Demi Lovato gives rousing performance of new song 'Anyone' at Grammys

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Published on January 26, 2020 10:55PM EST

Demi Lovato debuted her new song “Anyone” at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night, marking her first live performance since she was hospitalized for a drug overdose in July 2018.

Introduced by Little Women director Greta Gerwig and accompanied only by a pianist on stage, Lovato delivered a rousing, emotional rendition of the song, which features personal lyrics such as “I feel stupid when I sing / Nobody’s listening to me. Nobody’s listening/ I talked to shooting stars but they always get it wrong / I feel stupid when I pray. So why am I praying anyways?”

Her powerful voice and earnest delivery earned a standing ovation from the audience.

“Anyone” comes as Lovato’s first new music since 2018. It was previously reported that the songstress would perform a brand-new single that she wrote before her overdose. While recuperating in the hospital, Lovato is said to have decided the track would be the first thing she’d sing after recovery.

The song also dropped on Apple Music ahead of Lovato’s performance. Before premiering the song Sunday, Lovato spoke to Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1 about the track, saying it was written and recorded just four days before her hospitalization.

“I was recording it in a state of mind where I felt I was okay, but clearly I wasn’t,” Lovato said. “I even listen back to it and I’m like, ‘Gosh, I wish I could go back in time and help that version of myself.’”

She recalled thinking while in the hospital, “If I ever come back, I want to sing this song.”

Lovato announced that she would be performing at the Grammys in an Instagram post in early January: “I told you the next time you’d hear from me I’d be singing.”

Aside from speaking at the Teen Vogue Summit in November, Lovato has maintained a low profile of late. During the interview, the “Confident” singer said she was feeling strong after her near-fatal ordeal.

“What I see in the mirror [is] someone that’s overcome a lot. I’ve been through a lot and I genuinely see a fighter,” Lovato said. “I don’t see a championship winner, but I see a fighter and someone who is going to continue to fight no matter what is thrown in their way.”

Lovato also revealed that a new album is on the way, but she’s not in a hurry to release it.

“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, so when the time is right to release new music, I will put it out there,” she said. “Genuinely I just want people to remember that I’m a singer. I think that a lot of the things I’ve been through kind of outshined my successes in the music industry or acting now. I just want people to remember that that’s what I want to give to the world so please focus on that and not the other things.”

In just a week, Lovato will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl LIV, following in the footsteps of singers like Whitney Houston and Beyoncé.

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