Demi Lovato’s ‘Dancing with the Devil’ song and music video could inspire many young people

TW, this article contains themes about addiction and sexual abuse

After relapsing and experiencing an overdose in July 2018, Demi Lovato decided to step away from the spotlight for a while. She’s now back with an amazing new album and a 4-part documentary series, explaining why she took some time away, as well as highlighting her struggles with addiction.

One song which is particularly powerful on this album is ‘Dancing with the Devil’ which is directly about her overdose. In the emotional music video, she re-enacts being in hospital and what happened leading up to the overdose.

At the start of the music video for the song, we see Lovato partying in the same clothes which she was wearing when she overdosed. I found this fascinating, and I think it's powerful that she can relive what happened to her so accurately. Lovato throughout the video, also recreates how she laid in a hospital bed, and I liked how the background behind her changed, as I think it added to the dramatic aspect of the song.

In episode 2 of her new docuseries, Lovato and close connections to Lovato, describe what happened to her the night of her overdose. Shockingly, it’s revealed that her drug dealer laced her drugs and took advantage of her, before leaving her alone in the empty room. In the music video for ‘Dancing with the Devil’ this is depicted in a very clever and emotive way, where you see a man leave her and walk away. I believe this is impressionable for people who have experienced sexual abuse and lets them know that they aren’t alone. Demi Lovato being open about this and her overdose opens doors for other people to get the help that they need.

The lyrics of the song aren’t sugar coated and directly refer to everything that happened to her which I think is honest and brings her story to life.

It’s just a little red wine, I’ll be fine.

Not like I wanna do this every night.

These lyrics directly refer to her alcohol addiction and relapse, but also normalises that situations such as addiction aren’t always straight forward to overcome.

Almost made it to Heaven

It was closer than you know

During her overdose, she experienced three strokes and a heart attack, it’s unbelievable that she’s alive to tell her story, and this part of the chorus reflects this well. I also love how these lyrics are so compelling, and I think it’s incredible that she’s willing to share her story.

There are many symbolic moments in the music video which made me feel so much emotion. At the end of the video, we see a nurse cleaning her with a sponge, showing the scary affects of losing control. The nurse then wipes Lovatos' neck to reveal a tattoo which says ‘survivor.’ Along with her strong singing voice that gives you goosebumps, this part of the video made the hairs on my arms stand up.

She ends the music video by walking away whilst wearing the same clothes which she was partying in at the start of the video. Looking at the comments of the video, it appears as if she’s metaphorically implying that getting over addiction doesn’t happen overnight, which I think is an important message. She also mentions in the last episode of her documentary that she’s not completely clean.

I consider the song ‘Dancing with the Devil’ and music video to be an outstanding representation of the effects of addiction. Lovato sharing her story can help so many people and is impressionable to a younger audience. I don’t often cry at films and videos, but this one definitely caught me off guard.