In Demi Lovato's new song "Melon Cake," the singer references a harrowing experience they had when they were suffering from an eating disorder.
If you watched Demi Lovato's docuseries, Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil, then you already know about the singer's tragic overdose, their miraculous recovery, and their history with drug abuse, as well as their eating disorder. The latter was discussed in an episode in which Demi shares a harrowing memory in which they would get a watermelon cake on their birthday (from their management team) instead of a real cake in order to encourage them to lose weight and/or stay slim.
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This led Demi to write the song "Melon Cake" on their newest album, "Dancing With the Devil...The Art of Starting Over." As Demi turns 29 on Aug. 20, they're celebrating another year of eating real cake with the release of the music video for "Melon Cake." But how did "Melon Cake" come to be and what exactly does it mean?
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What does Demi Lovato's "Melon Cake" song mean?
Demi Lovato's new song "Melon Cake" was sadly inspired by all the times they were forced to eat watermelon instead of cake on birthdays in order to avoid gaining weight. However, Demi now feels empowered to eat whatever they want — whether it's on their birthday or a regular day. "And now I'm sayin' no more melon cakes on birthdays," Demi sings in the song. Demi's best friend, Scott Montgomery, shared that Demi celebrated with three birthday cakes in 2020.
"I watched [Demi] in real-time realize that that was something [they] could do and it was really beautiful," Scott shared in the docuseries.
Demi said, "That's the best part about my life today is that I'm in control of it. What I eat is my decision. What I don't eat is my decision. What I do is my decision and I'm really, really grateful of the team that I have today."
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Demi has been pretty open about having an eating disorder and has had an up-and-down relationship with their body — due to the pressures to look a certain way. Last year, Demi admitted that, even though they had initially thought they were on a healthier path with their body (Demi shared that they had overcome bulimia disorder), Demi was actually still suffering from body images issues.
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“I thought the past few years was recovery from an eating disorder when it actually was just completely falling into it,” Demi told Ashley Graham on her podcast, Pretty Big Deal. Demi added, "And I just realized that maybe my symptoms weren’t as obvious as before, but it was definitely an eating issue.”
Demi explained to Ashley that they had developed an addiction to working out, saying, "There were times I lived at the gym. I’d eat a meal, go work out. And that’s not happiness to me. That’s not freedom.” Demi believes that the overdose was partly caused by this unhealthy attitude about their body.
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“I was just running myself into the ground, and I honestly think that that’s kind of what led to everything happening over the past year. It was just me thinking I found recovery when I didn’t, and then living this kind of lie and trying to tell the world I was happy with myself when I really wasn’t," Demi said.
We're so happy that Demi has been working toward a healthier and happier relationship with their body and that they feel free to eat all the cake they want.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline at 1-800-931-2237.
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