‘Cool For The Summer’: The Story Behind Demi Lovato’s Liberating Hit
The track marked a grown-up new approach in the pop star’s music.
Demi Lovato was already a headline name by the time “Cool For The Summer” was unleashed on the world in 2015, but the track marked a shift in tone for the pop star. The singer had risen to fame from her start as a child star, with her big breakthrough coming via the musical film Camp Rock. Because of her family-friendly origins, her first four studio albums had been comprised of age-appropriate pop, both for Lovato herself and her young audience.
“Cool For The Summer” switched things up. The liberating pop anthem allowed the star to explore more of her identity. Although it was far from explicit, the track’s discussion of the singer exploring her sexuality – and, in particular, her queerness – felt like the beginning of a tide change in Lovato’s music.
Listen to Demi Lovato’s “Cool for the Summer” now.
Around the time of the track’s release, the artist described it as “an awesome representation of where I’m headed,” noting what she wanted to put into her music had changed. “I think for so many years, I cared too much about what people thought,” she explained in an interview video shared on her official YouTube channel. “Now, I can just be who I am. I can be open.” That openness, she hoped, would benefit not just her but fans around the world, saying she could “bring attention to people’s sexuality, take away the stigma and the shame of wanting to try things…. I know it was an awesome journey for me to be able to put that out in front of the world and not feel ashamed about it.”
“Cool For The Summer” was a global sensation, thanks to Lovato’s collaboration with a stellar team of songwriters and producers. The track, produced by Ali Payami and Max Martin, entered the Top 10 in several countries, including the Czech Republic, Lebanon, New Zealand, Scotland, and the U.K. In the U.S., it reached the Top 20 and was one of the most-performed songs of 2015, according to the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
Lovato tapped into the song’s summer-ready sound by performing it at a number of pool parties after its release. She also included it in a live medley when she served as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live later in 2015. The following year, she made a political statement while performing the single at the Billboard Music Awards: The star took to the stage wearing a t-shirt featuring an inclusive bathroom symbol, in protest of North Carolina’s anti-LGBTQ+ bathroom bill.
Over the years since its original release, “Cool For The Summer” has remained a popular hit. In 2022, it experienced a resurgence thanks to an organic trend on TikTok that sent it back up the charts. A year later, Lovato revisited the song, re-recording it as a rock track for her Revamped album, showing a different side to a mainstay summer anthem.
