This article focuses on Unbroken the album, if you are looking for Unbroken the song visit its page.
Unbroken is the third studio album by American pop singer Demi Lovato. The album was released on September 20, 2011, by Hollywood Records. Lovato worked with a variety of producers and writers such as Toby Gad, Rock Mafia, Timbaland, Dreamlab, and others.
Demi had been recording songs for the album right after the promotion for her second album, "Here We Go Again" ended during the summer of 2010 and resumed in April 2011 after Lovato’s treatment in rehab.
The album's lyrical content was heavily influenced by the singer’s emotional problems that became publicized in late 2010 when she was sent to rehab for treatment. This came after an altercation with a backup dancer occurred while on tour with the Jonas Brothers.
The album is sonically influenced by the sound of pop and urban artists like Rihanna and Keri Hilson. While some of the album's lyrical content was heavily influenced by Lovato's personal struggles in late 2010, it also deals with lighter subjects, such as love, self-empowerment and having fun.
The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200, selling 96,000 copies in its first week of release.The album received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics, who commended its ballad tracks and praised Lovato's vocals, but dismissed it as "immature" and criticized its amount of "party songs."
Album Background
After the release of her second album, "Here We Go Again" in the second half of 2009, Lovato was dedicated to her acting career, with recordings for the series and movies "Sonny with a Chance" & "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam" and their soundtracks. Therefore, recording the first track on this album was made only in July 2010 with producer Dapo Torimiro.
That same month, the singer gave an interview to MTV, in which she said she was "creating a new sound," it would be "fun. A little more R&B/pop." Later, in a conversation with AHN, Demi quoted Rihanna and Keri Hilson as influences.
At the time, Demi revealed that she planned to work in no hurry on this album, stating that "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 of 2010, Demi entered in the "Camp Rock World Tour 2010" to release the movie, "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam." On November 1, 2010, she left the tour due to personal problems and was admitted to a clinic for almost three months. During this time, the recordings were interrupted.
Some time after leaving the clinic, Demi returned to work on the album, in April 2011, it was reported that she was also working with producers/songwriters Sandy Vee and August Rigo. Later that month, Demi announced that she would leave "Sonny with a Chance" because she wanted to focus on her music career more than her acting career.
In July of 2011, Demi described the album as "more mature" than their previous sound and more fun and light than her first single, "Skyscraper", while other tracks are more intense. On August 11, 2011, Demi used her Twitter account and Facebook page to announce the title of her 3rd album "Unbroken."
Around 20 tracks were recorded for the album, one of which is a duet with an R&B singer. She also worked with Dreamlab, Rock Mafia, Ryan Tedder and Kara DioGuardi. About working with Lovato, Ryan 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."
Singles
- "Skyscraper" is the lead single from the album. It was officially released on July 12, 2011 and it was written by Toby Gad, Lindy Robbins and Estonian singer Kerli Kõiv, and produced by Gad. It reached a position of number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Elsewhere, the song peaked at number 18 in Canada, number 9 in New Zealand, number 45 in Australia and at number 32 in the UK. The song was very well received from music critics and also from the media, with the majority of them praising Lovato's vocals and the inspirational lyrics. The music video was released on Lovato's VEVO page on July 13, 2011 and was directed by Mark Pellington. Lovato has performed "Skyscraper" many times, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dancing With the Stars and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The song has sold over 1,350,000 digital copies and was officially certified Platinum in the United States on April 24, 2012.
- "Give Your Heart a Break" was released as the second and final single from the album. It was officially released on January 23, 2012. It was originally announced that Lovato's second single would be "Who's That Boy" (which features Dev), however Lovato later changed the single to "Give Your Heart a Break", officially announcing it on Twitter. The song was written and produced by Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg. She performed the song at MTV's New Year's Eve on December 31, 2011 and at the People's Choice Awards on January 12, 2012. The song received critically acclaim from music critics, praising the production of the song as well as Lovato's vocals. It officially impacted Hot/Modern/AC radio on January 23, 2012 and Top 40/Mainstream radio on January 24, 2012. Lovato appeared on American Idol on March 15, 2012 performing the single. The music video premièred on Lovato's VEVO page on April 3, 2012. It debuted at number 70 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and has since reached a higher peak at 16. The song also reached number 1 on Billboard's pop charts in September 2012. The song was certified double Platinum in the United States for sales of over 2,000,000.
Tracks
| Standard Edition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "All Night Long (featuring Missy Elliott & Timbaland)" |
Demi Lovato, Timothy Mosley, Jim Beanz, Jerome "Jroc" Harmon, Elliott, Lyrica Anderson, Nire, Garland Mosley, J. Angel | Timbaland, Harmon (co) | 3:14 |
| 2. | "Who's That Boy (featuring Dev)" |
Ryan Tedder, Noel Zancanella, Devin Tailes | Tedder, Zancanella | 3:12 |
| 3. | "You're My Only Shorty (featuring Iyaz)" |
Antonina Armato, Tim James | Rock Mafia, Devrim Karaoglu (add), Thomas Armato Sturges (add) | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Together (featuring Jason Derülo)" |
Lovato, T. Mosley, Beanz, Anderson, Tiyon Mack, G. Mosley | Beanz, Timbaland | 4:33 |
| 5. | "Lightweight" | T. Mosley, Beanz, G. Mosley, Shanna Crooks, Frankie Storm | Beanz, Timbaland | 4:01 |
| 6. | "Unbroken" | Daniel James, Leah Haywood, Lovato | Dreamlab | 3:18 |
| 7. | "Fix a Heart" | Emanuel Kiriakou, Priscilla Renea | Kiriakou | 3:13 |
| 8. | "Hold Up" | Lovato, James, Haywood, Ross Golan | Dreamlab | 2:50 |
| 9. | "Mistake" | James, Haywood, Shelly Peiken | Dreamlab | 3:33 |
| 10. | "Give Your Heart a Break" | Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg | Alexander, Steinberg | 3:25 |
| 11. | "Skyscraper" | Toby Gad, Lindy Robbins, Kerli Kõiv | Gad | 3:42 |
| 12. | "In Real Life" | Bleu, Lindsey Ray | Bleu | 2:57 |
| 13. | "My Love Is Like a Star" | Gad, James Morrison | Gad | 3:50 |
| 14. | "For the Love of a Daughter" | Lovato, William Beckett | Gad | 4:00 |
| 15. | "Skyscraper (Wizz Dumb Remix)" | Gad, Robbins, Koiv | Gad | 3:42 |
| Japanese Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 16. | "Rascacielo" | Gad, Robbins, Koiv | Edgar Cortázar | 3:43 |
| 17. | "Aftershock" | Amy Pearson, Leah Haywood, Daniel James | Dreamlab | 3:11 |
| 18. | "Yes I Am" | Dapo Torimiro, Priscilla Renea | Dapo | 3:01 |
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 20 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 4 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 63 |
| Mexican Albums Chart | 9 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 4 |