Don't Forget (song)

"Don't Forget"
Single by Demi Lovato
from the album Don't Forget
Released	April 2009
Genre	Glam rock
Length	3:44
Label	Hollywood
Writer(s)	Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas, Kevin Jonas II, Nick Jonas
Producer	John Fields, Jonas Brothers
Demi Lovato singles chronology
"La La Land" (2008) "Don't Forget" (2009) "Here We Go Again" (2009)

"Don't Forget" is a song performed by American singer–songwriter Demi Lovato. It was written by Lovato along with the Jonas Brothers, who produced the song with John Fields, for Lovato's debut studio album of the same name (2008). The song's inspiration came from Lovato falling in love with someone who later left her. According to Lovato, it is one of the songs on the album that she most relates to. Musically, "Don't Forget" is a midtempo glam rock ballad that features Lovato singing with breathy falsetto vocals. It was released as the album's third and final single in April 2009 through Hollywood Records.

The song received generally positive reviews from critics, who noted the transition from her "tween sound" to more mature material. The song achieved moderate commercial success, reaching number forty-one on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Lovato's highest peaking solo single at the time. The single also reached number seventy-six on the Canadian Hot 100. The accompanying music video was directed by Robert Hales. Different video treatments had been written for the clip, but Lovato rejected them as she wanted to do it her way. The video shows several scenes of her performing with her band in the rain. Lovato has performed the song numerous times, including on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Background and composition

"Don't Forget" was written by Lovato along with the Jonas Brothers, who produced it with John Fields.^[2] The song features Dorian Crozier and Michael Bland on drums, and Fields on bass, guitars and keyboards.^[2] Nick Jonas also played the guitar on the song.^[2] The song is registered as "Did You Forget" with the Broadcast Music, Inc.^[3] Lovato has stated that "Don't Forget" is one of the songs on the album that she relates to the most, and that she felt "a lot of emotion while recording it".^[4] In an interview with PopEater, she elaborated, "Everyone goes through the experience of falling in love, but then the other person just walks away, and goes somewhere else. I went through an experience like that and wanted to write about it. I got over it, and now a year later I don't have those feelings about that person anymore."^[5]

"Don't Forget" is a midtempo glam rock ballad sung with vulnerable and breathy vocals in a falsetto tone.^[1][6] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in common time with a metronome of 92 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of E major and Lovato's vocal range spans from the note of C♯₄ to the note of E₅.^[7] The song includes a "rocking" instrumental and a heavy guitar break.^[6][8] Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic compared the track to songs by Green Day.^[1] Lyrically, "Don't Forget" is about one of Lovato's old love interests who left her just as she was falling in love with him.^[5] The theme is demonstrated in lyrical lines such as, "Did you forget that I was even alive? Did you forget everything we ever had?"^[1]

Reception

Lovato performing "Don't Forget" during An Evening with Demi Lovato

Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic included "Don't Forget" on his "Top 10 from the Disney girls" list at number two, and wrote, "She really sells this epic glam-rock ballad with her choked-up vocals, [...] She wrote it with the Jonas Brothers, one of whom has clearly been enjoying Green Day's latest work. But truthfully, this would have been among the more compelling anthems on '21st Century Breakdown'."^[1] Judy Coleman of The Boston Globe wrote, "Lovato has already mastered the limited range of skills required of today's pop starlets: the vulnerable-kitten verse, the banshee-shriek chorus, the stiffly sexy whispered asides. She rhymes “we used to be so strong” and “our love is like a song” without irony."^[9] Michael Menachem of Billboard wrote that Lovato, like Miley Cyrus before her, "has also stepped away briefly from the tween sound with her album's title track, 'Don't Forget'."^[6] Menachem wrote, "She may be reaching a new level with a poised vocal performance, as she too is looking to be taken seriously."^[6] Joey Guerra of The Houston Chronicle called the track an "age-appropriate blueprint laid out by Hilary Duff and [Miley] Cyrus".^[8]

Due to strong digital sales when the album was released, "Don't Forget" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number sixty-eight on the issue dated October 11, 2008, and fell off the chart the following week.^[10] On the issue dated April 4, 2009, it re-entered the chart at number eighty-four.^[11] The song steadily ascended the chart for three weeks, before eventually reaching a peak of number forty-one on its fifth week on the chart.^[12] The song was Lovato's best performing solo single on the chart until "Here We Go Again" reached number fifteen on the issue dated August 8, 2009.^[12] In Canada, "Don't Forget" debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number eighty-two on the issue dated May 2, 2009.^[13] The next week, it reached seventy-six, which became its peak.^[14] The song also reached number sixty-two on the now defunct Pop 100 chart.^[15]

Music video

The music video for "Don't Forget" was directed by Robert Hales.^[16] According to Lovato, different video treatments had been written, but she rejected them as she wanted to come up with the idea herself. She said, "They had treatments [for the video], but I was just like, 'No, scratch them.' I want to come up with the idea. I want to show you the colors, I want to show you everything. This is art to me and I don't want it to be somebody else's decision."^[17] The video premiered on March 16, 2009 via Lovato's Myspace account.^[18] It was later made available for digital download on the iTunes Store on April 7, 2009.^[19] In an interview with PopEater, Lovato said of the video,

"It was actually really freezing cold [in the rain]. You could see your breath. And I was in the rain for only a short time – my whole band was out there for an hour-and-a-half. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do on a shoot. But it went by so quickly. I had a body suit on underneath my clothes, so there's a little fun fact for you. I was trying not to break my focus pretty much the entire shoot, because I was really in that zone – thinking a lot about the position I was in a year ago... thinking about the situation and how much I wanted to get all that emotion off my chest."^[5]

Steve Helling of People magazine wrote that Lovato shows her mature side in the video, saying that "it's hard not to notice that the 16-year-old Camp Rock star is growing up."^[18] The video begins in a tour bus with Lovato's band. She is seen sitting next to a window in the back of the bus, where she precedes to sing the first lines. As the song progresses, she walks out of the bus in the rain, holding an umbrella. She walks out of the parking lot and into an amusement park, where she stands in front of a carousel in the rain as she continues to sing. After the second chorus, Lovato and her band perform in the rain with the water altering colors in the background. As the last verse approaches, she is back on the tour bus. A single tear rolls down her cheek and the video ends.

Live performances

Lovato performing "Don't Forget" during the Summer Tour 2009

Lovato performed "Don't Forget" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 14, 2009.^[20] Also in April 2009, the song was performed as part of the iTunes Live from London series. The full performances were released as an iTunes Store-exclusive extended play featuring recorded live versions of the tracks.^[21] In May 2009, Lovato performed the song at a Walmart concert, which was later released as part of a live album entitled Demi Lovato: Live: Walmart Soundcheck (2009). The release featured recorded live versions of the performers on a CD, and the full performances on a DVD.^[22]

During the summer of 2008, Lovato performed the song on the Jonas Brothers' Burnin' Up Tour, for which she served as the opening act.^[23] Later in 2009, the song was performed during her first headlining tour, Summer Tour 2009.^[24] While reviewing a show in Glendale, Arizona, Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic wrote that the song "survived the transformation to an unplugged ballad, making the most of Lovato's most vulnerable vocal performance of the night."^[24] In 2010, she performed the song during her South American tour.^[25] Lovato also performed the song during her set at the Jonas Brothers Live in Concert World Tour 2010.^[26] Scott Mervis of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that Lovato performed a "high-energy, high-volume" version of the song.^[26] In September 2011, Lovato performed the song during the revue concert An Evening with Demi Lovato.^[27]

Credits and personnel

• Demi Lovato – writer, vocals
• Kevin Jonas II – writer
• Nick Jonas – writer, guitars, percussion
• Dorian Crozier – drums
• Michael Bland – drums
• John Fields – bass, guitars, keyboards, programming, producer
• Joe Jonas – writer
• Jonas Brothers – producers

Source^[2]

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14]	76
US Billboard Hot 100[12]	41
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[15]	62

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Masley, Ed (September 21, 2009). "Top 10 from the Disney girls". The Arizona Republic (Gannett Company). http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2009/09/21/20090921disneyhotlist.html. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} (2008) Album notes for Don't Forget by Demi Lovato [CD]. United States: Hollywood.
3. ^ "Did You Forget (Legal Title)". Broadcast Music, Inc. http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&keyid=10189253&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID. Retrieved July 19, 2011. 
4. ^ Lovato, Demi (September 2008) (video). In Tune with Demi Lovato (TV). Disney Channel. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Milne, Carly (April 15, 2009). "Demi Lovato Opens Up About New Album, Past Heartbreak". PopEater (AOL Inc). http://www.popeater.com/2009/04/15/demi-lovato-opens-up-about-new-album-past-heartbreak/. Retrieved July 19, 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Menachem, Michael (April 25, 2009). "Demi Lovato – Don't Forget". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 121 (16): p. 38. http://books.google.com/books?id=QdKeU1ZYfwsC&lpg=PT36&dq=demi%20lovato%20don't%20forget&pg=PT36#v=onepage&q=demi%20lovato%20don't%20forget&f=false. Retrieved July 21, 2011. 
7. ^ "Demi Lovato – Don't Forget Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Guerra, Joey (September 22, 2008). "Fall brings fresh crop of music from female acts". The Houston Chronicle (Hearst Corporation). http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/6016442.html. Retrieved July 21, 2011. 
9. ^ Coleman, Judy (September 23, 2008). "At sweet 16, Lovato's ready for her close-up". The Boston Globe (The New York Times Company). http://articles.boston.com/2008-09-23/ae/29273926_1_demi-lovato-pop-newcomer-song. Retrieved April 25, 2011. 
10. ^ "Hot 100 – Week of October 11, 2008". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/hot-100?chartDate=2008-10-11&order=gainer. Retrieved July 19, 2011. 
11. ^ "Hot 100 – Week of April 4, 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/hot-100?chartDate=2009-04-04&order=gainer. Retrieved July 19, 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b c} "Demi Lovato Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Demi Lovato. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
13. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Week of May 2, 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/canadian-hot-100?chartDate=2009-05-02&order=gainer. Retrieved July 19, 2011. 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Demi Lovato Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Demi Lovato. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
15. ^ ^{a b} "Demi Lovato – Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/demi-lovato-p1063095/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved July 21, 2011. 
16. ^ "Don't Forget | Demi Lovato". MTV. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/videos/demi-lovato/370892/dont-forget.jhtml. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
17. ^ Moser, John J (June 22, 2009). "Disney singing sensation Demi Lovato ready for new album, first tour as headliner". The Victoria Advocate (Victoria Advocate Publishing Co.). http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2009/jun/22/bc-mus-demilovatoaa-_-entertainment/?entertainment&national-entertainment. Retrieved July 20, 2011. 
18. ^ ^{a b} Helling, Steve (March 17, 2009). "Demi Lovato Shows Her Mature Side in New Video". People (Time, Inc). http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20266145,00.html. Retrieved July 18, 2011. 
19. ^ "Don't Forget by Demi Lovato". iTunes Store. Apple, Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/us/music-video/dont-forget/id309690436. Retrieved July 18, 2011. 
20. ^ "Demi Lovato Performs! Plus, Win Tickets to Her Tour!". The Ellen DeGeneres Show (AOL Inc.). April 14, 2009. http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2009/04/demi_lovato_performs_dont_forg.php. Retrieved August 30, 2011. 
21. ^ "iTunes Live from London – EP by Demi Lovato". iTunes Store. Apple, Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/itunes-live-from-london-ep/id317435961. Retrieved August 30, 2011. 
22. ^ "Live-Walmart Soundcheck: Demi Lovato". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WDEZN6. Retrieved August 30, 2011. 
23. ^ Willmott, Tracey (August 20, 2008). "Jonas Brothers make it a night to remember". The Buffalo News (Berkshire Hathaway). 
24. ^ ^{a b} Masley, Ed (July 10, 2009). "Demi Lovato works magic in Glendale". The Arizona Republic (Gannett Company). http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2009/07/10/20090710demilovato.html. Retrieved August 30, 2011. 
25. ^ Porto, Henrique (May 28, 2010). "Demi Lovato faz show 'interativo' em primeira apresentação solo no Rio" (in Portuguese). G1 (Organizações Globo). http://g1.globo.com/pop-arte/noticia/2010/05/demi-lovato-faz-show-interativo-em-primeira-apresentacao-solo-no-rio.html. Retrieved August 30, 2011. 
26. ^ ^{a b} Mervis, Scott (August 11, 2010). "Jonas Brothers give crowd their screams worth". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Block Communications). http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10223/1079485-388.stm. Retrieved August 30, 2011. 
27. ^ Caramanica, Jon (September 18, 2011). "After Disney, After Rehab, a Singer Tries Growing Up". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/arts/music/demi-lovatos-unbroken-review.html. Retrieved October 4, 2011.