Demi Lovato brings more than just her vocals on tour

After Demi Lovato released her newest album, “Tell Me You Love Me,” most of her fans were waiting for her to announce her next tour. The album was released in Sept. 2017 and she announced her tour in Jan. 2018 via Instagram.

Lovato has been extremely honest about the struggles she has grown up with. She is very real and raw with her fans. In her documentary, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, she speaks about what she has been through and how she has overcome the challenges in her life. Many of Lovato’s songs are about her life and it is a way to share what she has been through with her fans.

On March 15, Lovato sent a message to her fans via Twitter that said, “Today is a very special day for me… I’m officially celebrating six years of sobriety!! I’m so thankful to my family, friends and Cast Centers for being a part of this journey. A huge part of my recovery was learning to love myself and to give back to others.”

Throughout Lovato’s career, she has struggled with a drug and alcohol addiction. When she went into rehab in 2011, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Lovato is now a co-owner of Cast Centers , the rehabilitation center that she was a previously a patient.

According to Addiction Center, ” Over 20 million Americans over the age of 12 have an addiction.”

During her “Tell Me You Love Me” tour, she put her fans mental health first. Lovato’s concert did not just focus on the release of her new album, but the mental health of her fans as well. She announced that not only was Kehlani and DJ Khalid on tour with her, but so was Cast Centers. Cast on Tour was a way to help try to de-stigmatize mental health issues.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “An estimated 2.8 percent of United States adults had bipolar disorder in the past year.”

Lovato speaking up about her mental illness lets her fans know that they are not alone if they also struggle with a mental illness. Not only does she speak about her struggles with bipolar disorder but she brings help to her fans that might not have been able to get any by themselves.

“I think Demi announcing that Cast on Tour was traveling with her is amazing. She is not just telling others that they can get help she also brought the help to them,” Maria Merino, a sophomore education major, said.

The mission of Cast on Tour, according to Cast Centers is, “To promote wellness and healthful living free of addictions and other mental health issues; to raise public awareness of addiction and other mental health issues; and to promote cultural changes to de-stigmatize mental health issues and allow such issues to be accepted and addressed by those affected, their families and other in a manner similar to non-mental health issues.”

According to Lovato, Cast on Tour is a chance for those who are struggling with an addiction or mental illness to listen to speakers talk about their personal journeys. After listening to these stories, hopefully, some are inspired and motivated to overcome their setbacks. This is to help others feel empowered to start living the life they have always wanted.

“Demi is totally an inspiration. Her undeniable strength and everything she stands for is admirable,” Merino said

When people go to concerts, they go for the entertainment. Even though Lovato’s tour was for entertainment purposes, she had an important message behind it. She decided to use her platform to reach out to her fans and offer them help if they needed it.

“I think it is amazing how she is using her past experience and fame to better the lives of others,” Marlena Prisco, sophomore education major, said.

Before she performed her song Warrior, which is about her overcoming the challenges in her life and coming out the other side, Lovato gave a speech to the crowd telling them that they can overcome any challenges that they have in their lives and that they are warriors too.

“There are so many fans that I meet that tell me they have an eating disorder or an addiction or a mental illness and I just want you guys to know whatever you are going through no matter how hard it gets sometimes you can overcome it. Do not be afraid to ask for help. With that being said I know there is a warrior in all of you,” Lovato said.