Demi Lovato is an internationally known pop star, with a bevy of hit singles and six studio albums before the age of thirty. However, given the nature of pop music in general, where singers often have a team of songwriters and musicians working for them,  fans might be wondering if Demi Lovato can play guitar.

Demi Lovato can play the guitar.  Lovato began taking piano lessons when she was seven and then followed with guitar lessons a few years later. Given that Lovato grew up in the entertainment industry, it’s no surprise she’s well-versed in singing, dancing, playing music and acting.

Read more below about Demi Lovato’s childhood, learning to play the guitar and her meteoric rise to fame.

Homeschool and Guitar Playing

Demi Lovato was born in 1992 and raised by her mother in Dallas, Texas. Even as a youngster, Lovato took an interest in learning to play music; she started with piano lessons and then moved on to guitar, telling People en Espanol, “I was given my first guitar at 8, but I didn’t even touch it until a few years ago, when I started homeschooling, I got kind of lonely, and I was looking at my guitar, and I was like ‘you know what, it really helped me through a rough time.’”

Demi Lovato has been very open about her struggles with bullying, so much so that she asked her mom to homeschool her. Based on her interview with People en Espanol, it’s clear playing guitar and focusing on music helped her to overcome some of the struggles she faced before graduation.

Childhood Fame and a Taste of the Music Business

However, musical talents aside, Lovato would first become famous when she was cast as Angela in the children’s show, Barney and Friends. Lovato worked on the show for two years, alongside fellow pop star, Selena Gomez.

Just a few years later, Demi Lovato would go on to fame on the Disney Channel, starring in the made-for-tv movie, Camp Rock, and its sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam alongside Joe Jonas. Lovato played Mitchie Torres, a girl with a secret who is attending a summer rock camp geared towards teens.

The movies were big successes, and both heavily featured promotional material, showing Lovato’s character, Mitchie, with a guitar in hand. Lovato also got to show off her piano skills during the first film.

Though her guitar playing was not the skill that won her a record deal, Lovato’s vocal talents were on full display during an impromptu  audition with Disney executives. Hollywood Records senior vice president, Bob Cavallo, recalls “Our jaws just dropped.” 

Record Labels and Recordings

As Lovato’s success grew, she was offered a record deal with Hollywood Records. Her first studio album, Don’t Forget, was released in 2008. 

Lovato co-wrote many of the songs with The Jonas Brothers and the record was produced by John Fields. Not only did Lovato sing and co-write the album, but Demi began playing guitar during her live performances, giving the singer ample opportunity to show off her musical chops.

You can watch Demi Lovato play the guitar in this compilation of her live performances in the YouTube video below.

2020 Album Plans

Lovato would go on to release five more albums, with track listings showing she has played guitar and piano on several of her hit songs during their studio recording. Fans can also look forward to her next album, expected to be out in 2020.
Though there is no word yet if Demi Lovato will be playing any instruments on the new as yet untitled album, sources told E! that the album “is going to be the most vulnerable album she has put out.” No doubt fans will have something to look forward to when the album finally hits the airwaves, and, with any luck, Lovato might just play guitar on some of the songs.