Photo by Brandon Williams/Getty Images
Demi Lovato’s new album, Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over is a blisteringly honest look into her life since her relapse and drug overdose. The project’s third song, “ICU (Madison’s Lullabye),” finds Demi addressing her younger sister, Madison, framing their relationship through the harrowing experience of waking up in the hospital legally blind. Its title recalls both her time in the Intensive Care Unit and her being able to “see” her sister, both physically and spiritually.
She begins the track by expressing her desire to shelter Madison from the media storm surrounding her drug relapse and overdose:
I didn’t want those innocent eyes
To watch me fall from grace
Tried to protect you, I want to direct you
To keep you from my mistakes, yeah
I wanna be the one
You look up to when you wanna run
On the chorus, Lovato references her blindness, both in a physical sense and an emotional one, promising that she will right her past wrongs and be the support system her sister needs:
I promise, I’ll be there, don’t worry
‘Cause I was blind, but now I see clearly
I see you
“When I woke up in the hospital after my overdose, I was legally blind and couldn’t see,” Demi told Apple Music. “So when she came to my bedside I actually asked her, ‘Who is standing there? Who are you?’ It was a really emotional moment for everyone who was there. I was able to take that situation, write a beautiful song out of it, and also be able to express to my little sister how much she means to me and how clearly I do see her on a daily basis.”
The 19-year-old Madison De La Garza is Lovato’s half-sister. She’s an actress best known for playing Juanita Solis on Desperate Housewives and has also appeared on Bad Teacher and Lovato’s former Disney Channel show, Sonny With a Chance. Demi and Madison have been close for many years, with the singer seen cheering her younger sister on during her high school graduation back in 2019:
Demi ultimately expresses pride in her younger sister and confidence that Madison will be able to overcome life’s obstacles:
Sometimes I can see myself in the little things you do
But I’m not afraid that you’ll lose your way
‘Cause I believe in you, yeah
You’re gonna be the one
Who’s strong enough, who can overcome
Anything in your way
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics to Demi Lovato’s “ICU (Madison’s Lullabye)” on Genius now.
