Demi Lovato acknowledges that being a child star isn’t something she’d want to relive

Growing up in the spotlight can seem pretty glamorous, but if we’ve learned anything from celebs who’ve spoken out about it before, fame is often not all it’s cracked up to be. One person who can vouch for this? Singer and actress Demi Lovato, who’d do things a little differently if she could.

“I wouldn’t start out that young if I could do it over again,” she said while attending Cannes Lions Monday afternoon. “I don’t regret anything. It was difficult to transition from a child star to transforming into a mainstream artist. It’s something that is very challenging.”

We totally get that. Honestly, it’s difficult to think of many celebrities who have made the successful jump from childhood to adult stardom without at least going through some pretty high-profile challenges. Also, Demi started acting at age seven on Barney and Friends!

Demi goes on to explain what those difficulties looked like for her — namely, having to figure out who she was after being defined by others from a young age.

"You have to find your identity," she said. "For so long you've been molded into something and now you're expected to figure out who you are very fast in front of the entire world. It's definitely been difficult, but it's been a learning experience. I am still figuring out who I am every day."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOXWwBPHXJ0?feature=oembed

It’s hard enough to go through the process of adolescence to adulthood when you’re not famous, so honestly, we can’t imagine how hard it is when you’re essentially growing up on camera.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTj3kmFlZOX

As far as we’re concerned, though, Demi has done life pretty splendidly. Aside from holding down a flourishing music and acting career, girlfriend has spoken out intelligently about everything from physical and mental health, to supporting her fellow woman, to her struggle with addiction, to the importance of friendship, recognizing inner beauty and body positivity, and being true to yourself.

Her candid, leadership-driven nature even led her to produce a documentary about mental health, called Beyond Silence.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ1NhpXFtAj

As Demi says in her Cannes Lions interview, she’s turning 25 this year (“I feel like I’ve lived a lot longer than I actually have,” she quipped, and if we’d accomplished as much as Demi has, we’re sure we’d feel the same way).

She also has another docuseries coming out called Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, due to premiere later this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHu6HytkZnk

"If you asked me a year ago, I would have said within the next five years I would be married, starting a family," Lovato said in Cannes. "That all changed, which I touch on in my documentary."

“I don’t know what I want the next five years to look like,” she added. “I love music, I want to make music and tour. I want to dive back into acting at some point.”

And we’ll welcome you back with open arms, girl. From 2017 all the way back to your Barney days with Selena Gomez, we are all about anything and everything you have to offer us.

We can’t wait to check out Demi’s new documentary, and we hope to see her gracing our movie screens and radios for another 25, 50, even 75 years.