Demi Lovato Reveals The Meaning Behind Her Upper-Back Tattoo

Update: After a triumphant return to the stage at this year's Grammy Awards and Super Bowl, Demi Lovato is finally opening up about her hiatus, including the meaningful tattoo she got leading up to her performances.

The singer took to Instagram to share, in her own words, the meaning of the piece by Alessandro Capozzi, which was first revealed on the artist's Instagram when she got it in late December. "I recently went dark on social media in preparation for my Grammy and Super Bowl performances, but while I was off socials, I got this incredibly meaningful tattoo done by @alessandro_capozzi,” she captioned the photo displaying the new ink in all its glory.

The illustration wasn’t planned ahead of time, according to Lovato, but ended up taking on significant meaning after talking to Capozzi. “I told him about my life and where I was at in that moment and we created a combination of images that best symbolized the spiritual awakening I was having,” she wrote. “Having a fallen angel being lifted by 3, pure, angelic doves (the Holy Trinity) as her inner light is being guided by a higher consciousness, and the disintegration of her dark wings was representing the darkness I was shedding.” 

This isn’t Lovato’s first symbolic tattoo: The singer already has a vast collection of ink, including the words “stay strong” on her wrists, the symbol of the cross as a tribute to her faith, and the words “let go and let god” on each foot. Her powerful new back piece fits right in with the rest.

Roughly a week after adding a meaningful neck tattoo to the body of work on her body, Demi Lovato debuted a stunning 3D tattoo on her upper back. The custom piece is a tiny angel with broken wings being pulled upwards by doves, and is in the artist’s tiny realism style.

While Lovato has been quiet on social media since the beginning of December, that didn’t stop renowned tattoo artist Alessandro Capozzi from sharing her new ink.

“We created this piece together to represent a rebirth of the spirit,” Capozzi wrote in a post about Demi’s new ink. “The dark wings represent the bad times, their fading away is how she moved forward. The light from within represents the inner strength necessary for the change and the doves, pulling her up, symbolize the reach of [a] higher state of consciousness. Congratulations on your inspiring journey Demi, honored to have represented this for you.”

A look at Capozzi’s page shows tiny dog faces, realistic skulls, and more personal images. According to TMZ, the detailed work took about eight hours, with Lovato arriving at the studio at noon and leaving at 8 p.m. Apparently Capozzi and Lovato met Sunday at Ariana Grande's concert. Capozzi told TMZ they met in the VIP section and were introduced by Lovato’s manager (and Taylor Swift nemesis), Scooter Braun.

Lovato shared her love for the body art on Capozzi post, writing, “Thank you so much it’s incredible and you are so extremely talented.”