Demi Lovato Explains 'Confident' Track "Father," A Musical Tribute to Her Abusive Dad

In contrast to the singer's normally vivid and colorful videos, the black and white clip tackles more serious emotion as the 23-year-old discusses her unfortunate relationship with her late father, Patrick Lovato, to whom the power ballad is dedicated.

"I was very conflicted when he passed because he was abusive," Lovato says in the clip. "He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person. And he wanted to have his family, and when my mom married my stepdad, he still had this huge heart where he said, 'I'm so glad that he's taking care of you and doing the job that I wish I could do.'"

The "Confident" singer also revealed that recording the song acted as therapy in a way, helping her sort out her conflicted emotions. "He knew he wasn't capable of raising a family, and it was because of his mental illness. To know that it really wasn't his fault really was saddening to me. I wanted to write about it; I wanted to process it," she said.

The pop star recently tackled her role as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, with performances of Confident tracks "Cool for the Summer," "Stone Cold," and the album's title track. Just ahead of the album's Oct. 16 release, long-time friend Nick Jonas took to the stage at New York City's Industry Bar to introduce Lovato for a surprise performance of "Confident."

Tags

Demi Lovato