Former Disney teen star Demi Lovato is sporting a new, edgier look. She explores her public breakdown and recovery on her new album. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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There was always an excuse — a friend to see, a meeting to take, sleep to catch up on.
Only a year ago, Demi Lovato was one of Disney's most bankable teen stars, her every move scrutinized by a team of attentive handlers. Yet when an eating disorder and self-mutilation threatened to derail her career, not even her team could see past her sanguine veneer.
"I had learned how to control and manipulate everyone around me into believing that I was OK," recalled Lovato, who rose to fame as the star of the popular Disney Channel series "Sonny With a Chance." "I'd go to work on my TV show and, instead of getting lunch, I would go get my nails done or go tan or nap or something.... No one was grilling me."
