Ariana Grande had Demi Lovato’s back when she needed it the most.
Following Demi’s near-fatal overdose in 2018, getting back on her feet wasn’t easy – physically, emotionally, and professionally.
The 28-year-old songstress has previously opened up about the lasting effects from her overdoes that she still suffers from today – including brain damage that still affects her vision.
“I don’t drive a car because I have blind spots in my vision,” Demi revealed during the virtual Television Critics Association press tour. “For a long time, [I] had a really hard time reading. Reading was a big deal when I was able to read out of a book, which was two months later because my vision was so blurry, I dealt with a lot of the repercussions and I think they are kind of still there to remind me of what could happen if I ever get into a dark place again.”
While it does impact the way she lives her life, she chooses to be “grateful for those reminders,” which were part of what led to her personal awakening.
“But I’m so grateful that I’m someone who didn’t have to do a lot of rehabbing,” she added. “The rehabbing came in the emotional side and the therapeutic side internally. I did a lot of work after that, just not physical.”
However, career-wise, Demi had had fears that she wouldn’t get signed by any manager.
“In the past, I projected my own abandonment issues onto other people, especially male figures that I looked up to as father figures,” Demi revealed to Bustle in July 2020 about switching up her managers. “I had to reflect on, ‘What do I want my relationship with my manager to look like without enmeshing my own father issues onto him?’”
“I was nervous because I wanted him [Scooter] to manage me so bad, and I was terrified of rejection,” Demi said. “Also, having gone through such a public overdose, I didn’t know if anyone would want to manage me after that.”
Scooter, who also manages Ari and Justin Bieber, had had reservations at first – but in a recent interview with the New York Times, he revealed that one person that convinced him to sign on Demi.
“I saw that she was scared, like, no one’s going to take me on,” Scooter shared. “I asked Ariana’s opinion and she said, ‘Let me go to coffee with her.’ And by the time she got home, she texted me: ‘You have to take her on, this is my friend. I want to know she’s safe.’”
Demi had parted ways with her old management team and, on May 11, 2019, she announced that she signed with Scooter.
Sharing a photo of the two of them on Instagram, Demi captioned it, “GUYS!!!!!!! Dreams came true today for me. I officially have a NEW MANAGER!!! And not just any new manager but the one and only @scooterbraun!!!! Couldn’t be happier, inspired and excited to begin this next chapter with you Scooter!!! Thank you for believing in me and for being apart of this new journey. Let’s DO THIS!!!!!! 🖊📄🎉”
She’s since made a widely-praised return to the spotlight, which included singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl LIV, and a moving performance of her song “Anyone” at the 2020 Grammy Awards. She’s also gearing up to release her new YouTube documentary series Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil on March 23, and a new album titled Dancing With The Devil…The Art Of Starting Over next month.
Keep it up, Demi!
