Happy Ending (Demi Lovato song)

"Happy Ending" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Demi Lovato for her eighth studio album, Holy Fvck, released on August 19, 2022, through Island Records. The seventh track on the record was written by Lovato along with Laura Veltz, Jordan Lutes, and its producers Warren "Oak" Felder, Keith "Ten4" Sorrells, Alex Niceforo, and Mitch Allan.

The song was received with positive reviews from music critics, with praise towards its lyrics, highlighting it as a standout in Lovato's music catalog. A live performance music video for "Happy Ending" was released on September 15, 2022. Lovato included it on the set list of her seventh concert tour, the Holy Fvck Tour (2022).

Background and release
Demi Lovato started teasing new music in 2022 by ensuring a "funeral" for her former pop music on social media and sharing videos singing along unreleased songs, including the then-unnamed "City of Angels" and "Happy Ending". On June 6, she announced her eighth studio album, Holy Fvck, along with its cover art, release date, and with a link to her official store where fans could order physical copies of the record, but did not immediately reveal the tracklist. It was marketed as a return to her rock "roots" that she experimented with her first two albums, Don't Forget (2008) and Here We Go Again (2009). On July 14, she confirmed the track listing of the album, in which "Happy Ending" appears as the seventh song.

Holy Fvck was released by Island Records on August 19, 2022. "Happy Ending" was included on the set list of Lovato's seventh concert tour, the Holy Fvck Tour, which took place between August and November 2022. The official Vevo live performance of the song was released on September 15, 2022. It followed the videos for "Freak", "Eat Me", and "29", all directed by Micah Bickham.

Composition and lyrics
"Happy Ending" has a duration of three minutes and 49 seconds. It was written by Lovato, Laura Veltz, Jordan Lutes, Mitch Allan, Keith "Ten4" Sorrells, Warren "Oak" Felder, and Alex Niceforo, and produced by the latter four. The producers are also credited for background vocals and programming, while Allan and Caleb Hulin played guitar, Felder played keyboards and drums, and Sorrells played drums and bass guitar. The track was mixed by Neal Avron and mastered by Chris Gehringer.

Lovato affirmed that "Happy Ending" was written while she was "fresh out of treatment" and it affected the song's creation. She further explained: "New sobriety can be really challenging for people, and it was really challenging for me." Lovato was also struggling with depression at the same time. On the song's lyrics, the singer "wonders what it will take for them to find joy since they definitively know what [has not]". "Happy Ending" was described by Mark Beaumont of The Independent as "a rousing slab of grunge pop soul-searching" with Lovato confessing: "I miss my vices [...] demons are calling and tearing me to shreds". According to The Fader, she "confronts her own mortality, wondering what will remain of their authenticity if they [do not] set the narrative straight while they can".

Critical reception
Upon release, "Happy Ending" received positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Daw for Billboard ranked it as the best track on Holy Fvck, considering that the song "grabs hold of your heart with a gut-punch of an opening line, and progressively squeezes tighter with every proceeding line". The critic followed by saying: "Anyone with experience in recovering from addiction, firsthand or otherwise, will feel this song on a level that's almost uncomfortable in its raw honesty". Riff Magazine Mike DeWald dubbed "Happy Ending" as one of the strongest tracks on the album, and "not as heavy" as other songs. For Insider Inc., Callie Ahlgrim ranked "Happy Ending" as the second best song on Holy Fvck, adding that it boasts the "most vivid and heart-wrenching" lyrics in Lovato's music catalog.

Personnel
Obtained from Lovato's official website.


 * Demi Lovato – vocals
 * Mitch Allan – background vocals, additional programming, guitar, production
 * Caleb Hulin – guitar, additional vocal engineering
 * Alex Niceforo – background vocals, programming, co-production
 * Warren "Oak" Felder – background vocals, programming, keyboards, drums, executive production, production, recording
 * Keith "Ten4" Sorrells – background vocals, programming, bass, drums, co-production
 * Laura Veltz – background vocals
 * Neal Avron – mixing
 * Scooter Braun – executive production
 * Chris Gehringer – mastering
 * Oscar Linnandeer – production assistance, recording