Demi Lovato’s eighth studio album, HOLY FVCK, by most accounts is a rebirth of sorts for the singer. After all, Lovato had already held “a funeral for [her] pop music” several months earlier. HOLY FVCK, then, is a 16-track, hard rock break from their pop-infused past. Lovato fully committed to her new sound while also laying bare her struggles with addiction, trauma, and more.
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One song, in particular, has caught fans’ and critics’ attention for its intensely sorrowful message. “DEAD FRIENDS” is an ode to all of the friends that Lovato has lost: I miss the hell we can’t raise, I miss the time we can’t waste/ I miss the texts they can’t send, I miss my dead friends. Further, as Lovato explained to Zane Lowe, it also addresses the survivor’s guilt that Lovato felt after their overdose in 2018.
“I’ve made friends of all ages. I’ve lost friends that were around my age, and those hurt so deeply because we’ve been in the trenches together,” Lovato told Lowe. “I had a lot of survivor’s guilt after my overdose because … right after that, Mac Miller died, and it just put everything into perspective for me of, ‘That could have been you, that almost was you, and how are you going to live your life now?’ And it affected me a lot.”
Mac Miller died on September 7, 2018, from an accidental drug overdose.
Outside of “DEAD FRIENDS,” other standout tracks include “29,” “HAPPY ENDING,” “SUBSTANCE,” and “CITY OF ANGELS.” The album is worth a listen or two (or three!), but buckle up because it isn’t for the faint of heart.
In other Lovato news, the singer recently explained their decision to use “she/her” pronouns along with “they/them” pronouns. “I’m a very fluid person,” Lovato said in a recent statement.
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