Skin of My Teeth

"Skin of My Teeth" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on June 10, 2022, by Island Records, as the lead single from her eighth studio album Holy Fvck (2022). She co-wrote the song with Oak Felder, Alex Niceforo, Keith "Ten4" Sorrells, Laura Veltz, and Lil Aaron, while its production was handled by the former three. An accompanying music video, directed by Nick Harwood and Nick Vernet, was released alongside it.

"Skin of My Teeth" is a rock and pop-punk song, with lyrics about people's criticisms and opinions about addictions and drug rehabilitation. The song received positive reviews from music critics, many of whom lauded its theme and the singer's vocals, drawing comparisons to the works of Hole and Lady Gaga. To support the release of "Skin of My Teeth", Lovato premiered it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She included it on the set list of her seventh concert tour, the Holy Fvck Tour (2022), and also promoted it at several festivals.

Background and composition
In early 2022, Demi Lovato announced on her social media accounts the "funeral" of her former pop music. During the first months of the year, the singer shared previews of new music that would be included on her next album, which she conceived as a return to the pop-punk and rock music roots that she experimented with on her first two albums, released in 2008 and 2009, respectively. In May, after several speculations, she stated that the album's lead single would be called "Skin of My Teeth". Days later, the song's cover artwork and release date, June 10, were revealed. The song was released that day for digital download and streaming.

"Skin of My Teeth" was recorded in January 2022. It references Lovato's struggles with substance abuse, with citation of drug rehabilitation and wanting to be free but failing due to the "disease" she is enduring. In the song's annotations on Genius, Lovato stated that the opening line of "Skin of My Teeth" references a rehab visit: "It was a headline that I saw multiple times and I just felt like it was no one’s business". Lovato then said that she does "not need anyone to keep track of my own journey" and that people should have "compassion for the struggle that I have along with many other people". Lovato described as "emotive" the lyric "I'm your son and I'm your daughter, I'm your mother, I'm your father", which is meant to "humanize" addiction as a struggle that many individuals face.

Critical reception
NPR described "Skin of My Teeth" as a fun listening experience and compared the song to the pop rock sound of "Celebrity Skin" by Hole and the vocal affectations of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. They also praised Lovato as having a "level of camp" in her art with genuineness and commitment to her music, unlike "other pop-punk revivalists". Loudwire praised the track for tackling addiction, and described it as having "an immediate sense of urgency, opening with two snare hits and some chord strumming" after which Lovato begins to sing in a sardonic vocal tone. The guitar tones in the song have "weight to them" with a "bouncing energy" that is reminiscent of "artists such as Pat Benatar and Joan Jett." The magazine also ranked the single as the 68th best rock song of the year. Writing for Insider Inc., Callie Ahlgrim included "Skin of My Teeth" on the list of the biggest snubs of the 65th Annual Grammy Awards nominations.

Music video
The official music video for "Skin of My Teeth" premiered on June 10, 2022. It was directed by Nick Harwood and Nick Vernet, and produced by Shayna Giannelli. The video begins with Lovato singing from a bathtub as an ominous figure reads headlines about her recent visit to rehab and stalks her with a camera. Eventually, the pair come face to face in a confrontation that Lovato wins, while she ends the song with a rain sequence that features her electric guitar shooting out sparks.

Live performances
Lovato performed "Skin of My Teeth" for the first time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon hours before release. She appeared wearing all black, accompanied by a matching guitar, and surrounded by fog.

Credits and personnel
Credits obtained from Lovato's official website.
 * Demi Lovato – vocals, songwriting
 * Oak Felder – production, songwriting, recording, programming, background vocals, keyboards, engineering
 * Keith "Ten4" Sorrells – songwriting, programming, co-production, background vocals, guitar, bass, drums
 * Laura Veltz – songwriting, background vocals
 * Lil Aaron – songwriting, background vocals
 * Alex Niceforo – songwriting, co-production, background vocals, guitar
 * Oscar Linnander – recording, production assistance
 * Manny Marroquin – mixing
 * Zach Pereyra – mixing assistance
 * Anthony Vilchis – mixing assistance
 * Trey Station – mixing assistance
 * Chris Gehringer – mastering