Demi Lovato has revealed that her new track “Heaven” is based on the bible verse Matthew 5:30.
In an interview with Los Angeles Times, the 29-year-old singer – who recently updated her pronouns to she/her – said that in her new song “Heaven” from the album Holy Fvck, she sings of choosing pleasure over piety.
“Matthew 5:30 says, ‘If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off; [for] it’s better to lose one part of your body than your entire body to hell.’ That was a Bible verse I heard since I was young – too young to know what masturbation was,” she told the outlet.
“And now, I have my own [line of] sex toys. Masturbation can be a form of self-care, it’s not something to be ashamed of at all,” Lovato added.
Matthew 5:30 says: “Cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee. That one of thy members should perish, and not. That thy whole body should be cast into hell.”
The chorus of Lovato’s song goes: “Crucified for the life I’m living/ Oh my God, hope I’m forgiven/ Going to hell ‘cause it feels like heaven/ Speaking in tongues to release my demons/ I can’t help it, guess I’m a heathen/ Going to hell ‘cause it feels like heaven.”
Lovato’s new album Holy Fvck was released at midnight on Friday (19 August).
Earlier this week, it was also reported that the “Cool for the Summer” singer track “29” seemingly addresses the age gap with her ex-partner Wilmer Valderrama.
While Lovato remained tight-lipped about the song’s meaning in a recent interview with Apple Music, the lyrics seem to call out the 12-year age difference between her and the now-42-year-old actor, whom she dated on and off between 2010 and 2016.
The Independent has reached out to Valderrama’s reps for comment.
“Petal on the vine / Too young to drink wine / Just five years a bleeder / Student and a teacher,” she sings in the first verse. “Far from innocent / What the f***’s consent? / Numbers told you not to / But that didn’t stop you.”
In the final chorus, Lovato appears to reflect on the relationship, saying that she wouldn’t date someone 12 years younger: “Finally 29 / 17 would never cross my mind / Thought it was a teenage dream a fantasy / But it was yours it wasn’t mine.”
The Independent’s Mark Beaumont gave Lovato’s new album a four out of five-star review calling it “a classic shedding-the-pop-facade record, bristling with defiance and real-me rebirth.”
