- Demi Lovato recently celebrated six years of sobriety during a concert in New York.
- Tour mates DJ Khaled and Kehlani praised Lovato onstage and encouraged the crowd to sing "Happy Birthday" to the singer.
- Lovato cried as she reflected on her struggles with addiction, before sitting down at the piano to perform her song "Warriors."
With an international headlining tour promoting her sixth certified gold album, it may seem that every day in Demi Lovato's life is a big day. But on March 15, Lovato celebrated a particularly important milestone while performing in New York: six years of sobriety.
"Six years ago, I was drinking vodka out of a Sprite bottle at nine in the morning, throwing up in the car," Lovato told the crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, according to Time. "So, I took a look at my life and I said, 'Something has to change, I've got to get sober.' So, I did."
The "Sorry Not Sorry" songstress thanked friends, family, and CAST — her former treatment center, which she now co-owns — in a recent tweet.
"A huge part of my recovery was learning to love myself and to give back to others," she wrote.
—Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) March 15, 2018
Lovato's tourmates, DJ Khaled and singer Kehlani, shared words of praise and encouraged the crowd sing "Happy Birthday" to Lovato, as she began to tear up.
"Every time I see you I say, 'Man, this is a strong queen,'" Khaled told Lovato onstage, according to Time. "What you've overcome through trials and tribulations, through dark clouds, you found the sunshine, and now the sun is shining on you forever."
Kehlani — who shared stories of her own struggles during one of Lovato's CAST On Tour therapy sessions — thanked Lovato for her openness and honesty,
"As a 22-year-old woman, you represent me, you represent every single woman in this room and even every single young boy," Kehlani said during the concert, according to Time. "You are 100 percent yourself, and that is so rare in this world and this industry."
Lovato was visibly crying as she sat down at her piano, thanking the crowd for "being a part of saving my life" before performing her song "Warriors."
—zhania (@lovathiccs) March 17, 2018
Mike Bayer, Lovato's former treatment counselor and current business partner, also shared a heartfelt message of congratulations with a post on Instagram.
"6 years sober today!!!! That is a ton of 'one day at a times,'" he wrote. "I am so proud of you and love you. This makes me so happy."
The former Disney Channel star has openly struggled with addiction and mental illness after she was launched into the spotlight as a teenager. She is now a passionate advocate for mental health and detailed her experiences in the YouTube documentary "Simply Complicated," which was released last year.
According to the documentary, the last time Lovato drank alcohol was the morning proceeding a 2012 performance on "American Idol."
"I got really, really drunk until it was time to get on a flight. And I was so drunk that I threw up in the back of the car service on the way to the airport to perform on 'American Idol,'" Lovato says in the video. "I felt like that was a moment in my career where I didn't care. I just knew that I needed to be high to get through what I was going through at that point."
Lovato began a treatment program shortly thereafter and, as she revealed in the documentary, has not relapsed with drugs or alcohol since.
"What keeps me on this path is there's a drive that I have to stay sober because I know that my life depends on it," she told the crowd at her concert, according to Refinery29. "If I would have continued down that road, I don't know if I'd be here today."
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