Demi Lovato proves she’s back and stronger on It’s Not That Deep Tour tour

WASHINGTON – It’s impossible to watch Demi Lovato and not root for her.

After more than a decade of working through traumas, addiction and mental health struggles, Lovato is taking a well-earned victory lap with her It’s Not That Deep Tour. It's named after her ninth studio album, which dropped in October.

At the second date of the tour at Capital One Arena April 16 in Washington, DC, Lovato faced an adoring crowd welcoming the rave-up new material – nearly every song from “Deep” was cheered as well as a few bonus tracks – with as much fervency as her well-preserved pop anthems from the past 15-plus years.

Lovato, 33, is back in arenas for this six-week run, which kicked off April 13 in Orlando (in DC she mistakenly called for the “Orlando” crowd to get their hands up before the sultry "Fantasy”) and is clearly relishing the return to the big stage.

And sorry, Lovatics, even though Joe Jonas appeared as a surprise guest in Florida, there were no Jonai in Washington.

The opening trio of new songs – “Fast,” “Kiss” and “Frequency” – were bridged by a relentless, hyperactive beat. Lovato and a squad of female dancers strutted the stage, Lovato looking very Charli XCX in dark glasses, black spike-heeled Louboutin boots and a feathery white wrap as she absorbed the EDM energy and engaged in playful moves with her dance troupe.

The diverse crowd was a landscape of athleisure, hot pants and glitter, pumping fists and shouting along with a remixed rendition of the rock-edged “Heart Attack” as Lovato basked in a sea of strobes and swooping red lights.

Though the minimalist staging – warehouse-styled walls with scaffolding and stairs behind them – allowed for an unintrusive backdrop, it was sometimes hard to keep track of Lovato.

But even when she ducked behind the walls to sing from a ramp or another dark pocket, her voice, a potent instrument best showcased on heart-wrenching ballads, never wavered.

Following the thundering empowerment tale “Confident,” Lovato introduced her just-released single, “Low Rise Jeans,” one of eight new songs on the deluxe version of her album – “It’s Not That Deep (Unless You Want It to Be)” – out April 24.

Performing the pulsing dance track live for only the second time, Lovato writhed on a satin mattress, rarely breaking eye contact with the camera throughout the suggestive chorus.

The gyrating was frequent throughout the 100-minute show, particularly on the unsubtle "Joshua Tree,” which included chair dancing and a lot of entangled limbs featuring Lovato in a sparkly black bodysuit with strategic cutouts.

But as mesmerizing as the beat-heavy songs were, particularly the Donna Summer-flecked “Here All Night” and the nostalgic jaunt back to “Don’t Forget” from the fan-selected era of her 2008 debut, Lovato’s most stunning moments were the simplest.

“Y’all, this is my first tour married!” she yelled, beaming and holding up her ring-adorned finger before “Ghost,” a song she wrote for her husband of almost a year, Jutes.

Standing behind the mic stand alone, Lovato delivered her most impassioned vocal of the show on the ballad, rivaled only by the equally affecting “Stone Cold,” during which she sat on a set of stairs, her voice soaring into its upper register.

As the show wound to its final segment, Lovato talked to her fans with genuine emotion and appreciation. She has weathered more turbulence than many and her gratitude is sincere. Her fans, meanwhile, are equally grateful to see her standing tall.