Heart Attack (Demi Lovato song)
"Heart Attack" is a song recorded by American singer Demi Lovato. The song was released on February 25, 2013, as the lead single from her fourth studio album Demi (2013). It was produced by Mitch Allan, and Jason Evigan of "The Suspex", who co-wrote the song along with Lovato, Sean Douglas, Nikki Williams, and Aaron Phillips. "Heart Attack" is an electropop song that employs cardiac motifs to represent the fear of falling in love. It received acclaim from music critics, many of whom complimented its lyrics and Lovato's vocals.
"Heart Attack"
February 25, 2013
MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach) Sterling Sound (New York City)
3:30
- Mitch Allan
- Jason Evigan
- Sean Douglas
- Nikki Williams
- Aaron Philips
- Demi Lovato
The Suspex
The song sold 215,000 copies in the US in its first week, her best sales week for a song download, and peaked at number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lovato's second solo top-ten single on the chart. It was later certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Heart Attack" also performed well internationally, reaching the top 10 in Canada, Ireland, Lebanon, New Zealand, Scotland, and the United Kingdom.
An accompanying music video for "Heart Attack" was directed by Chris Applebaum and was premiered through Vevo on April 9, 2013. Lovato has performed the track on several television programs and has also included the song on the setlists for The Neon Lights Tour, Demi World Tour, Future Now Tour, Tell Me You Love Me World Tour, and Holy Fvck Tour. A re-recorded rock version was released on March 24, 2023, and included on her first remix album titled Revamped.
Composition[edit]
"Heart Attack" is an electropop song,[9] with a length of three minutes and thirty seconds. The song is composed in the key of F minor and features a moderate tempo of 92 beats per minute. Lovato's vocal range spans from the low note of F3 to the high note of F5.[10] In the first verses, Lovato sings among a "booming" beat: "Never put my love out on the line/ Never said 'yes' to the right guy... When I don't care/ I can play 'em like a Ken doll/ Won't wash my hair/ Then make 'em bounce like a basketball."[5] The song features a power pop chorus where Lovato sings accompanied by a guitar.[5]
Critical reception[edit]
"Heart Attack" received acclaim from music critics. Sam Lansky of Idolator described the song as "a monster electropop track with some impressive Kelly Clarkson-esque wailing, a little drum-and-bass-inspired instrumentation on the chorus and a catchy guitar loop."[11] Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "the song is a big one, with pounding beats, earnest wailing, and some interesting lyrical choices."[12] Maggie Malach of AOL Music gave a positive review, stating "Demi's last album had a strong R&B influence, but this song indicates she is going for a dancier vibe!"[13] Billboard wrote that Lovato's sequel to "Give Your Heart a Break" continues in the vein of her cardiologically-themed singles and "demonstrates her maturing vocal range."[14] Robert Copsey from Digital Spy deemed the song a "rare case of textbook pop that leaves a lasting impression" and gave it four stars out of five.[15] Adam R. Holtz of Plugged In complimented the lyrical content of the song and its "infectious lilt of Lovato's proven pop vocal chops slathered over an up-to-the-minute EDM sonic foundation."[16] Reviewing the album Demi, Amy Sciarretto from Artistdirect wrote: "Heart Attack" is easily one of Lovato's best overall, mixing synthy tension and her better-than-most voice, at least when it comes to the teen pop genre. She is a decidedly more capable vocalist than so many of her peers, and she doesn't require the heavy effects, the processing or the studio tricks that they do."[17] Billboard and American Songwriter ranked the song number eight and number three, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Demi Lovato songs.[18][19]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Heart Attack" made its chart debut on the Mainstream Top 40 chart at number 35. Billboard predicted the song would debut on the Billboard Hot 100 the following week on March 4, 2013, with an expected sales figure of 200,000 in first-week digital downloads, surpassing Lovato's "Skyscraper" (2011).[20] Having sold 215,000 digital copies in the first week, "Heart Attack" debuted at number 12 on the Hot 100 on the week ending on March 8, 2013, and at the time was the second highest debut sales week of any artist for 2013. Along with the lead single's Hot 100 position, it debuted at number four on the Digital Songs chart, number 70 on the Radio Songs chart, and just under the top twenty on the newly implemented Streaming Songs chart.[21] On April 27, 2013, "Heart Attack" became Lovato's third top ten hit in the United States, reaching number 10.[22] In April 2013, "Heart Attack" was certified gold by the RIAA with sales brimming 500,000 in the space of only four weeks and as of 2014 has sold over 2,000,000 copies in the United States.[23] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, "Heart Attack" debuted at number three, becoming Lovato's highest-charting single at the time in both countries, until "Solo", which reached number one on both charts in 2018. It received a platinum certification in the UK for sales exceeding 600,000 units.[24]
Music videos[edit]
The lyric video was released on March 1, 2013. On the video, a series of hashtags were used by her fans on Twitter, with the lyrics of the song. Trevor Kelly, executive director of global digital marketing Disney Music Group, said: "We knew that we wanted to involve Demi's fans in the lyric video, both in terms of how it was discovered and how it looked creatively... That was challenging to execute because the volume of trends she had created over the past year, but we ended up with a clip that was very unique and compelling to watch".[20]
Regarding the video, Lovato described it as "fashion based" and thought it was "incredible to incorporate that with the music video".[25] A teaser of the video was released on April 6, 2013.[26] The music video was filmed on March 14, 2013,[27] in Los Angeles, California[28] and released on Vevo on April 9, 2013, and garnered over 700 million views to date.[29] It was directed by Chris Applebaum.[30][31]
Live performances[edit]
Lovato first performed the song in Orlando, Florida on March 2, 2013,[32]
as well as on several live shows including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Britain's Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars and at the 2013 MuchMusic Video Awards.
On December 31, 2013, Lovato performed it at ET Canada's New Year's Eve televised show.[33] Lovato performed the song along with "Give Your Heart a Break" and "Neon Lights" at the 2nd Indonesian Choice Awards, on May 24, 2015. She also performed the song on The Late Late Show with James Corden, during the Carpool Karaoke segment, which appeared online on May 16, 2016.[34]
Lovato performed the track during her third, fourth, fifth, and sixth headlining concert tours, The Neon Lights Tour, the Demi World Tour, the Future Now Tour, and the Tell Me You Love Me World Tour.[35]
Recording and management
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Demi.[41]
"Heart Attack (Rock Version)"
March 24, 2023
3:59
- Mitch Allan
- Jason Evigan
- Sean Douglas
- Nikki Williams
- Aaron Philips
- Demi Lovato
- Warren "Oak" Felder
- Mitch Allan