Here We Go Again is the second studio album by American recording artist Demi Lovato, released on July 21, 2009, through Hollywood Records. Unlike her previous effort, Don't Forget (2008), Lovato did not enlist help from the Jonas Brothers as she wanted to work with different people and give the album a personal approach. She collaborated with established songwriters and producers such as E. Kidd Bogart, Gary Clark, Toby Gad, John Mayer, Jon McLaughlin and Lindy Robbins. The majority of the album was produced by John Fields, who helped production on Don't Forget. Lovato penned a song called "For the Love of a Daughter" with The Academy Is... lead singer William Beckett about her relationship with her estranged father, but the subject was deemed too intense for her young audience, and it was removed from the album's track listing. The song was later passed on to her third studio album, Unbroken (2011).
Musically, Here We Go Again derives mainly from the genres of pop rock and power pop, mixed with influences of R&B and synthpop. Lovato wanted the album's music to be less rock and more mellow than her previous album, while exploring more mature sounds and lyrics. Critical reception of the album was positive; critics praised Lovato for not relying on vocal manipulations and instead showing off her natural ability. Although some critics called the album catchy, others felt that it was predictable and at times too much alike Kelly Clarkson. Here We Go Again sold 108,000 copies during its first week of release in the United States and debuted atop the Billboard 200. Since its release, the album has sold 475,000 copies in the US. Internationally, the album peaked inside the top 40 on charts in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Mexico, New Zealand and Spain.
Two singles were released from Here We Go Again. The title track was released in June 2009 and was Lovato's first solo single to crack the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 15. The album's second and final single, "Remember December", was released in international markets in January 2010 and managed to peak at number 80 on the UK Singles Chart, but failed to chart elsewhere. The album track "Gift of a Friend" was released as a promotional single in December 2009 due to its inclusion on the soundtrack for the animated film Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure. To further promote the album, Lovato embarked on her first headlining tour, Summer Tour 2009.
Background
Lovato was discovered by Disney Channel during an open call audition in her hometown of Dallas, Texas and made her debut on the short series As the Bell Rings in 2007. She subsequently auditioned for a role on the television series Jonas, but did not get the part. Instead, she received the main role in the musical film Camp Rock after singing for the network executives. The same day, she auditioned for a role on the series Sonny with a Chance, which she also received. Lovato enlisted the Jonas Brothers, her Camp Rock co-stars, to work with her on her debut studio album, Don't Forget. The writing began during shooting of Camp Rock and continued on the band's Look Me in the Eyes spring tour in 2008. Lovato wanted to establish herself as a musician with the album, and not being known as just "the girl from Camp Rock." She said that her goal was to have fun on the album and that she would tackle deeper themes on her sophomore effort.
The album was released in September 2008 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. Lovato recalled the experience, "It was like, O.K., you've done it. You're no longer just succeeding because you're in a movie with the Jonas Brothers. These people bought your music for you." Later in February 2009, Lovato's first headlining sitcom, Sonny with a Chance, premiered on Disney Channel. Don't Forget was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spawned two singles, "Get Back" and "La La Land". In January 2009, Lovato announced to MTV News that she had already begun writing songs for her second studio album, as well as revealing its approach: "It's going to take a different sound, so hopefully it goes over well. I sing a lot of rock, but this time I want to do more John Mayer-ish type of songs. Hopefully I can write with people like him. I love their music — it would be amazing."
Development
Following writing sessions in January 2009, Lovato began recording and writing songs with Jon McLaughlin and The Academy Is... lead singer William Beckett in April, right after shooting of the first season of Sonny with a Chance had wrapped up. According to Lovato, the album's writing process was nearly finished in just two weeks, noting that she "basically went from full time acting mode to full time album mode". As she wanted to accomplish more "John Mayer-ish type of songs", she contacted Mayer's management in order to collaborate him, citing him as one of her biggest musical influences. Mayer accepted the offer, of which Lovato said, "I was completely shocked [that he said yes]. It was more of a pipe dream. I didn't ever think it would be a reality, but it came true. He was taking a chance on working with a younger artist in the pop realm." The two wrote three songs together, "World of Chances", "Love Is the Answer" and "Shut Up and Love Me". Lovato said that it was intimidating to work with him as she was worried that he would not like her lyrics, and she would get "super excited" whenever he complimented her. "World of Chances", the first song she wrote with Mayer, was the only of these songs to make the album's final cut. The song was inspired by Lovato's first experience of love and heartbreak.
Lovato collaborated with Beckett on a song titled "For the Love of a Daughter". Although not planning to write a personal song, a "really long talk" with Beckett resulted in the song being written. The song chronicles Lovato's relationship with her estranged birth father, who left the family when she was two years old. In the song, she pleads with her father to "put the bottle down" and questions him: "How could you put your hands on the ones that you swore you loved?" The song was set to appear on the album, but Lovato and her management felt that the song's subject would be too much for her young audience. In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, she explained: "When I took a step back, I realized I wouldn't like those subjects being talked about in somebody else's home, with a seven-year-old and their mom." Several other "emotional" songs were also put on hold. "For the Love of a Daughter" was later revealed to appear on Lovato's third studio album, Unbroken, released in September 2011 when Lovato had left Disney Channel.
Unlike her first studio album, Don't Forget, Lovato did not collaborate with the Jonas Brothers on Here We Go Again as she wanted to see what her sound would be like without their input. "They were the only people I'd ever written with. Once I wrote with different people, I wanted to go with that", she told the New York Daily News. She said that her first album was "very Jonas" and that Here We Go Again is "a little bit more like what's coming from my heart. It's more me." However, Lovato did work with Nick Jonas on the song "Stop the World". The majority of the album was produced by John Fields, who also handled production on Don't Forget. Other tracks were produced by SuperSpy, Gary Clark, Andy Dodd and Adam Watts. "Catch Me" is the only song on the album for which Lovato received sole writing credit. In an interview with The New York Times, she revealed that she wrote it in her room and that it means more to her than the rest of the album.
Singles
Here We Go Again was released as the lead single of the album and became Demi Lovato's first top 40 Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 15.
Remember December was released as the second and final single of the album. It charted on the UK Singles chart but failed to chart anywhere else.
Commercial performance
Lovato performing "Catch Me" during An Evening with Demi Lovato
In the United States, Here We Go Again debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with 108,000 copies sold in its first week. The figure was an improvement over the first-week sales of Don't Forget, which moved 89,000 copies. The feat made Here We Go Again the fourth album of 2009 under the Disney Music Group to peak at number one. In its second week, the album fell to number eight with 39,000 copies sold. At the end of 2009, the album ranked at number 109 on Billboard's year-end chart. In February 2010, it had sold 369,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In Canada, the album entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number five, and stayed on the chart for five weeks.
In Australia, the album spent one week at number 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. In New Zealand, it debuted at number ten and spent a total of nine weeks on the chart. In Mexico, Here We Go Again debuted at number 45 on the Top 100 Mexico chart and reached its peak position of 25 in its second week. Across Europe, the album debuted at number 36 in Greece and later reached number five. In Spain, the album spent thirteen weeks on the chart and peaked at number 35. In early 2010, Here We Go Again made its debut at number 199 on the UK Albums Chart, and number 141 on the Oricon albums chart in Japan. In October 2011, the album debuted and peaked at number 88 on the Ultratop chart in the Flanders region of Belgium. The album has sold a total of 487,000 copies in the USA according to Neilsen Soundscan.
Tracks
| Standard Edition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Here We Go Again" | Isaac Hasson, Lindy Robbins, Mher Filian | SuperSpy | 3:46 |
| 2. | "Solo" | Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, Demi Lovato | John Fields | 3:15 |
| 3. | "U Got Nothin' on Me" | Hasson, Filian, Lovato | SuperSpy | 3:38 |
| 4. | "Falling Over Me" | Jon McLaughlin, Lovato, Fields | Fields | 4:06 |
| 5. | "Quiet" | Cutler, Preven, Lovato | Fields | 2:45 |
| 6. | "Catch Me" | Lovato | Fields | 3:10 |
| 7. | "Every Time You Lie" | McLaughlin, Fields, Lovato | Fields | 3:49 |
| 8. | "Got Dynamite" | Gary Clark, E. Kidd Bogart, Victoria Horn | Clark | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Stop the World" | Nick Jonas, Lovato, P.J. Bianco | Fields | 3:34 |
| 10. | "World of Chances" | John Mayer, Lovato | Fields | 2:51 |
| 11. | "Remember December" | Fields, Lovato, Preven | Fields | 3:12 |
| 12. | "Everything You're Not" | Toby Gad, Robbins, Lovato | Fields | 3:43 |
| Bonus Tracks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 13. | "Gift of a Friend" | Adam Watts, Andy Dodd, Lovato | Dodd, Watts | 3:25 |
| 14. | "So Far, So Great" | Aris Archontis, Jeannie Lurie, Chen Neeman | Archontis, Neeman, Lurie | 3:15 |