There are a handful of noteworthy features on Demi Lovato’s new album, Dancing With The Devil – The Art of Starting Over, but one that was eagerly anticipated by Arianators was “Met Him Last Night.” The track, a collaboration with fellow former Disney star Ariana Grande, might be the standout song on what is arguable Demi’s most personal and intimate project yet. Demi and Ariana, who are both known for their abilities to hit sky-high notes, put those shared skills to use to belt out in powerful harmonies about a run-in with the devil.
“I seen the devil, yeah, I met him last night / Had conversations, yeah, I think he’s alright,” Demi sings, this “devil” seeming to be the stand-in metaphor of life’s vices. Ariana touches on the temptations this “devil” presents, singing in the second verse, “You got me f–ked up, I won’t let this happen again / This the last time, you won’t takе advantage of my innocence.”
Dancing With The Devil comes on the heels of Demi’s YouTube Originals docuseries of the same name, and the album stands as the doc’s unofficial soundtrack. Boasting seventeen new songs (along with “What Oher People Say,” the previously released collab with Sam Fischer, and “Anyone,” the song she debuted at the 2020 Grammys), Dancing cements Demi’s comeback following her near-fatal overdose in 2018. It’s fitting that Ariana — who first teased this collaboration on Mar. 7, by saying she was recording some “backgrounds on a song for a friend” – would be here to see Demi’s triumphant return from catastrophe.
Demi Lovato spoke about her bond with Ariana Grande in an April 2020 interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “I love the fact that Ariana and I have such a supportive friendship because it’s hard to find,” she told the publication. “Two women who are in a competitive industry—the whole world seems to want to pit women against each other, so it would be so easy to do that. I always long for friendships with women. I think it’s so sacred. And actually, late last year, the night of the winter solstice, I had about 16 girls [for a] group meditation, and we set our intentions for the new year. It was so beautiful, and that divine feminine energy is what has picked me up and carried me through some of my darkest times.”
.@ddlovato has reposted @ArianaGrande’s story 🎵
— Ariana Grande Today (@ArianaToday) March 7, 2021
Ariana played an important role in one of Demi’s “darkest times.” Demi signed with Scooter Braun in May 2019, announcing that she had a new manager in a joyous Instagram post. “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 captioned the shot, but as he said on the Pretty Big Deal podcast (and in Demi’s docuseries), this deal almost didn’t happen. “I wanted to make sure with everything she went through I honored that,” he said. “But I had every intention of telling her, ‘No.’ I felt overwhelmed at the time. We had a plan for not only how we were going to say no, but who we were going to recommend.”
Yet, Scooter changed his mind after a face-to-face with Demi. “I met her, and I said, ‘I have to do this. She’s special, and I want to do this,’ ” he said, per Refinery29. But, Scooter needed someone to vouch for Demi. Enter Ariana. “Demi and Ari went for coffee,” said Scooter. “Ariana called me later like, ‘You have to do this — I want her with us. She’s in our family! She’ll be protected, and she’s my friend. I want you to help her.’ And I just thought that was really cool. Very different from what you expect in today’s music industry.”
