The concert staff had to splash her fans with water to literally bring temperatures down, as well as give water to dehydrated ones. Though The X-Factor (US)  judge-actress-singer Demi Lovato’s first gig in Singapore was only slated to start at 8pm on Mar 18, fans started queuing outside the The Coliseum, Hard Rock Hotel, since the morning, forming a queue so long it weaved around Resorts World Singapore.

They waited in the open air mosh pit, screaming at the slightest flickering of lights and singing in unison to hit songs like “Thrift Shop” and “We Are Young”, before their beloved idol stepped on stage. Many were pulled out of the pit due to the immense heat radiating from so many bodies.

No wonder The Lovatics [the name of Lovato’s fans] were crowned the world’s greatest fans in 2012 by MTV, ahead of Justin Beiber’s Beliebers, and even Lady Gaga’s famed Little Monsters.

 Over 3,000 of them rocked out at Demi Lovato’s first concert in Singapore. The X-Factor USA judge didn’t disappoint her fans as she sang hit songs like “Give Your Heart A Break”, “Skyscraper”, and her newly released single “Heart Attack”.

Her new single was leaked a week early, so Hollywood Records decided to just release it. “None of us were expecting the success it got so quickly because it had no promotion,” she said to the media at the press conference. The song topped the iTunes chart in 9 countries, including the US, in less than 24 hours after its release, with 215,000 downloads within the first week. “Heart Attack” also premiered at number 2 on 987 FM, The Double D’s chart, and went up to the number 1 spot for 2 consecutive weeks.

“It did so well so I was really ‘shiok’ about it,” she added as she put her newly learnt Singlish (Singapore slang) word taught by DJ Divian to use.

Her next single, which is still unnamed, is set to release in May. Lovato described to the reporters her new album as “more heavy and emotional” with songs that talk about “things that [she has] never talked about before”.

The album is “Everything that I am; everything that I’ve already done. But just 10 times better,” she added.

On what she’d tell her 15-year-old self, she said during the press conference, “Put your seatbelt on, ‘cause life is about to get really crazy.” The ex-bully victim who went through depression, eating disorders and self-harm also wants to tell her teenage self that “she’s beautiful and she doesn’t need to change for anybody. And that she’s loved.” The extent of bullying was so bad that she had to “leave public school to home school.”

Once a resentful teenager who just wanted be a singer and “make mistakes”, she hadn’t wanted to “sign up to be a role model”, perhaps in rebellion of those wholesome child star days on Disney and Barney & Friends. However her tough experiences have taught her she can help people with what she has been through. The pressure as a role model has also been relieved through her sometimes painful honesty with the public and her fans, especially when she served as a contributing editor of Seventeen mag, which became a platform for her to discuss her own problems and how these related to the teenage readers.

There’s no doubt Lovato has become a confident young lady on a reporter’s question on how she deals with scrutiny. “I enjoy the clothes I wear or the size of my eyebrows… I’m doing my own thing. If people like it, great. If people don’t, great,” she said spunkily.

Other than her past experiences, Lovato lists her younger sister as her greatest inspiration. She hopes to protect her from whatever bad issues she has gone through and “set a place where young girls can talk about it (bullying experiences) and don’t have to struggle [with] it anymore.”

But she hadn’t let her fame and success get the better of her. When asked what would she’d now if she wasn’t a pop star, she said matter–of-fact, “I will be Demi Lovato hanging out in Singapore.”

Not only did she steal our hearts, a certain celeb is also a fan. UrbanWire spots a familiar face in the VIP area. Teen Youtube sensation, Tiffany Alvord was in Singapore the day before for her concert during the Mosaic Music Festival. The 20-year-old, there to enjoy Demi’s concert, ended up getting chased by fans for autographs and photos. Despite being so busy surrounded by the fans’ requests, Alvord remained polite, sweet and modest, with no complaints of being tired.

After 2 and a half hours of waiting, Demi Lovato finally emerged dressed in full black. The Forever 21 and Topshop lover wore a bralet with a netted top over a pair of leggings looking all rocker chic. Kicking off with “Unbroken”, she followed this with “Get back” from her 2008 debut studio album and “La La Land”, both of which she co-wrote with ex-flame Joe Jonas and the other Jonas Brothers.

When “skyscraper” came on, the crowd went frantic as they sang along to the emotional lead single. Turning up the dance mood, she sang to Chris Brown’s “Turn Up The Music”, which got her fans jumping and dancing along.

After that, her much-anticipated new single “Heart Attack” came on. Despite it having only been released for 3 weeks, the crowd was familiar with the song’s lyrics.

Just when Demi said goodbye, the crowd shouted for an encore. You didn’t think she’d end her concert without her number one song and fan favourite, “Give Your Heart A Break”, did you? It was definitely the highlight of the night, leaving fans well satisfied.

 Photos courtesy of Ernest Tan

The day after the concert, Lovato tweeted a photo of herself in the Hard Rock Hotel Pool, saying “Thanks Singapore!!!! I had a great time!”, before flying off to Manila to continue her tour. She also tweeted “God, I LOVE Singapore.. everyone there was SO sweet.. beautiful people there. Sad to leave, but excited for Manila!!!”

Singapore loves you too, Lovato, we hope you can come back soon!