Demi Lovato feels “a lot of pressure” being a pop artist.
The 21-year-old star began her career as a child actress before releasing her debut album in 2008.
But over the years she’s learned it only fails her to build her career around what others think.
“I try not to live up to people’s expectations. It’s hard because there’s a lot of pressure on you as an artist – as a pop artist – to look a certain way, or to act a certain way and your music to sound a certain way,” she explained to MTV News.
Demi instead tries to concentrate on what she needs both personally and professionally. And that shift of focus has led to her having a much more laidback approach to criticism.
“Sometimes I feel like the more I try to please other people the less I’m myself,” she continued, adding of the life lessons along the way: “So what I’ve learned over the last few years is to just be who I am and if people don’t like it, f**k it, you know what I mean? This is who I am.”
Demi is currently on the road performing for fans on her Neon Lights Tour in support of her newest album.
The trek is scheduled to wrap up with a show in London on June 1.
She’ll get a few months off before then kicking off her Demi World Tour in September, launching in Baltimore, Maryland.
The shows will continue playing through the US and Canada before wrapping up in Newark, New Jersey on October 25.
Despite already being on the road for months, Demi was gushing about seeing fans in new cities on Twitter Thursday.
“Soooo excited to see you guys on #DEMIWORLDTOUR!!!!!” she wrote her 22.5 million followers.
