Cannes Lions 2017: 'No regrets, but I'd like to have started my career a little later than I did': Demi Lovato

Singer Demi Lovato took to the stage on day three of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2017 along with YouTube's global head of original content, Susan Daniels and Kevin Allocca, head of culture and trends.

 

She began by talking about her upcoming series with YouTube - Simply Complicated. She said, "I'm at a pivotal part of my life. I'm turning 25 and looking at my future. I want to share moments with my fans. It's difficult to get used to having conversations and pretending like cameras are not around you at a time they are!"

 

Daniels asked her for a reason behind the name of the show. Lovato said, "I can be complicated. But I've been open about my journey through my life, so it makes sense to call it 'Simply Complicated'. I want people to see and relate to me more now. I'm opening up a lot more to my fans."

 

Lovato then recounted her life from a 'child star' to a 'global star'.

 

She said, "I started when I was very young. If I would have to start off all over again, I wouldn't want to do it again. I don't regret it, but it was a challenge to change my identity. It's been difficult, but a great learning experience. It feels silly, but I feel like I have lived longer than I have."

 

Prior to Lovato's appearance, Allocca explained three trends that he believed are shaping the content industry.

 

Niche as mainstream: Allocca spoke about how meaningful content comes all corners as each day about 200 million new videos are uploaded. He said, "Content creators on the web pursue their passions and find like-minded people who then want to view that passion."

 

Interactions: Giving an example of a recent video which featured a giraffe in a zoo, he said "The live stream got more than 3.5 million hits per day. People spent more than 30 mins on average on the video. But, the giraffe did nothing. It was the conversations around it that got people attracted towards it."

 

Individual expressions: The head of culture and trends at YouTube explained how small movements can become a culture. "We are seeing traditional celebs use YouTube to deliver authenticity to fans."

 

He surmised, "YouTube is the first global medium that's just as odd as we are."