Dancing With the Devil…The Art of Starting Over

Dancing with the Devil ... the Art of Starting Over is the seventh studio album by American singer Demi Lovato, released on April 2, 2021, by Island Records. The album follows a period of time out of the spotlight for Lovato after being hospitalized for a drug overdose in 2018. The project was recorded alongside a docu-series by YouTube Originals titled Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, which documents Lovato's recovery and self-discovery.
Multiple versions of the album were made available to pre-order, including alternate artworks, bundles and a Target-exclusive edition with bonus tracks. An expanded edition of the album was released digitally including three bonus tracks. Dancing with the Devil ... the Art of Starting Over was also delayed in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it is preceded by three singles: her comeback single "Anyone", "What Other People Say" with Sam Fischer, and "Dancing with the Devil". Ariana Grande, Saweetie, and Noah Cyrus are featured on the standard version of the album, while Sam Smith and Marshmello are featured on the digital expanded edition of the album.
Background and development
Following the release of Lovato's previous studio album Tell Me You Love Me (2017), she took a hiatus from her career following her 2018 hospitalization and subsequent treatment for a drug overdose. In May 2019, Lovato revealed she had signed with a new manager, Scooter Braun, and confirmed to Teen Vogue the following November that new music was coming, stating "I didn't say when — now I'm just teasing you. It's important to remember that I am so cautious this time around of jumping back into things. I've really decided to take my time with things. When the time is right, I will put it out there. I am dying to release new music ... but everything in due time." Lovato made her first musical appearance since her hiatus with a performance of single "Anyone" at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in January 2020. Through 2020 Lovato released further stand-alone solo singles "I Love Me" and "Still Have Me" and collaborations "I'm Ready" with Sam Smith and "OK Not to Be OK" with Marshmello. Lovato also released "Commander in Chief" as a political ballad ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Planned for release in 2020, Lovato's seventh studio album was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lovato's first music release of 2021 was the single "What Other People Say" in collaboration with Australian singer Sam Fischer. The release and title of Dancing with the Devil ... the Art of Starting Over was subsequently announced on March 16, 2021. Lovato explained that the original title was just The Art of Starting Over, but she then decided to give it a double title to reflect the importance of "the darker opening songs" on the album. During a livestream on the audio-chat app Clubhouse, Lovato explained about the album, "If you listen to it track by track, if you follow the track listing, it's kind of actually like the non-official soundtrack to the documentary. Because it really does follow my life over the past couple of years. When we went through the track listing and kind of mapped out how it kind of coincided with my life's story, it made sense to add the more emotional stuff in the beginning and then transition into 'The Art of Starting Over'". Lovato also revealed three collaborations with female artists on the album: Ariana Grande, Saweetie, and Noah Cyrus.
A promotional website was launched for the album, where its artwork and pre-save link was released on March 16, 2021. The album serves as a companion piece to Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, a YouTube Originals docu series, which began release on March 23, 2021. Both projects focus on Lovato's near fatal 2018 overdose for the first time, while also exploring her life and path to healing in the time since.