ve slipped up a few times, but each time I have learned from it, and it’s become further apart,” she says.

She’s still BFFs with Miley Cyrus, and has found an unlikely ally in Cheryl Cole, who, after watching a recent MTV documentary about Demi’s troubles, tweeted her support. “I was so excited. I’d love to meet her,” Demi says. Currently single, her exes include Joe Jonas, 22, and actor Wilder Valderrama, 32.

“I’m not dating at all. I love having a boyfriend but need to be secure on my own first,” she says.

Despite Demi having had a lifetime of troubles before she’s even 20, she insists she has no regrets.

“There were times I wish I’d been a normal teenager so I could make mistakes and not be scrutinised. But I don’t mourn the childhood I never had. I’d rather have been travelling the world and making albums than at high school.”

And as for the bullies who made her life hell? “I don’t think or care about them,” she says. “I wouldn’t change what I went through. I’ve learned from it and it’s made me stronger.”

Demi is on the cover of the 2012 February issue of ‘Irish Daily Mail’ looking incredibly stunning! We have to say, this is one of our favorite shoots of hers! Hopefully we’ll find more photos from the shoot soon!

[February] Irish Daily Mail

M Haddon

Having shot to fame as a squeaky-clean Disney starlet, Demi Lovato shocked Hollywood by suddenly checking into rehab. She tells Elaine Lipworth how she’s facing her demons – and why she poured her pain into her emotional new album.

‘My mother had to wake up and see that I needed help. She was so worried; she didn’t want to believe that her daughter was so sick’

Lost Hollywood interviews take place in the lavish surroundings of one of Los Angeles’s top hotels but, in a refreshing contrast, I’m meeting 19-year-old pop star Demi Lovato in the tropical garden of a secluded house (belonging to the owner of a local vintage clothing shop) in the heart of Topanga Canyon, a few miles from Malibu and the Pacific Ocean. Demi, who lives with her family in nearby Sherman Oaks, wafts down a flight of stone steps in a floaty animal-print maxi skirt and lacy bra top teamed with a cropped shirt (and six-inch platforms!) towards the guest house where we have arranged to meet.

It is an unusually grey, misty morning; without the customary bright Southern California light, the landscape has a dimmed ethereal quality which suits both our surroundings and Demi’s delightful hippie-dippy style. Surrounded by her team – including two publicists from her record company, her make-up artist, hairdresser and stylist – Demi appears both sophisticated and at ease with all the attention, yet her confident aura belies the difficult experiences she’s had to navigate.

Just under two years ago, she appeared to be leading a charmed life. The wholesome-looking star had a popular Disney TV series, Sonny With a Chance, which aired on Sky, a blossoming film career (Camp Rock and its sequel) as well as two hit albums. Her personal life seemed equally fabulous: she was dating teen heart-throb Joe Jonas from squeaky-clean boyband the Jonas Brothers. Then, in October 2010, came the shocking revelation that behind the glossy façade Demi was a deeply troubled young woman suffering from a long-term eating disorder. ‘I had been very upset and depressed for a while, but I could never say I needed help, says the talented teenager.

‘I definitely have a lot more confidence than I did a year ago’

Demi checked into rehab after admitting that she was bulimic and had been self-harming for years. What the performer calls her ‘rock bottom’ came in a very public meltdown during a South American tour with the Jonas Brothers (by which time she and Joe had broken up). On a private plane from Colombia to Peru, the singer punched back-up dancer Alex Welch. ‘I was totally shameful and confused and upset,’ says Demi, who won’t specify what sparked the attack. ‘I was so embarrassed. I didn’t just have to pay the consequences in front of the people around me, but in front of the entire world. I came clean after I hit the girl. Before that happened my mum didn’t know exactly how serious it all was. She said, “Why did you do this?” I said, “Because I’m exhausted” and she had to wake up and see that I needed help. My mum was so worried. She didn’t want to believe that her daughter was so sick.’

Demi flew to the Timberline Knolls residential treatment centre in Chicago, spending three months in a programme that she says saved her life. ‘I was very sick but luckily I got the help I needed,’ says Demi quietly, ‘and I’m here today, hopefully preventing young girls from doing the same things I did to myself.’

It’s a courageous step to take. ‘I know that I have a voice and can use it for good or bad. It’s a gift from God. I knew I could share my experience and be of service or not tell anybody and be like the rest of Hollywood and hide my secrets. I didn’t want to do that,’ says Demi, who was raised a Baptist and is now a nondenominational Christian.

Unlike other Disney child stars who have had continued troubles (Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan spring to mind), it is clear meeting Demi that she is taking charge of her life beginning with her powerful new album Unbroken, already a success in the US. (Her previous albums Don’t Forget and Here We Go Again were also substantial hits.) Unbroken includes the emotional ballad ‘Skyscraper’ and some heartbreaking personal tracks. In ‘Fix a Heart’ she sings, ‘I ended up with wounds to bind…and I just ran out of Band-Aids.’ ‘It’s about a break-up,’ says Demi. ‘It talks about bandaging the damage – I’ve been through self-harm.

‘It was my way of letting out my innermost secrets,’ she continues. The album includes a particularly candid song, ‘For the Love of a Daughter’, about Demi’s complicated relationship with her father (her parents Dianna and Patrick divorced when she was a toddler). She sings about ‘family war’ and her feelings of disappointment: ‘How could you push me out of your world, lie to your flesh and your blood?’

‘It’s a very personal song. “Oh father, please father, put the bottle down…” The lyrics are self-explanatory about my relationship with my estranged father whom I haven’t spoken to in five years. I wrote it when I was 16 and getting it out is like therapy.’

Demi stirs sugar into a paper cup of coffee. ‘I think I was born with an eating disorder, because I’ve never had a relationship with food that was normal.

I remember looking in the mirror with nappies on thinking, “You’re fat, change it,”’ (lol what…..nappies) says Demi, who believes that, contrary to speculation, the root of her problems had nothing to do with the pressures of spending much of her childhood in front of the camera. ‘I started overeating when I was about eight; I was a binge eater. I would bake a whole plate of cookies and eat them all. Then when I turned 12 I was bullied in school and they called me fat. I went from being an overeater to stopping eating and I lost about 30lb. From then on I continued undereating, but my weight plateaued.’

The anorexia turned to bulimia: ‘I started throwing up to lose weight.’ Demi tells her story with remarkable candour but also an air of detachment. Armed with a wealth of scientific and psychological information about her condition, she seems to me like a bright and brave young woman who has had to grow up too fast.

Part-Mexican, part-Italian with some Irish blood too, Demi’s early childhood was spent in Texas with her mother, older sister Dallas and stepfather Eddie De La Garza; she also has a ten-year-old half-sister, Madison, who plays Juanita Solis in Desperate Housewives. Despite her parents’ divorce and her eating disorders, would Demi describe her childhood as happy overall? ‘Totally. My stepdad provided me with an amazing childhood. I played outside like a normal kid, I rode my bike, I walked to school, but the happiest times were when I was acting.’

With a natural talent for performing, as a little girl she took piano lessons and her career began in earnest aged seven. ‘I started doing beauty pageants and acting. I needed to be the centre of attention; I knew that I wanted to be a little superstar,’ says Demi without a trace of arrogance or fake modesty. She landed several TV roles before her big break in the 2008 Disney movie Camp Rock. ‘It was so exciting getting the role. I was extremely blessed.’

‘I need somebody who’s going to be there for me at any point, day or night, and is not going to be afraid of my eating disorder and recovery process. I want a man who’s going to be strong’ (wilmer obviously)

Home schooled because of the bullying, the family moved from Texas to Los Angeles when Demi was 15. As her career took off with the Camp Rock films, another Disney movie Princess Protection Programme, and her music career, the addictive behaviour intensified. ‘It was just a matter of manipulating situations and hiding – you get very clever and very secretive. The tricky part about this disease is that you start lying to the people around you and turn into someone that you’re not. It’s scary.’

Compounding her eating disorder, the troubled teenager was cutting herself. ‘I started when I was 12, when I was bullied. It was my way of dealing with the stress and then I often resorted to it when I was feeling overworked. Girls [who self-harm] scratch or cut themselves with razor blades, scissors or sharp objects, or burn themselves. I’ve pretty much tried all of it. My main thing was cutting and that was so horrible. I definitely self-medicated with drugs and alcohol. I would be lying if I said I didn’t,’ she adds.

By the time Demi made it to rehab, she was desperate and ready to change her life. ‘The key is that you have to want it. The problem with a lot of celebrities is that they go into rehab, but they don’t stay for the full amount of time. I wanted to go home after 30 days, but they told me, “No, you’re not better.” I went through 14 hours of therapy every day. It wasn’t fun. There were sessions from seven in the morning until nine at night: Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous and Self Mutilators Anonymous. [To addicts like Demi, all meetings are relevant, whatever their own personal addictions.] It was constant emotional work and exhausting; by the end of the day, all you wanted to do was sleep.’

‘There’s no cure and I may mess up, but I want to be a better role model for my fans’

Today she has her ‘roommate’ Sarah with her, a ‘recovery companion’ who has also been through addiction problems and follows the same programme. Her role is to support Demi in the recovery process and promote a healthy lifestyle. ‘She is living with us, she watches me and makes sure I eat three meals a day,’ says Demi.

Inevitably, one of the most challenging aspects of rehab was learning to eat normally. ‘Breakfast would be at 8.30am, a bowl of cereal with yoghurt or milk and fruit. Lunch would be a sandwich, salad and fruit or vegetables. Dinner might be macaroni cheese with a side of vegetables and milk. I cried often because I was terrified at having to eat three meals a day. I said, “No, this is too much food.” I started eating just so that I could go home. I don’t know what made it click but I realised I just wanted out of my eating disorder.

‘Now I can eat as many meals as I am supposed to and not throw up any more. There’s definitely temptation – every meal I fight it. It’s an addiction and I’m going to have to fight it for the rest of my life,’ continues Demi. ‘There’s no cure and I may mess up, but I want to be a better role model for my fans and my younger sister. There are days when I look in the mirror and think, “God, my jeans don’t fit today – this sucks.” But I’m in a much more spiritual place now. I can pray and I have a great support system around me.’

That support comes from her family and from friends including reality star Kim Kardashian and fellow Disney performers Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus, who stayed in constant touch while Demi was in rehab. ‘They called me and kept checking in on me and I never forgot that. Now they make sure I am doing good. Out of all the people in the world, they are the three who are really close to me.’

Demi was also reportedly helped in her recovery by her ex-boyfriend, actor Wilmer Valderrama, from whom she has recently split (he played Fez in the US sitcom That ’70s Show). When I ask about him, though, Demi hesitates before saying, ‘I would like to keep my love life out of this. I’ve learnt not to go public with a relationship because the break-up will be 20 times harder.’ (at least she learnt something from jemi)

She does go on to tell me that she has a better idea of what she wants in a boyfriend. ‘I come with baggage,’ she says with a wry smile. ‘I’ve been through a lot and I need somebody who’s going to be there for me at any point, day or night, and is not going to be afraid of my eating disorder and recovery process. I want a man who’s going to be strong.’

‘I know that I could be in a fragile state of mind if I go back in front of the camera; I’m not really confident enough’

As we chat she peruses the gorgeous outfits and sighs at the prospect of trying on clothes for our photo shoot. ‘I’m not looking forward to that. My recovery is still a work in progress; they say that body image is the last thing to change, and I still battle with that every day. But I definitely have a lot more confidence than I did a year ago.’ In fact she looks lovely. Slim but not too thin, her face is make-up free, and her skin is clear with a healthy glow.

She’s wearing lots of jewellery and there are tattoos covering the scars from the wounds she inflicted on herself over the years. ‘I have nine or ten,’ she says, holding out her arms to show me. On her wrists are the words Stay Strong (one on each). ‘I have Peace, Rock and Roll on my fingers, Faith on my arm, a cross on my hand, feathers on my ribs and a feather behind the ear.’

Demi can’t yet face returning to acting. ‘I know that I could be in a fragile state of mind if I go back in front of the camera; I’m not really confident enough. The camera adds 10lb and I feel like I have too many tattoos right now to go back on screen. I want to act again if they can find a way to cover my tattoos and one day I’d love to be respected as an actress.’

For now, music is her focus: ‘When you are on stage singing, you are far away from people, you’re not up close and it’s very liberating.’ Her goal is to ‘win a Grammy’ (!!!!) and interestingly she cites pop superstar Rihanna as her role model. Like Demi, the 23-year-old singer has had her own difficulties. Rihanna was the victim of domestic violence, but since the end of her abusive relationship with musician Chris Brown three years ago, she has become a global phenomenon. ‘I haven’t met Rihanna, but we’ve talked over the phone and I want to meet her so badly. I love her attitude; she’s sexy and confident. She’s gone through quite a lot and has come out strong. I would like to be the calibre of Rihanna and hopefully one day I’ll get there. I’d love to do a duet with her!’

I’ve added 2 outakes of Demi from the Glamour Magazine for 2011. We can’t wait till more photos are released! We’ve also posted the interview below!

At just 19, the sweet singer has already survived an eating disorder and a very public emotional breakdown. If anyone’s ready to be reborn, it’s Demi Lovato. See how she’s simplified her life—starting with her beauty routine!

I wanted to showcase Demi’s warm, caramel complexion,” says makeup artist Robin Black. Hairstylist John Ruggiero did romantic waves with nothing more than a flatiron and light hairspray. Try Garnier Fructis Style Flexible Control Anti-Humidity Hairspray, $4.50, at drugstores.

This time last year Demi Lovato had—it’s hard to believe—checked into a treatment center to get help for her struggles with bulimia, anorexia and self-injury. And instead of the usual celebrity tactic (deny, deny, deny), Lovato has taken a much braver route: going public about her self-described meltdown and the childhood bullying she’s talked openly about, all in an effort to help other young women and girls. This winter Lovato embarks on a world tour for her perfectly named album Unbroken. We’re all ears.

Glamour: These pictures from the shoot are gorgeous. I love your new look. What is beautiful to you?
Demi Lovato: Having strength and confidence in yourself. I think that women who know who they are are beautiful.

Glamour: And do you feel like you’re there? Or are you still working on that?
DL: I feel like I’m there. I feel beautiful, you know? I feel strong, and I feel confident in who I am.

Glamour: What’s your go-to makeup?
DL: Concealer, foundation, blush, mascara. I can feel glamorous without makeup too, especially on my lips. They’re naturally reddish, so I often let them go.

Glamour: How has your look changed in the last year?
DL: Whenever you’re going through, you know, stuff, it definitely reflects in the way you wear your makeup and hair. Wearing less makeup is more comfortable for me.

Glamour: What’s one thing that has really stuck with you from your experience in treatment?
DL: I met so many young girls and even older women who had literally, you know, been through so much that I couldn’t even imagine. I was maybe a little more closed-minded, and I learned from them never to judge anyone.

Glamour: Is it true that you got tattoos on top of your cutting scars?
DL: I think scars are like battle wounds—beautiful, in a way. They show what you’ve been through and how strong you are for coming out of it. My tattoos say “Stay strong.” “Stay” on one [wrist] and “strong” on the other. Now I’m able to look at them and be thankful for being alive. I think that I’ve been blessed over the past year to be able to start over.

Glamour: What’s the healthiest thing that you do for yourself every day?
DL: Pray. I pray every night before I go to sleep and every morning when I wake up.

Glamour: I want to ask you about some of your lyrics. In “For the Love of a Daughter,” you sing about the “family war” and say, “Your selfish hands always expecting more.” Is this experience about your childhood?
DL: I think people read way too much into that line.

Glamour: What do you mean by that? Do people think it’s abuse and it’s not?
DL: I just don’t think people need to be that literal. I think that could just be, like, a financial thing.

Glamour: In “Skyscraper,” you sing, “Go on and try to tear me down, I will be rising from the ground.” Who are you singing to?
DL: It’s to every person who tried to bring me down. Everyone has the bully or the mean girl or the ex-boyfriend who tried to bring them down. For me, I think of the people who really weren’t there for me when I went into treatment. It was a really dark time for me because I had only a few people—I had surrounded myself with so many artificial friendships. It’s about those people too.

Glamour: You also sing, “You never really can fix a heart.” Do you believe that?
DL: I think every time you get your heart broken, there’s a little piece of it that chips away, and I don’t think you ever get that piece back. But I think you’re able to bandage it with time and with new people and other things that make you happy.

Demi is on the cover of the December/January Latina Magazine! & WOW, does she look flawless!

Teen phenomenon Demi Lovato graces the cover of Latina magazine’s “Reasons to Love Being Latina” double issue, which hits newsstands on November 15th.

The 19-year-old singer and actress opened up to us about her emotional yearlong journey back from “rock bottom.” Telling us she is now “happy, healthy and driven,” she dishes on her devotion to being a role model, the strength her family provides and her dreams of winning a Grammy.

On rehab: “I thought I was going to lose everything when I checked myself into treatment. I didn’t know if I would have a career at all when I came home. So it really hit me – I hadn’t been grateful. In that sense, I can honestly say I’m glad I hit rock bottom when I did. Most people don’t have those moments. I see a lot of young people in this industry who feel entitled because they haven’t hit rock bottom yet. I feel blessed when I get an opportunity now.”

On airing out her problems: “It wasn’t my idea, to be 100 percent honest. It was influenced by management, publicists and family. But they were all bringing up a good point: What teens need most is someone that they can relate to – someone they connect with on serious subjects like eating disorders, cutting, bipolar disorder, depression and bullying. I’ve been there. I get it. Why wouldn’t I be honest about it so I could help someone else?”

On being estranged from her father: “Sometimes there are people in your life that you have to cut out. It sucks when it’s your own father. But I know what’s best for me. At a young age, I had to learn that. I have an old soul, because I had to grow up fast – because of the public eye and because of my life experiences.”

On staying healthy: “I continue to have moments. I still think sometimes that I’m not strong enough and I need extra help. I can’t tell you how many people I have working with me in recovery. It’s good. It’s positive. [But] it’s a daily battle. Things can still get me down sometimes. But nothing keeps me down.”

On being Latina: “Latina culture means warm family gatherings, special stories and a bond that I love to experience. I feel so much love and comfort when I’m with [the Latino] side of my family. It makes me proud of my culture and my ethnicity.”

On her big career dreams: “In 2012, I really want to be at the Grammys. And I don’t want to go unless I’m nominated, presenting or performing. It’s my lifetime goal to be able to say I’m nominated. So I really want to make that happen.

Demi recently posted a new letter on Seventeen.com as contributing editor. You can read it below.

I’ve said it before and I will say it forever — I HAVE THE BEST FANS IN THE WORLD! It’s no secret that this last year has been tough for me. But the outpouring of support and encouragement that I’ve received from all of you is honestly what has got me through even the most difficult days. If I ever feel down, the stories and understanding from my fans make me realize I am not alone. And for that, I’m incredibly grateful to every single one of you.

It’s amazing how through struggle you can find strength. I’ve been so touched and inspired by the personal stories you’ve shared with me. So many of you have overcome depression, addiction, and other trials, and that is amazing! I feel like we are all stronger than we can even realize. Each of your stories gives me comfort and reminds me that we are all in this together. Every one of you is truly special, and I love you all so much!

I always wanted to thank you all for the birthday wishes! You guys made me fee like the luckiest girl in the world.
And my last bit of news: In case you haven’t heard yet, I have two exciting performances coming up — September 17 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City and September 23 at Club Nokia in L.A. I can’t wait to share my new music with you and see all of your smiling faces! Tickets are available now, at ticketmaster.com. Hope to see you there!

Stay Strong!

Love,

Demi Lovato

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