MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE: Demi Lovato is shedding her emotional baggage for sunglasses and high heels under disco lights with new album It's Not That Deep

With more than 17 years since the release of her debut album, Demi Lovato has gone through multiple musical chapters. For someone who has always been deeply vulnerable in their work, there’s something to be said about not saying anything. Life is unpredictable, and after countless documentaries, albums, and headlines, Demi is letting the world know that it’s not that deep. Literally. Her new album It’s Not That Deep sees her shedding her emotional baggage for a pair of sunglasses and high heels under disco lights. A fair trade if you ask me for an artist who has spent the majority of their years in the industry under harsh criticisms and experiencing personal hardships in front of the world. To get to the point in healing where letting your hair down gives relief is a kind of peace one only dreams of. Demi is letting us all feel that through a new collection of 11 dance-pop bangers that were meant to be heard on an arena stage.

In one of her newest tracks, “Frequency”, Demi sings about finding someone that matches her frequency and that “no one can f-ck up the vibes, f-ck up the vibe”. It’s as simple as that for Demi, she found the man of her dreams who makes her feel safe and seen and it brought her back to the place she always felt she belonged, the stage. The music, created with pop juggernaut Zhone for this new project, is playful and ultra-high energy, and it maintains its sonic direction throughout its entirety. Zhone recently worked with Kesha on her latest album Period (.), which had a similar c-nty pop girl feel. Demi has made it very clear that when she wants to have fun she listens to the girlie pops. Her recent playlists have hinted at her inspirations and they include Britney Spears, Slayyyter, Adéla, Chappell Roan and Lady Gaga. While songs like “Ghost” and “Let You Go” veer on the emotional side of the scale, the pop leanings are still present and they serve as effective dancefloor breaks without taking you out of the world completely.

Demi’s recent show at the Hollywood Palladium over the weekend marked her first headlining show in three years. She is clearly feeling nostalgic for her core pop hits, and performed tracks like “Really Don’t Care” and “Neon Lights” for the first time in years, along with the entirety of her new album. She also has added “This Is Me” back into the set list, and for that I will forever be grateful to the Jonas Brothers and that iconic reunion - and for introducing those sparkly jeans into the pop culture zeitgeist. Those jeans alone have earned their place in pop diva iconography. All of this has brought us to this moment of Demi getting back out on the road on a headlining tour of her own which will see her visiting arenas across the USA and Canada in 2026. The “It’s Not That Deep Tour” will hit 23 cities and is her biggest headlining tour in over a decade and is bringing out Slovakian pop princess Adéla. I’m already signed up for pre-sale.

Next week, we have new music from Florence and the Machine. This week along with the dance sounds of Demi Lovato, we have a K-pop mega combo with LE SSERAFIM and j-hope, a controversial new song from Tyla, an ode to R&B legend Brandy and a new EP from Leon Thomas, complete with an Issa Rae co-sign. Plus, a viral pick from a Broadway legend.

Listen on…

MC’s PICKS OF THE WEEK

“Let You Go” by Demi Lovato

The song’s production is definitely a highlight but it still allows room for Demi’s vocals to shine without being completely overtaken by the beat. Given that so many of the songs on the new album have soaring synths and trippy undertones, the fact that she still has her vocal moment shows the intention behind everything we hear. The song seems to come from her previous relationship where she felt she needed to leave, singing lyrics like “if you want, you can tell everyone I’m the problem”, as a desperate plea to simply get out. Demi’s vocal absolutely soars on this track, and it does feel like a bridge between her current dance-pop sound and some of her more traditional powerful ballads. This track is definitely the moment of her live show where she will give us total X-Tina. Her album may be titled It’s Not That Deep, but I think we have the one exception, which is always welcome. Demi can sing the crap out of a heartbreaking ballad, but this song isn’t as melancholy, as it still has a mid-tempo pop sound. The live version is more stripped back and a callback to her hit “Skyscraper”, a staple. Both versions are great and she sells them with the same passion. It’s one of the strengths of Demi’s entire new project, the ability to keep listeners engaged and locked in throughout (and Demi knows how to stay locked the f-ck in). Just take a look at the live video she released performing this song, the woman knows how to give face to the camera.

“SPAGHETTI” by LE SSERAFIM, j-hope

j-hope has sent ARMY into a frenzy for the last few days with his feature on LE SSERAFIM’s “SPAGHETTI”. This is also his first K-pop girl group feature so it’s a call to sound the alarms. j-hope teased the collaboration last week during a YouTube video where he’s in full Matrix gear. The excitement that explodes from K-pop fans when their favourite artists release new music is reminiscent of the TRL days, but on steroids. Every single move is hysteria, so joining forces on a new song allows for the ladies of LE SSERAFIM to benefit from the merging of fandoms as their star continues to rise as well. The video is as bonkers as the song itself. The girls are chopping up meat and veggies, while cooking pasta with some dance sequences performed on top of bowls of spaghetti. The images of the girls as mini versions of themselves immersed in pasta sauce is reminiscent of The Chicks’s Fly physical CD where the girls were stuck to sticky tape. It’s campy in the most fabulous way and as the song itself says, they “eat it up”. Teen Vogue confirmed that j-hope filmed his parts of the music video separately but frankly just his presence gives the girls a boost they could only dream of. “SPAGHETTI” is pure pop, packed with a confident delivery from the girls and playful puns interwoven throughout the lyrics. The stomping beat was designed for a ballroom and some vogue-ing, plus anytime campiness is involved you can all but assume that the gays are going to “eat it up”. LE SSERAFIM just completed a sold-out North American tour, but this new track marks the beginning of a whole new era for them. The quick transition is common for artists of the genre, and with the co-sign from j-hope they are sure to skyrocket to even further highs.

“CHANEL” by Tyla

What’s a new release without a little controversy to keep things interesting? Tyla has long been a hot topic on the internet, and this time around she’s been accused of ripping off another artist with her new single “CHANEL”. Yung Miami claims that she played her own song titled “Take Me to Chanel” to Tyla and now a few months later, she has her own Chanel-inspired track. The songs sound absolutely nothing alike, and unfortunately, Yung Miami does not own the name “Chanel”, so I’m on team Tyla here. Tyla’s new single is worth the controversy too because it’s such a f-cking bop. It was originally supposed to be featured on her recent summer EP WWP, but it seems was instead excluded to serve as the lead to a whole new project. As expected she is completely dripped in Chanel in the music video and imagery. Who doesn’t love a good budget? Vogue even did an entire piece on the archival fashions she wore in the music video. It’s an ode to the greatest looks of the 90s, which coincidently happens to be Tyla’s entire aesthetic to begin with. Toronto’s own PartyNextDoor provides guest vocals on the chorus of the song in the most crucial part, “put her in Chanel”, confirmed by an “additional vocals” credit on Spotify. Even though she’s struggled to find her groove in the public’s view with her music releases recently, I do feel that Tyla has all the ingredients to be a star, and her sound is unique to her. She may not have the highest charting singles, but she manages to stay trending constantly, and she is providing some quality music to go along with it all. Her headlining Asian tour begins next month, and a full world tour is expected next year too. Expect to see a lot more Chanel (should the budget stay fruitful lol).

“Folded (Remix)” by Kehlani, Brandy

One of the biggest R&B hits of the year easily belongs to Kehlani’s “Folded” which is projected to hit the Hot 100 top 10 as early as next week. The song sounds just like a classic 2000s R&B track from the jump, evoking all kinds of nostalgia. What I’ll give Kehlani props for however is that not only did she execute the perfect 2000s R&B song, she got the attention of all of the greats from that era, prompting a viral “Fold It Challenge” where artists were challenged to add their own spin on the song. The list included Mario, Tank, Toni Braxton, JoJo, Ne-Yo and my personal favourite, Brandy. Brandy is currently touring with Monica on the long awaited The Boy Is Mine Tour, but the vocal bible took some time out her busy schedule to record the chorus with an ocean of background vocals to add to the song. Brandy is the only one who didn’t add a whole new verse but the background vocals and their intricacies is Brandy’s version of doing so. Vocal arrangements have always been her biggest strength, and she added that signature Brandy touch to the song. “Folded” is already the biggest hit of Kehlani’s 10+ year career, and has along with Leon Thomas and Olivia Dean, aided in bringing R&B music back into the main conversation on both the Top 40 charts and Hot 100.

“My Muse” by Leon Thomas

From one R&B heavy-hitter to the next, this week sees the full release of Leon Thomas’s newest EP PHOLKS, and all right in time for the kickoff of his North American tour this Thursday. The first single was the funk-driven “Just How You Are” with this new single and video for “My Muse” following the same creative vision. The title describes the exact subject matter, the woman, the “muse” for Leon’s music and art and portrays him in a more romantic light than his previous more reflective writing. The music video is Leon and a single female love interest as he sings her praises. The sunbathing moment is certainly sultry, while a romantic dance between the two under a crystal chandelier paints a picture of a couple in touch with their emotions and completely head over heels. “My Muse” is bright and funky, but without compromising Leon’s soulful voice. Leon is on top of the world right now, as “MUTT” has finally hit the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100, after Billboard changed the recurrent rules for chart eligibility. Many chart nerds have attributed the recent surge of long-charting singles as the reason for the lack of fresh hits reaching higher rankings. This new rule has made songs by Teddy Swims, Morgan Wallen and Benson Boone fall out the charts, allowing both Leon and Olivia Dean to finally crack the top 10. Leon’s timing for this EP works in perfect harmony with the rise of “MUTT” in the Top 10 and his world tour, taking his relevance and visibility to new peaks.

MC’s VIRAL PICK

“Never Knew Love Like This Before” by Stephanie Mills

Stephanie Mills is a Grammy-award winning singer, writer and performer whose talents have taken her to the stages of Broadway in The Wiz, all the way to an arena tour today with Patti Labelle and Chaka Khan. She now can add viral sensation to her list of already impressive job titles as her 1981 hit “Never Knew Love Like This Before” has spurred an entire #StephanieMillsChallenge that is bringing families together through one of the most effective methods of healing, dance of course. The idea is for you and a friend, loved one, colleague, or anyone close enough to you that you have something they want, and for you to promise to give them said thing if they act as your back-up dancer. Whether it’s a pair of jeans, to cook dinner, to have some sexy time or just to do your actual job (lol), it’ll only get done when they dance with you to a hip-hop remix of “Never Knew Love Like This Before”. If only life were that simple! The dance parties I’ve been to over the years with this song on repeat would buy me at least a year’s worth of Domino’s; and if you know me you know that that’s a lot. The trend has grown so big that even the entire cast of the upcoming Ryan Murphy series All’s Fair has joined in. Yes, Kim Kardashian, Glenn Close, Sarah Paulson, Teyana Taylor, Niecy Nash and Naomi Watts all dancing to Stephanie Mills. The ladies join hundreds of thousands of others who have hopped on the trend, earning the song a place on one of Spotify’s biggest viral playlists. Stephanie even posted about it on her own Instagram page. I love seeing a legend get a new round of flowers later in their career, and this icon deserves every single one that has come her way.

@wfh_nurse_baddie
I never knew love like this before #lipsync #stephaniemillschallenge #dance #fyp #viral
♬ original sound - DJ FAZIO

@kimkardashian
@All’s Fair on Hulu #ALLSFAIR @Niecy Nash @Jimmy Neutch #SarahPaulson #GlennClose #NaomiWatts
♬ original sound - DJ FAZIO

@teacher_mohamed01
So should they get homework or not? 🤭😅 #backupdancer #neverknewlovelikethisbefore #fyp #viral #trend @Nicki Minaj
♬ original sound - DJ FAZIO

@adventurousvee
Never knew love like this before with @Britney L. . . #adventurousvee #eatthecaketakethetripusethegoodtowels #viral #taylorswift #neverknewlovelikethisbefore
♬ original sound - DJ FAZIO