Demi Lovato Talks Touring, Performs ‘Substance’ on ‘Tonight Show’ Takeover: Watch

Holy fvck, Demi Lovato has taken over The Tonight Show.

On Tuesday (Aug. 16), the U.S. pop star kicked-off a three-night stand on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night NBC show, where they’ll slot in as special guest, co-host, musical performer and all-round good sport.

To get the party started early for Lovato’s 30th birthday (the big day arrives Saturday), the “Confident” singer sat with Fallon for a chat, took part in a round of “Quicktionary,” and performed a new number.

Lovato has some experience leading a TV show. Cracking jokes for a live audience, not so much. “I hosted the Teen Choice Awards one time, years ago,” they recounted. “I feel at home when I’m singing on stage, not when I’m talking.”

Has Lovato ever tried standup, Fallon asked? “Hell no!,” was the immediate response. “I don’t want people not laughing at my jokes, that would be mortifying.”

Well, there’s no time like now.

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If live comedy gives Lovato the fear, performing songs on a stage is in their wheelhouse. With a major tour coming up, Lovato scrubbed off the rust off with some intimate dates – their first in four years. “I did have some nerves,” they admitted. But afterwards, “I felt so good. I can still do it.”

And what should fans expect when Lovato hits the stage? Hits, yes. Though “my music is more rock now. Even my older songs now have a rock flair to them,” Lovato explains. “I feel like I’m going back to my roots.”

Lovato also played a game of “Quicktionary,” and performed “Substance,” lifted from the forthcoming album Holy Fvck, which drops Friday (Aug. 19).

As a Tonight Show “takeover” guest, Lovato joins previous celebrities including Ariana Grande, BTS, Miley Cyrus and Cher.

Holy Fvck is Lovato’s eighth studio album and the followup to 2021’s Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

They’ll support the LP with a 32-date outing, slated to launch proper with an Aug. 30 date at Espaço das Américas in São Paulo, Brazil. The Live Nation-produced trek will hit North America beginning Sept. 22 at the Hard Rock Live Sacramento, then hit San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, New York, Atlanta, Nashville and New Orleans before winding down with a Nov. 6 gig at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas.

Lovato’s late-night “takeover” continues Wednesday and wraps Thursday, when they’ll perform the album’s lead single, “Skin of My Teeth.” 

Watch Lovato’s round of “Quicktionary” and performance of “Substance” below. 

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