Demi Lovato announces a 10-date U.S. concert tour

When Demi Lovato quit the Jonas Brothers' tour abruptly last October to seek treatment for personal issues, the idea that she'd be out on a tour of her own a year later seemed unlikely at best. But the former "Sonny With a Chance" star is doing just that, Camp Demi announced Friday.

Lovato's 10-date U.S. mini-tour will start in Detroit on Nov. 16 before she heads to Connecticut and Pennsylvania. She'll also stop in Kansas City, Mo., New Orleans, St. Louis, Atlanta and Chicago. And tucked in the middle of all that? Two shows in her home state, Texas, in Houston and just outside of Dallas, where she was born.

"Hope to see everyone soon on tour!!," the 21-year-old said Friday on Twitter. Alas, though tickets go on sale Oct. 14, folks in Southern California will have to wait a little longer to see her closer to home.

Lovato, who's been doing the rounds with her newest song, "Skyscraper" -- watch the "Dancing With the Stars" performance below -- took her life apart and rebuilt it after last year's meltdown, which included punching a backup dancer while on tour. During 90 days at an in-patient treatment facility in Illinois, she dealt with emotional and physical issues including eating disorders, cutting and bipolar disorder.

After returning home in January, she announced her decision to leave her Disney Channel show "Sonny" and focus on music. She sat down with The Times in September to discuss her reinvention, her new album "Unbroken" and the track "Skyscraper" in particular.

"I wanted to come out of the gate with this song, because a lot of people were expecting me to talk about what I've been through the past year," Lovato said. "I want my music to do the explaining."

 

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Photo: Demi Lovato in Burbank in September. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

MTV VMAs: Lady Gaga dines, Shia LaBeouf sees 'Red'

Lady Gaga and other musical heavyweights have been lighting up Los Angeles this weekend at pre-parties for Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards.

Lady Gaga hosted a private dinner Friday at the Beverly in West Hollywood, welcoming Mary J. Blige, rapper Nas and "The X Factor" host Nicole Scherzinger.

The performer greeted her guests in a massive diamond bib, plunging red jumpsuit, beehive and sunglasses. The dinner was prepared by chef Ken Lee, and Ciroc offered a  Berry Bad Romance house cocktail to lubricate the evening.

Across town in Hollywood, Cafe Entourage played host to a party in honor of Drake. Joe Jonas made the ladies swoon, as did Jake Pavelka, Spencer Falls and Joe Slaughter.

Gaga's go-to choreographer, Laurie Ann Gibson, circulated among singers Kimberley Locke and Kristine Elezaj, while guests sampled XBox's latest, Just Dance 2 and Gears of War 3. As the evening progressed, folks headed a few blocks away to the Box, a pop-up of the New York City nightlife venue.

A scruffy Shia LaBeouf and his girlfriend, Karolyn Pho, came to party within the Paul & André space, in celebration of Project Red's collaboration with Belvedere vodka. Chelsea Handler, Jon Hamm, Marilyn Manson and Alessandra Ambrosio also attended.

On Saturday, Demi Lovato performed at Perez Hilton's One Night in Los Angeles concert, hosted by Carrera. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick enjoyed date night at the Wiltern show while Gavin DeGraw seemed in good spirits backstage, despite his recent beating in New York City.

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Photo: Shia LaBeouf at the Box pop-up in Hollywood. Credit: Getty Images.

Do Something Awards get done with Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber [Pictures]

Plenty was accomplished at the Do Something Awards on Sunday: A comeback performance from Demi Lovato, a healthy dose of Justin Bieber, a hosting dry-run for Emmys emcee-to-be Jane Lynch and some honoring of charitable youth all went down in Hollywood during the ceremony.

The Do Something Awards, hosted again by "Glee" star Lynch, brought celebrities out to celebrate a young generation of leaders who care about causes such as special-needs kids, ending hunger and educating refugee children.

The Times Photo Booth: Exclusive pictures from the Do Something Awards

Do Something athlete winner and new dad David Beckham dropped in to scoop up his trophy, a silver sneaker sporting angel wings presented by chef Gordon Ramsay.

"Ramsay's supposed to be 'round my house now cooking my children dinner," Beckham joked. Having just welcomed his first daughter with wife Victoria, the father of four touched on the importance of teaching his kids to give back.

"The best example I can give them is to show them to give back, and let them know they can help change the world," Beckham said.

Photos: 2011 Do Something Awards arrivals

Bieber was honored for his work with Pencils of Promise, which builds schools around the world, and was quite excited getting handed his prize by geek pinup Olivia Munn. Olivia Wilde, Sophia Bush and Tyra Banks were other big winners, with Kristen Bell, Zachary Levi, Nick Cannon and Kerry Washington among the presenters.

Demi Lovato capped the show with her first TV performance since her slow climb back to work from rehab. Kim Kardashian, who described herself as a longtime pal, introduced the singer. Fog machines and Texas hair brought lots of drama as Lovato crooned "Skyscraper" with surprising skill.

Young female fans, of which there were plenty, screamed messages of support while the former "Sonny With a Chance" star's gear and lights were being set up.

"You're an inspiration, Demi!" one fan shouted.

That seemed to be theme, which will go wide when the special airs Thursday on VH1.

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Photo: Justin Bieber nabs a sweet sneaker trophy at the Do Something Awards on Sunday for his work with Pencils of Promise. Credit: Gus Ruelas / Reuters

Demi Lovato, Ryan Phillippe not dating. Apparently. Sources say. Just sayin'.

Let order be restored to the universe: It seems Demi Lovato and Ryan Phillippe are not dating, though there certainly have been a bunch of "sources" chatting about it.

Rumors swirled Monday that the 18-year-old Disney star and the 36-year-old actor had been dating for months, until she learned that Phillippe was about to be a father again.

"It was really hot and heavy for a while," E! News said of their alleged courtship, said to have ended when evidence suggested Phillippe is the father of Miley Cyrus pal Alexis Knapp's newborn baby. 

"They were just hooking up," Us Magazine chimed in the same day, adding, "it was nothing serious."

Tuesday, however, brought a denial of the entire May-December fling -- or perhaps in this case more April-September?

"This is not true. He's totally single," a source told People.

Someone has an active imagination -- or seriously cruel intention, especially given Lovato's personal struggles of late. What do you make of the Demi-Ryan dating debacle? Tell us in comments.  

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Photos: Demi Lovato and Ryan Phillippe. Credits: Kirk McCoy / Los Angeles Times, left; Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images, right.

 

Demi Lovato debuts 'Skyscraper,' discusses staying strong after treatment [Music video]

 

Demi Lovato has a new single now to go with that tattooed reminder to "stay strong" as she moves on after getting treatment for eating disorders and self-mutilation. The music video for tune, "Skyscraper," debuted Wednesday.

"Spending Christmas in treatment was really, really difficult," the 18-year-old told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show Wednesday after he asked her to tag the hardest part of her past six months.

"I spent basically every holiday from Halloween to almost Valentine's Day and ... I just remember sometimes sitting there and being like, I had so much just six months ago, and here I am in a treatment center ....

"How did I let it get to this point?"

Lovato spent three months in treatment after melting down in October while on tour with the Jonas Brothers. She came home in January, eventually deciding she wouldn't return to her Disney TV show, "Sonny With a Chance." She reiterated to Seacrest that she didn't think being on camera at this point was the best idea for her. Lovato was diagnosed with bipolar disorder while in treatment.

On the radio, she also shared a bit more about the words "Stay" and "Strong" tattooed on her wrists, which had borne scars from her cutting.

"It was very symbolic for me to be able to cover that up," Lovato said, "and also replace it with something else that's permanent that I'll never be able to forget: The support that I had ... when I went in."

The singer said she'd fallen in love with "Skyscraper" when her problems were still relatively private (though her parents knew for about six years that she'd had issues with food). Recording it "before anything had happened" left her in tears -- a level of emotion that wasn't the same when she tried to re-record it again later. So they went ahead and released the first version.

Here's a sample from the lyrics: "You can take everything I have / You can break everything I am / Like I'm made of glass / Like I'm made of paper / Go on and try to tear me down / I will be rising from the ground / Like a skyscraper, like a skyscraper."

Check out the video, and tell us in comments what you think.

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Demi Lovato reveals her diagnosis of bipolar disorder

Demi Lovato, who last week tweeted her support for Catherine Zeta-Jones' "brave" decision to be treated for bipolar II disorder, revealed that she too is bipolar.

The 18-year-old Disney actress discovered her diagnosis during her three-month stay at a rehabilitation center in Illinois, where she was treated for anorexia, bulimia and cutting.

"I never found out until I went into treatment that I was bipolar," Lovato told People. "Looking back it makes sense. There were times when I was so manic, I was writing seven songs in one night and I'd be up until 5:30 in the morning."

Lovato has recently opened up about what she calls "the darkest time" in her life, discussing in depth her struggles with self-mutilation and eating disorders.

In an interview that will air Friday on "Good Morning America" and "20/20," Lovato said her lifelong depression wreaked havoc on her body.

"[Cutting] was a way of expressing my own shame, of myself, on my own body," Lovato said in the interview. "I was matching the inside to the outside. And there were some times where my emotions were just so built up, I didn't know what to do. The only way that I could get instant gratification was through an immediate release on myself."

Lovato also said she was bullied at school, and discussed her decadelong "unhealthy relationship with food," saying she started compulsively overeating when she was only 8 years old and later began starving herself.

"I was performing concerts on an empty stomach," she said. "I was losing my voice from purging. I was self-medicating. I was not taking medication for depression, and I literally was so emotionally whacked-out that I took it out on someone that meant a lot to me."

Demi Lovato won't return to 'Sonny With a Chance' [Poll]

Demi Lovato will not return to "Sonny With a Chance," saying she'll concentrate on her music instead of worrying about being in front of a camera.

Fans have been wondering about the fate of "Sonny" since Lovato left the Jonas Brothers tour in October to seek treatment for "emotional and physical issues." No decision had been made in January when she returned from an Illinois rehab, but last week the 18-year-old said on Twitter she was headed back to the studio.

"I don't think going back to 'Sonny' would be healthy for my recovery," Lovato told People, which noted that the Disney Channel said it fully supported her decision to put acting on hold for a while and focus on music.

"It's kind of sad for me that a chapter of my life has ended," Lovato told the mag, "but there couldn't be a better time for me to move on."

Her "inner demons" included eating disorders and cutting, she told Seventeen magazine.

"Sonny With a Chance" will be reincarnated in June as "So Random," focusing on the show within the show.

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Photo: Demi Lovato with Billy Under on an episode of "Sonny With a Chance." Credit: Randy Holmes / Disney Channel

Demi Lovato opens up about eating disorders, cutting; tweets about heading back to studio

Demi Lovato opened up to Seventeen magazine about her "dark period" that included depression, eating disorders and cutting, ultimately landing her in rehabilitation last year at an Illinois facility.

"I basically had a nervous breakdown. I was really bad off. My parents and manager pulled me aside and said, 'You need to get some help.' It was an intervention. I wanted freedom from the inner demons. I wanted to start my life over," the 18-year-old Disney star told the magazine.

Lovato signed on as a contributing editor for the May issue to talk about her dangerous habits, which became "so intense that she blew up and punched one of her dancers on tour."

"If you are going through that dark period, go to your family and closest friends," she said. "Don't put yourself in danger. It's very crucial that you get your feelings out -- but don't ever inflict harm on your own body because your body is so sacred. I wish I could tell every young girl with an eating disorder, or who has harmed herself in any way, that she's worthy of life and that her life has meaning. You can overcome and get through anything."

The "Sonny With a Chance" star, who recently got "stay strong" tattoos as a thank-you for fan support,  admitted to cutting herself in order to deal with pressure to be "perfect." She was checked into a rehabilitation facility last November through January to be treated for "emotional and physical issues."

The Seventeen article mentions starving herself, binging and purging, and cutting.

"One of the reasons I was so unhappy for years was because I never embraced my emotions and I was trying to stay in control," she said. "In treatment, all of the negative things I did were stripped away and I had to start processing my feelings."

Lovato has teamed up with Seventeen to post articles twice a month on the magazine's website. She also joined the Jed Foundation for "Love Is Louder Than the Pressure to Be Perfect," a project that helps teen girls deal with the same issues as her. The organization works to reduce the rate of suicide and the prevalence of emotional distress among college students.

Though her reps had been tight-lipped about the details of her rehab, they vehemently denied that she was being treated for drug or alcohol abuse. Now the starlet is looking forward to telling her version of the story.

Gwen Stefani joins Sandra Bullock in donating $1 million to Japan earthquake and tsunami relief

Gwen Stefani on Wednesday donated $1 million toward relief and recovery efforts in Japan, joining the likes of Sandra Bullock, who last week gave $1 million to the Red Cross.

"I've been inspired by Japan for many years and have a true love, appreciation and respect for the Japanese people and their culture. The disaster in Japan is beyond heartbreaking, and I want to do anything I can to help," said Stefani, who gave the cash to Save the Children's Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund, Pop & Hiss reports.

"I would never be able to make a gesture like this without the love and support of all the fans over all these years," said the No Doubt singer and clothing designer. Sales of a special edition T-shirt in Stefani's Harajuku Lovers line — available next week at the No Doubt website — will also benefit the fund.

Among other celebrity efforts in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami: Demi Lovato was out urging fans to "Help Japan," Lady Gaga designed a $5 "We Pray for Japan" bracelet with all proceeds going to relief and Charlie Sheen has announced that $1 from every ticket sold on his Torpedo of Truth live tour will be donated.  

Justin Bieber and Rihanna are among the names associated with a benefit compilation album, and Ne-Yo is in Japan playing charity shows.

Famous Americans such as Stefani and Bullock — who also donated $1 million to Haiti earthquake relief, did a PSA after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and supported efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in Tennessee after last year's flooding — are hardly the only stars offering financial support.

Any number of South Korean actors and singers, many of whom have large Japanese fan bases, have already kicked in. Among them was actor Bae Yong-Joon, who gave 1 billion won, or about $900,000.

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Top photos: Sandra Bullock, left, on the Oscars red carpet on Feb. 27, and Gwen Stefani, right, backstage during her New York Fashion Week show on Feb. 17. Credits: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images, left; Jason Kempin /Getty Images, right.

Left photo: Japanese travelers walk past a portrait of South Korean actor Bae Yong-Joon, who gained fame in Japan with his hit TV show "Winter Sonata," at a shopping district in Seoul on March 15. Credit: Jung Yeon-Je / AFP / Getty Images.

Demi Lovato gets 'stay strong' tattoos 'in honor of fans and their support'

Newly rehabbed Demi Lovato has taken to her Cambio site to share two additions to her post-rehab life: tattoos honoring her fans that read, "stay" and "strong."

The "Sonny With a Chance" star emblazoned the messages on her left and right wrists "in honor of my fans and their support" while she was in an Illinois rehab facility.

"The journey that I went through and the support of my fans was so meaningful to me that I wanted to thank my fans in a way that I know can never be forgotten," she said in the video.

The Disney darling added a small heart-shaped tattoo to her right wrist because fans had been drawing and tattooing them on their own wrists when the star abruptly left the Jonas Brothers tour in South America to seek treatment last November for "emotional and physical issues" that made it necessary for her "to get her life in order."

Reps vehemently denied that the actress was being treated for substance-abuse problems.

"I wanted to show you guys that I will never forget the support you guys gave me, and I will look at it every day and remember you guys and be completely thankful for you," she said.

The 18-year-old checked out of the facility in January but just reappeared on Twitter on Tuesday after being on hiatus from the micro-blogging site since October.

"Guess who's baaaaaaaack...!!!!!!!" she tweeted and was welcomed publicly by Perez Hilton and Kim Kardashian.

Early Wednesday, she added the tweet, "Achievement comes to those who are willing to walk as far as it takes till you get to what few have."

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