Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 16: Demi Lovato

Demetria Devonne Lovato, or Demi Lovato as she is known by her fans, friends and the general public. A future star in the 2000’s, she was thrust into the spotlight at a very young age. Fame at a very young age can make you or break you- it can destroy and warp a person’s psyche beyond belief and beyond reparation, and while we all may be laughing and just shrugging off the effects of fame and the pressure of always being watched as something that comes as part of the package of being a role model for young kids; let me tell you that the long lasting effects of not having much of a childhood can be closer than we all can imagine, fathom and comprehend. In 2018 Demi Lovato had an overdose on drugs. The type of drugs were irrelevant- the fact was that in July 2018 in the middle of her Tell Me You Love Me World tour, she was fighting for her life, broken beyond comprehension and stifled by what she later described as a toxic management relationship. I’m not sure if you know this about me, but I’m not the one to speak ill about anybody especially without any proof or tangible evidence, but when the evidence presented before me is Demi fighting for her life way back in 2018 and her revealing interview with Ashley Graham in 2020 about her plight; well then that gets very real and scary. Truth be told, I wasn’t really much of a Demi Lovato fan, but right now as of this moment, I am definitely a Lovatic. Not to the extent of camping outside of a concert line for hours and hours and hours- that’s crazy talk, however after investigation into Demi’s story and her songs and her passion for making the world a better place; I can definitely say that the world needs to sit up and take notice of this emotional and powerful singer.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 42: LADY ANTEBELLUM

Have you realised that the more and more you try to explore something there’s more and more to discover, and you find out that there’s more that you know that you don’t really know at all? Let me explain for a bit. If you haven’t been around regularly on our website 365DaysofInspiringMedia.com since last year, then let me tell you this- we’ve decided to undertake a series that is bold to say the least, unique and challenging, and a chance to explore music that we as a site may not initially check out from the get-go. Yes, we’ve decided to write a list of our own- 100 Influential Artists of All Time, 50 Up-and-Coming Artists, and 30 Classic Artists, each entry and post discussing a band/artist from one of these categories as we delve deep into the artist, their songs and what it means not only in our lives, but in terms of shaping music, culture and society as a whole. And about a year in, our site has unpacked a lot of artists and their music- from Josh Groban, Avril Lavigne, Casting Crowns, for KING AND COUNTRY, Switchfoot, Rascal Flatts, Tina Arena and Carman, to Maren Morris, Selena Gomez, Zach Williams, Matthew West, Echosmith, Marc Martel and Rachel Platten; this site has been stretched, in a good way, in relation to music and what we believe are such music that have shaped culture to a point where God Himself has shown up in a lot of these songs and has changed our own perceptions about what we believe inspirational and uplifting, challenging and thought-provoking music to be or even to look like. Which brings me to yet another artist I’m about to discuss and delve into today- Lady Antebellum. And yes, you guessed it- another country artist/band. You scratch your head and wonder- why haven’t you discussed a lot of country artists before? Yes, yes I have- artists like Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, The McClymonts, Faith Hill and Martina McBride have all been artists that I have decided to deem worthy of being within the confines of the top 100 influential list, and maybe, just maybe, I’m becoming more and more biased towards country than I was when I first started this blog series. And maybe that’s ok.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 41: GUY SEBASTIAN

I don’t know where you were in the world and what was happening in your life when the year was 2003. I mean, that was 17 years ago, and if I can’t remember sometimes what I did or where I was even last year, then I guess 17 years ago will be a bit of a stretch. But let me refresh your memory about what was happening around that time in the history of…well, everything. Australia won the Cricket World Cup against India by more than 100 runs, while Steve Waugh stopped the news at 6pm on day 1 of the Sydney Test in early 2003 against England, the 5th Test in the Ashes Series that was won 4-1, as he reached a personal milestone of scoring a century within a session. England defeated Australia in extra time in the Rugby World Cup final, while Andre Agassi, Rodger Federer and Andy Roddick won the Australian Open, Wimbeldon and the U.S. Open of 2003, respectively. Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the Governor of California in November, movies like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Matrix Reloaded (and Matrix Revolutions), Finding Nemo, Love Actually, Mystic River, Daredevil, Bend It Like Beckham, Anger Management, Freaky Friday, Mona Lisa Smile, School of Rock and Secondhand Lions, all were unveiled during the year of 2003, while the top honours of Best Movie of 2003 at the Oscars was handed to, rightly so, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Long-running teen drama TV show Dawson’s Creek ended in May 2003, while another teen drama was unveiled on TV in September, One Tree Hill. Switchfoot (The Beautiful Letdown), Newsboys (Adoration), Skillet (Collide), Steven Curtis Chapman (All About Love), Delirious? (World Service), Mandy Moore (Coverage), Train (My Private Nation), Kelly Clarkson (Thankful), Evanescence (Fallen), Delta Goodrem (Innocent Eyes) and Martina McBride (Martina), to name a few; were all actively releasing music in 2003, while we saw major events happen in that particular year as well, from the invasion of Iraq by the U.S. on March 19th, to the release of the predecessor of Facebook, Facesmash, in October 2003. All in all, 2003 was a busy year indeed for a lot of people that have lived it, or can remember it at all. But one thing that I reckon that may have been overlooked by a lot of people who can remember 2003 and all the joys and sorrows that particular year brought to them, is this: Australian Idol debut. Yes the inaugural competition found its way to Australia, and based on the UK format of Pop Idol, this competition, in its many country forms, has swept the globe and has become the catalyst of many careers being kickstarted in music by this singing competition. And so what was the direct result of the first season of Australian Idol, to ever be considered as being a pivotal moment in not only Australian history but history for the entire world? Well, the crowning of singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian as the winner of Australian Idol, Season 1, of course!

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