'Six years ago, I was drinking vodka out of a Sprite bottle at nine in the morning.'
Demi Lovato is six years stronger.
The Tell Me You Love Me singer teared up on-stage at her New York City show on Friday night, after tourmates DJ Khaled and Kehlani surprised her during her set to wish her a happy six years of sobriety.
"What you've overcome through trials and tribulations, through dark clouds," Khaled told his friend and collaborator. "You found the sunshine, and now the sun is shining on you forever."
"I'm so, so, so, so proud of you, and honored to know you," Kehlani added.
After the two exited, Lovato got emotional while addressing her fans, who had begun chanting her name.
"Kehlani and DJ Khaled, thank you so much," the 25-year-old singer said. "That was so inspirational and so powerful and so meaningful."
Lovato then, through tears, walked fans through her sobriety journey.
"Yesterday, six years ago, I was drinking vodka out of a Sprite bottle at nine in the morning, throwing up in the car," she recalled. "I remember thinking, 'This is no longer cute, this is no longer fun. And I'm just like my dad.' So I took a look at my life, and I said, 'Something has to change. Something has to change, I've gotta get sober' -- so I did."
"The reason I became so open about my story is I know that there are people here tonight that need to ask for help, and I want you to know that it's OK," she continued as the audience cheered. "Mental health is something that we all need to talk about and we need to take the stigma away from it."
After her remarks, Lovato went into a gripping rendition of her song, "Warrior," which deals with painful memories from her past. Lovato has penned songs about her troubled family life growing up, with some of the tracks being about her late father, Patrick, who she has at times referred to as "abusive."
Watching Lovato work through her personal struggles has hopefully inspired those who look up to her to do the same.
One emotional rock for Lovato has been her mom, Dianna Hart. On Saturday, Lovato posted to Instagram a sweet photo of her hugging her mother, writing: "I love my momma so much #myhero."
"So grateful for another year of joy, health and happiness. It IS possible," Lovato tweeted on Wednesday, further celebrating her sixth sober birthday.
ET spoke with Lovato just after she reached five years sober last March, and she opened up about keeping clean.
"What keeps me on this path is there's a drive that I have to stay sober because I know that my life depends on it," she reflected. "If I would have continued down that road, I don't know if I'd be here today."
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