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Demi Lovato: Rehab Helped Me Break Out of ‘Disney Mold’

Demi Lovato performs during the '2016 Honda Civic Tour Featuring Demi Lovato & Nick Jonas: Future Now' tour at the Barclays Center on July 8, 2016 in New York City
Demi Lovato performs during the 2016 Honda Civic Tour Featuring Demi Lovato & Nick Jonas: Future Now at the Barclays Center July 8, 2016, in Brooklyn.Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

Blast from the past. Demi Lovato revealed in a new interview that she believes her 2012 rehab stint helped her to break out of the squeaky-clean Disney image that defined her childhood stardom.

“For me, the transition [to a respected pop star] was a little bit easier because I didn’t have to do anything to break out of the Disney mold. It’s a lot easier when you just go to rehab,” the 24-year-old singer told the Calgary Herald. “So, I kind of grew up really fast in the public eye in that way and so when it was time to release my music, I think people looked at me differently.”

Related: PHOTOS: Demi Lovato Through the Years

Lovato made headlines in 2012 when she checked herself into a facility to seek treatment for an eating disorder and drug addiction. She revealed to American Way magazine last month that there were times she didn’t think she would live to see 21.

“My body-image awareness starts way before [Disney’s Camp Rock], but I do attribute a little of my insecurities to being on stage and judged for my beauty,” she told the magazine. “When I was gaining weight because I was becoming a woman, I would look at those images and say to myself, ‘Wait, this is not what I look like. I’m getting fat on the hips and on my butt.’”

In her interview with the Calgary Herald, the “Confident” singer added that going through the tough times helped her to focus in on exactly what kind of messages she wanted her music — and her image — to have.

Related: PHOTOS: Disney Stars Through the Years

Hey Orlando, Mitchie and Nate are coming home for summer break in one week! ??#hondacivictour #futurenow

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“I wanted to prove to people that I wasn’t just a stereotypical Hollywood starlet that goes to rehab and falls back into the trap of the things that got her there,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that the music that I made was great and that I was passionate about the music that I put out and I sang my heart out and I also, like we said, I wanted to continue the message of using my platform for more things than just singing about heartbreak. That’s what music is for, is getting you through times, but also using it to inspire people.”

Lovato is currently on tour with her good pal — and fellow Disney alum — Nick Jonas, who credited the songstress with helping him grow into his own as an artist.

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“Demi, in pushing me to get more vulnerable in my music with this next record and encouraging me to really open up about some things that happened in my life that I think will help people get even more connected to me,” Jonas, 23, said. “And those moments among friends and creative relationships are so important because I think they really shape not only your next steps but the way the world sees you, as well, which is key in making a transition from a youthful career to what hopefully is a long-lasting adult tour.”

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