Former Disney star Demi Lovato is in possession of pop’s rarest commodity – a personality – but it’s not always showcased by her occasionally overwrought sound. Confident’s excellent lead single, the sapphic Cool for the Summer, finally unleashes her fun side, but nothing else here matches it for cheeky insouciance. So while the title track’s self-help glam rock is strangely intoxicating, and Yes and the lovely Lionheart are sturdy enough to handle the vocal showboating, there are too few surprises. The nadir is Kingdom Come, which not only features Iggy Azalea’s lazy guest verse, but is a rip-off of the rapper’s own Black Widow. Too often equating emotion with shouting (see the final third of Father), Confident doesn’t quite elevate Lovato to where she needs to be.
