Demi Lovato has a busy schedule but knows she needs to make herself a priority.
The 21-year-old X Factor judge is on the right track after a few rough years. The all-grown-up child star has talked publicly about her battle with depression, cutting and bulimia, but her new self-help book, Staying Strong (Feiwel and Friends) is not about all that.
“It’s not the type of thing you read in one sitting,” says Lovato of the book which premieres as No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller List in the Advice, How To, & Miscellaneous category on Monday. “I feel like I have a long story to tell, but I’m just not ready to write it. This is something else to inspire my fans.”
Staying Strong contains 365 inspirational quotes and passages to basically help anyone get through the day. “We live in a such a fast paced society; we don’t take the time for ourselves,” says Lovato. “If you can just set aside 10 minutes in the morning and read a page, it can really change your outlook, especially if you wake up grumpy or you’re in a crappy mood.”
The former Sonny With A Chance star isn’t only cleansing herself spiritually but physically, too.
“I like to work out and do things for myself — a lot of self-care,” she says. “I see a chiropractor once or twice a week to keep my body aligned. It makes me feel better. I take my vitamins and started eating gluten-free and a lot of organic, even raw food, something I used to laugh at.”
The Skyscraper singer will definitely be getting a workout when she hits the stage at Y100’s Jingle Ball 2013 at the BB&T Center Dec. 20, along with such showbiz pals as Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke, Austin Mahone, Ariana Grande, Enrique Iglesias, Flo Rida and Jason Derulo.
Don’t ask for a set list yet or even if any collaborative efforts are involved.
“I have so much going on right now that I don’t know,” she says. “I may do a spur of the moment duet or bring a special guest on.” Among those other things going on: Judging The X Factor. On Thursday night, Lovato was dealt a huge blow when the two singers in her category — female solo singers ages 12-24 (Rion Paige and Ellona Santiago) — were eliminated.
Lovato had high hopes for the two.
“Ellona is literally like a little Christina Aguilera with so much charisma and such a powerful voice,” she raved. “And Ryan is so incredibly with such a mature voice.”
Disappointing young talent is tough, and Lovato knows first hand how crushing rejection can be. In the future, would she advise her own daughter to go into showbiz?
“I learned the spotlight probably wasn’t the best thing for me growing up,” the Texan admitted. “It was a confusing time with a lot of pressure. I wish I would have stuck to taking vocal lessons and guitar lessons and researching music.”
But there was an upside.
“When I was bullied and going through horrible depression, the entertainment industry kept me sane and kept me excited and encouraged me to live out my dreams.”
