Demi Lovato's 'Commander in Chief' was inspired by musician condemning another president
Demi Lovato appeared on Tuesday’s Late Night With Seth Meyers where she discussed her anti-President Trump song “Commander in Chief.” Lovato debuted the song at last month’s Billboard Music Awards, after which she responded defiantly to negative reactions on social media by saying, “I literally don’t care if this ruins my career.” Speaking of her new approach to music, Lovato said she saw what was going on in the world and that caused her to look outside herself when writing songs.
“I was thinking about the music that’s out there right now, and I was like, ‘Why isn’t anyone talking about what’s happening?’ And, you know, in the ’60s and ’70s, when anything political would happen, music was such a key element to help people process it and get through it,” Lovato said. “So I was like, you know, I really need to step up my lyrics and make it about something other than just my life. So I started making more music that is less about me and more about the broad scope of what’s going on in the world.”
Lovato said that the inspiration for “Commander in Chief” was Pink’s 2006 hit “Dear Mr. President,” which was a scathing rebuke of former President George W. Bush.
“One of the songs that we came up with was ‘Commander in Chief,’ and it was inspired by Pink’s ‘Dear Mr. President,’” Lovato said. “You know, back however many years ago that came out, and I wanted to do a newer version.”
Lovato succeeded in making a newer version. Both songs strike a dark, ominous tone, and in “Dear Mr. President,” Pinks asks Bush how he can sleep at night, while in “Commander in Chief” Lovato says she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she had done the things President Trump has done.
Lovato said she was in Mexico on her way home from a meditation retreat when she heard the news that Joe Biden had been declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, and that it was incredibly emotional.
“It was the best news. I cried. I sobbed,” Lovato said. “I mean, it was just a very emotional day overall for me, because I identify as queer and so, for me having someone in the Oval Office that is supportive of that meant a lot to me.”
And though the country is deeply divided along political and ideological lines at the moment, Lovato believes there will eventually be unity.
“I’m also a firm believer in feeling like the country will be united after some time goes by,” Lovato said, “but I think that we’re on the right path. And, yeah, I’m very, very excited.”
Late Night With Seth Meyers airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on NBC.
Watch Demi Lovato premiere her Trump-slamming single at the Billboard Music Awards:
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