Tell Me You Love Me, Sam

My first real exposure to Demi was at a music class for toddlers. Pursuant to a gift card from lots of La Salle Friends, we'd take Maggie to Mister John's Music, located at a stately home in Chestnut Hill. There, the teacher (never Mister John) would lead these one- and two-year-olds through a charming lesson filled with scarfs, maracas, and little drums. All very cute and fun. 

Like a lot of kid stuff, routine was the name of the game; all of the activities were largely the same week-to-week. To keep it fresh for parents, Mister John (or, as happened to me, his surrogates tasked with doing his bidding) featured an artist of the week, and played three or four songs from that artist. Usually, it was contemporary music mainstays—Elvis, the Beatles, Prince, etc. But one week, Demi Lovato got the nod; they had graduated to that echelon of musicians, at least in Mister John's mind (but I wouldn't know because I never met the man). 

During the Demi week, I was surprised at the sadness and bleakness in a lot of their lyrics; apparently, they had some substance abuse troubles and bouts with depression. On acoustic guitar, the songs were simple but stirring. So when Keelan chose Demi—an artist I hadn't explored outside music class—I was curious to find out more (and maybe get some insight into this shrouded figure "Mister John," if he even exists).

My first thought of Demi Lovato's Tell Me You Love Me is that it kind of wants to be a fuck album. But it's such a vanilla version of that. So maybe just a breakup album. While I can recognize why some songs became hits, none really resonated at all. Other tracks even sound like Wayne Brady parodies ("Daddy Issues," "Ruin the Friendship")—all too laughable for me. Vocally, you get a sense that they have ability to belt out some meaningful ballads, but the production here really flattens them out—even when it's just Demi and a guitar or piano.

I'm not exactly sure who this is for (Mister John ?!??!), because the songs are not fun enough to be hits (even though the album did well), and they're not sad enough to be effectively emotive. Also, I don't think the number with Lil Wayne is going down in the pantheon of great duets. Maybe if Mister John had the decency to show up at his own music classes I would connect with Demi. That said, this album fell flat.