Cool for the Summer

Demi Lovato opened the Confident era with a statement of intent. Cool for the Summer, released July 1, 2015 via Hollywood Records, paired a synthesized beat with a driving electric-guitar riff, blending electropop and pop rock into a sultry, defiant anthem. Co-written by Lovato alongside Max Martin, Ali Payami, Savan Kotecha, and Alexander Kronlund, and produced by Martin and Payami, the track built from a restrained verse into an explosive chorus that showcased a more mature, assertive sound.

Commercially, the song performed strongly across multiple territories. It topped the charts in Greece and Israel, reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. By May 2023, the Recording Industry Association of America had certified it 4x Platinum. The song also earned multi-platinum certifications in Australia and platinum status in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and Norway.

The official music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis and released July 23, 2015, featured Lovato and friends driving through a desert highway, partying in a mansion, and engaging in flirtatious encounters. The visual has accumulated over 450 million views on YouTube. Critics praised the track's catchy hook and Lovato's confident vocal delivery, with Billboard calling it a sizzling summer anthem. The song won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for Most Performed Songs in 2016 and received nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards and Teen Choice Awards. Its lyrics, exploring themes of sexual fluidity, were widely embraced by the LGBTQ+ community as a queer anthem. A TikTok resurgence in 2022 led to an official sped-up version, and in 2023 Lovato released a re-recorded rock rendition on her remix album Revamped.[edit]