"Stone Cold" is a song by American singer

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

for her fifth studio album ''

Confident Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

'' (2015). The song was co-written by Lovato with Laleh Pourkarim, who also served as the song's producer, and Gustaf Thörn. It was released to digital retailers on October 9, 2015, through

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Record ...

and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, an ...

as the first and only

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

off the album, one week prior to the album's release. The song was initially premiered on radio via 97.1 FM on February 6, 2016.Sources regarding the Stone Cold radio premiere: * * * It was sent to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on March 21, 2016, as the third and final single from the album. On April 8, the song was sent to

hot adult contemporary radio Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

. A power

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, "Stone Cold" discusses the pain of watching an ex move on and be happy with someone else. The song incorporates

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

influences, and is centered on a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

melody, with a stripped-down production aimed at highlighting Lovato's vocals. Some critics drew comparisons to Lovato's 2011 single "

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

" and the works of

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

Composition

"Stone Cold" is a

. It was written by Lovato, Laleh Pourkarim and Gustaf Thörn. According to the digital sheet music published by Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., "Stone Cold" was originally composed in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp min ...

with a "moderately fast" tempo of approximately 144 BPM. Lovato showcases a vocal range on the track, alternating between belting the verses and delivering other lines such as "I'm happy for you" softly, and spans from the low note of F₃ to the high note of G₅. The song features a stripped-down production style that focuses primarily on

and vocals. The song's lyrics portray the pain of watching an ex move on after a breakup and trying to be happy for them once they find happiness with someone else. A writer from ''Billboard'' compared the song to Lovato's 2011 single "

" and the works of

. During an interview with

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...

, Lovato stated, "This song is your heartbreak song. I wanted to have a song that people can listen to when they're going through it, or they're thinking about a time they were heartbroken." She also added that "Stone Cold" "is the type of song that I wanted people to feel in their hearts and ripped their guts out."

Critical reception

Christina Garibaldi of MTV praised Lovato's vocals, claiming that she had "reached new heights" on the song, as well as her emotional delivery.

Music videos

A video featuring a "live in studio" rendition of the song was uploaded to Lovato's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

account on October 7, 2015, in promotion of the song's release. On February 19, 2016, Lovato revealed a teaser video for the song's official music video on

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. The full music video, directed by Patrick Ecclesine, was released via her Vevo channel on February 23, 2016. The music video was shot in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake Cit ...

. The music video shows Lovato at various locations, such as snowy mountains and a bathtub clothed, singing in a depressive manner. The video ends with a shot of Lovato in the snow.

Live performances

Lovato debuted the song on September 29, 2015, during her performance at the Highline Ballroom in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. On October 17, 2015, she performed "Stone Cold", as well as a medley of "

Cool for the Summer "Cool for the Summer" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released as the lead single from her fifth studio album ''Confident'' (2015) on July 1, 2015, by Hollywood Records and Island Records, and premiered on radio on the same dat ...

" and "

" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' during the series' forty-first season. Furthermore, "Stone Cold" was a part of Lovato's setlist at the 2015

106.1 KISS FM 106.1 Kiss FM (106.1 FM) is an adult contemporary music formatted radio station in the Cayman Islands in the British West Indies. The station is owned by dms Broadcasting dms Broadcasting is a broadcasting company operating four radio s ...

Fall Ball on November 14, 2015. On December 11, 2015, she performed the song at ''Billboard'' Women in Music 2015 event in New York City where she was honored with the first Rulebreaker Award. Lovato also included the song in her setlist during the 2015 Jingle Ball Tour. On February 10, 2016, she performed the song on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...

''. Lovato performed "Stone Cold" on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...

'' on March 3, 2016, and on ''

The Late Late Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' on March 16, 2016. On April 2, 2016, she performed the song at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

where she received the

GLAAD Vanguard Award The GLAAD Vanguard Award is a special GLAAD Media Award presented annually by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation at the GLAAD Media Awards ceremony held in Los Angeles. It is presented to a member of the entertainment community who does n ...

. The next day, she gave another rendition of the song at the

3rd iHeartRadio Music Awards The 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards was the third music award show presented by iHeartMedia's platform iHeartRadio and was televised live on TBS, TNT and truTV. The awards was held on April 3, 2016, at The Forum in Inglewood, California, and wa ...

joined by

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album '' Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nash ...

on guitar. On May 14, 2016, Lovato performed "Stone Cold" as a part of her setlist at the 2016 edition of Wango Tango. She performed the song on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...

'' for the second time, during the Carpool Karaoke segment, which appeared online on May 16, 2016.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Confident''. Recording *Recorded at MXM Studios, Los Angeles, United States *Mixed at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, United States *Mastered at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

, New York City, United States Management *Published by Ddlovato Music (

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

) and MXM (ASCAP) *All rights administered by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing (ASCAP) Personnel *

– lead vocals, songwriter, piano, background vocals * Laleh Pourkarim – songwriter, producer, engineering, cello arranging, drum programming, piano, synth, bass, background vocals *Gustaf Thörn – songwriter, engineering assistant, string arranging, synth, piano, background vocals *Eru Matsumoto – cello, drum programming *Serban Ghenea – mixing * Tom Coyne – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Other appearances

* In 2016, the song was performed live by Teodora Sava when she was 14 years old, as a special guest of the Romanian kids talent show Next Star. *It was covered by '' The Voice'' contestants Alisan Porter, Brooke Simpson, Presley Tennant, and the young duo Hello Sunday in seasons 10, 13, 16, and 17, respectively. *Kazakh singer Daneliya Tuleshova sang a cover for her blind audition on '' The Voice Kids Ukraine'' season 4, where she eventually won, which became a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through viral phenomenon, a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan ...

. *In 2022, Welsh singer

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching in ...

performed the song as Mushroom on the third series of Masked Singer UK.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2010s ballads 2015 songs 2016 singles Demi Lovato songs Hollywood Records singles Island Records singles Republic Records singles Safehouse Records singles Songs written by Demi Lovato Songs written by Laleh (singer) Soul ballads Torch songs