Demi Lovato and Marshmello Finally Announce Their Song: When Does ‘OK Not To Be OK’ Drop?
As singer Demi Lovato continues work on her upcoming seventh studio album, she’s slowly given her fans (known as Lovatics) a taste of what’s to come. Now, her collaboration with Marshmello, “OK Not to Be OK,” is on the way. Here’s what’s been revealed about the song.
Demi Lovato and Marshmello song was teased years ago
In 2017, a Marshmello song possibly titled “Love Don’t Let Me Go (Anymore)” leaked. The DJ worked on the song with Lovato and producer Andrew Watt, but it was never officially released despite the attention it gained. This isn’t uncommon in the music industry — tracks can be shelved for any number of reasons.
In the years since, both artists have worked on other projects. Lovato released her sixth studio album, Tell Me You Love Me, that year. After a break from music following her 2018 overdose, she returned with singles “I Love Me” and a collab with Sam Smith, “I’m Ready.” Marshmello released his album Joytime III in 2019.
In mid-2020, they were spotted filming a music video
Then, on July 31, 2020, a Twitter user shared that Lovato and Marshmello were filming a music video. The next day, they shared photo proof on the social media site, and fans quickly assumed that “Love Don’t Let Me Go” was finally getting its day. However, the Twitter user shared that wasn’t the song they’d heard.
A couple of days later, Marshmello shared a mysterious photo on Instagram (above). Initially, the caption read, “hello? demi?” but it was quickly changed to simply “hello?” However, Lovato can be seen in the background of the photo, so all signs pointed toward a collaboration coming.
Marshmello and Lovato reference fan response in a teaser
It was finally confirmed one month later. Again, the DJ shared a teaser on his social media accounts (above). In it, he’s reading all of the fan response to the previously unconfirmed song on Twitter. Fans tweeted things like, “If you don’t announce the demi collab it will be over for you.”
Lovato shared the teaser on her own Instagram, revealing the title of the song. “It’s OK Not To Be OK @marshmellomusic (My favorite teaser ever),” she wrote in the caption. The title and the story told through the teaser indicate that the subject matter could address mental health, a subject Lovato is passionate about.
Here’s what their countdown website reveals
Clicking through to the countdown website, oknottobeok.com, it’s clear that that’s precisely the direction they’ve taken. In what’s become something of a trend for Lovato (see the video for her “I Love Me” emo remix ft. Travis Barker), it’s in the style of an old Windows desktop circa the early ’00s.
The user is first prompted to take a mood quiz, which uses smiley faces to evaluate how they’re feeling. There’s also a playlist featuring many of both artists’ hit songs, all of which are tracks that mention emotions, such as Lovato’s “Confident” and Marshmello’s “Sad Songs.” The countdown clock reveals the song will drop at noon ET on September 10, 2020.
