Unbroken is the third studio album by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on September 20, 2011, by Hollywood Records. Primarily a pop record, Lovato described the album as "more mature" and with more R&B elements than her previous material, citing Rihanna as the major influence. While some of the album's lyrical content was heavily influenced by Lovato's personal struggles, it also deals with lighter subjects, such as love and self empowerment. Contributions to the album's production came from a wide range of producers, including Toby Gad, Ryan Tedder, Timbaland, Jim Beanz and Rock Mafia.
Lovato initially began recording her third studio album in 2010 before going on tour with the Jonas Brothers on their Live in Concert Tour. After withdrawing from the tour to seek treatment for physical and emotional issues, Lovato continued work on the album and described the recording process as therapeutic. She collaborated with artists such as Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Dev, Iyaz, and Jason Derulo on several tracks. Commercially, Unbroken peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, with sales exceeding 97,000 copies in its first week of release, and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album also performed well internationally, peaking in the top 40 in several countries worldwide. It was certified platinum in Brazil, and gold in Chile and the Philippines.
Unbroken received mixed reviews from music critics, with some commending its ballad tracks, empowering message and Lovato's vocals, whereas others criticized its number of "party songs" and found the album to be immature. "Skyscraper" was released the lead single from Unbroken in July 2011, peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, making it Lovato's third highest-charting single to date, behind "This Is Me" and her most successful until "Sorry Not Sorry" peaked at number six in 2017. The song was well received by critics, who felt it to be a highlight on the album. "Give Your Heart a Break" was released as the second and final single from Unbroken in January 2012, which peaked at number sixteen in the United States and has since been certified 4× platinum by the RIAA. Lovato promoted the album with several radio and television guest appearances, her second headlining tour A Special Night with Demi Lovato, and the MTV television documentary Demi Lovato: Stay Strong.
Background and development After the release of her second studio album, Here We Go Again (2009), Lovato was dedicated to her acting career, appearing on the Disney Channel television series Sonny with a Chance and television film Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. In July 2010, Lovato began working on her third album and recorded the first track with producer Dapo Torimiro. The same month, Lovato said the album was "creating a new sound", it would be "fun. A little more R&B/pop." Later, in conversation with AHN, she quoted Rihanna and Keri Hilson as influences. At the time, Lovato revealed she had not rushed the album, stating: "Every other album I haven’t had time to really take my time and craft it like I really wanted to do because I was finding spare time between a television show, and movies, and touring, and then all over again. I've worked on [the album] for the past year and really gone hard over the past few months, but you can definitely tell that I took my time with this record."
In August 2010, Lovato began touring with the Jonas Brothers on their Jonas Brothers Live in Concert Tour with the cast of Camp Rock 2. That November, Lovato left the tour in order to enter a treatment facility for "emotional and physical issues". She completed inpatient treatment in January 2011 and returned to the recording studio for her third studio album until February. In April 2011, Lovato announced that she would not return to Sonny with a Chance, stating that she was choosing to focus on music and would return to acting when she felt confident doing so. In July, Lovato described the album as "more mature" than her previous sound and more fun and light than her first single, "Skyscraper", while other tracks are more intense. Lovato announced the title of the album as Unbroken in August and explained: "I thought that the title really matched how I am today; I'm unbroken and I'm standing strong."
Production and recording Lovato recorded Unbroken in sessions at Westlake Recording Studios, Dreamlab Studios, Chalice Studios, Strawberrybee Studios, Dining Room Studios and Kite Studios all located in Los Angeles, California; she also recorded at Patriot Studios in Denver, Colorado, Rock Mafia Studios in Santa Monica, California, The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, Florida, and Sunset Sound Studio in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Discussing the album's recording in interview with Seventeen magazine, Lovato stated: "I love being back in the studio! It's been very therapeutic to be able to express my feelings and talk about who I really am, through my music. It also helps that I've been lucky enough to work with such talented people on the record so far! With my new album, I'm hoping to provide inspiration for girls everywhere who are going through the same issues I've faced. I think this will come through in a lot of the material."
Around 20 tracks were recorded and speaking about the album to E! in July 2011, Lovato said people could expect to hear her sing "about some issues that I've never even spoken about before" and also revealed: "There are some [topics] on there that are very deep and it's really out there. For the rest of it, there are a lot of songs that are dancier and a lot more R&B vocals," one of which she confirmed as a duet with an R&B singer. She also worked with Dreamlab, who produced the title track, "Hold Up" and "Mistake". The songs were recorded at Dreamlab Studios in Los Angeles, California and mixed by Serban Ghenea, with assistance from Phil Seaford, in Virginia Beach, Virginia at MixStar Studios. John Hanes was attributed with engineering for the songs. Lovato also worked with Rock Mafia, Ryan Tedder, and Kara DioGuardi on several tracks. About working with Lovato, Tedder commented: "Demi blew me out of the water vocally! I had no idea how good her voice is. She's one of the best singers I've ever worked with. Literally, that good... I mean, she's a Kelly Clarkson-level vocalist. And Kelly has a set of pipes." He also explained that the song they co-wrote together is much more upbeat than "Skyscraper", stating: "I think everybody wanted to hear her talk about that, and this is basically flipping it 180, saying, 'Oh, by the way, I'm still also just young and want to have fun.' There's even like a little rap feature on it." In sessions with Tedder, Lovato recorded various songs but only one was included on Unbroken, "Who's That Boy". Commenting about the song, Lovato described it as "flirty, it's sexy, it's exciting and I love it."
Record producer Timbaland wanted to record with Lovato after he heard her voice; he felt impressed and curious to work with the singer and began to write songs in an acoustic guitar. Lovato then met Timbaland at his camp where they discussed the album's direction, Lovato stated she wanted created a more "urban" sound. They met each other again at Westlake Recording Studios, where they developed several songs, including "Lightweight" and "All Night Long". The R&B singer Missy Elliott was introduced in the production after listened the sessions for "All Night Long", Elliott asked if she could rap on the song. Lovato agreed saying "Of course, that's not even a question." The singer Jason Derulo was invited to record "Together" while he was in Miami, Florida. In interview with MTV he explained how the collaboration came: "I'm very rarely in Miami and I live in Miami, but before the time I was there, I was there like six months prior and then I haven't been there for a long, long time. But I guess she knew that I lived in Miami. A mutual friend called me and was like, 'Hey, we're at the studio, Demi wanted to get in with you if you were around." Derulo recorded his verses during the middle of the night at The Hit Factory Criteria.
Toby Gad and Lindy Robbins also contributed to the album's co-writing "Skyscraper" with Estonian singer Kerli Kõiv. Initially, Lovato recorded "Skyscraper" in Studio City, Los Angeles in 2010. During recording sessions, Lovato was "doubled over, just in pain." After completing her treatment on January 28, 2011, Lovato re-recorded the song, but decided to keep the original recording because she felt that her voice had changed, although noting that her voice was "weaker" when Lovato originally recorded. Gad also produced "My Love Is Like a Star" and "For the Love of a Daughter", the second song was originally recorded as a pop rock song and intended to appear in Lovato's second album, Here We Go Again, released in 2009. Although not planning to write a personal song, a "really long talk" with Beckett resulted in the song being written. However, Lovato and her management felt that the song's subject would be too much for her young audience. After completing the album's recording, Lovato said: "Making the album was a personal journey for me; it was kind of like a roller coaster, I was going through so much over the past year, but at the end of it I just wanted to inspire people and just give them music to have fun dancing to and listening to, and hopefully I accomplished that."
Composition
In terms of music, Unbroken explores uptempo R&B songs and electronic genres in contrast with emotional and personal ballads. Lyrically, the album presents more "mature" themes about relationships in comparison to its predecessors Don't Forget and Here We Go Again, being described as an "evolution" and next chapter in Lovato's career. In interview with Billboard, Lovato explained the variety of sounds present in its production: "Ultimately it's pop, but I have songs that are really dance-like, songs that are more R&B, and songs like 'Skyscraper' that are not really R&B at all. And so it just depends on the song." A great part of the album is set in a time signature, however, "Lightweight" and "Fix a Heart" are composed in compound time. The album opens with R&B tracks, each song features appearance from an artist. The opening track "All Night Long" features rapped verses from Missy Elliot. The song incorporates Timbaland's characteristic beats, Lovato sings over a pumping beat, beatbox vocals and guitar riff. Describing the song, Lovato stated: "It's about staying up all night long and singing it to the boy that you like, and it's flirty and fun and it's not too grown-up, but it's grown-up enough." "Who's That Boy" features syncopated groove and synthesizers, the song featuring guest appearance from Dev. "You're My Only Shorty" contain a repetitive chorus sung by Iyaz, the song is backed by synths. The fourth track "Together" is a duet with the singer Jason Derulo, its midtempo R&B song backed by guitar chords, Lyrically, the song delivers an inspirational message about how we can change the world if we come "together".