Nita Strauss has opened up about her experience working alongside pop star Demi Lovato following their collaboration on the ‘Holy Fvck’ tour. Speaking on Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio program, Strauss offered an insight into the transformation that Lovato underwent, not only in her personal style but also in the evolution of her music during the tour.
Since Strauss had ridden the wave with Alice Cooper prior to changing shifts, her background in hard rock and metal had brought an exciting twist to Lovato’s music, which was embraced by Lovato’s pop fan base. The change in fan reaction was obvious as Lovato shifted to a harder sound, even one of her most popular hits ‘Cool for the Summer.’
It was during this tour that Strauss noticed how Lovato’s fans, unlike many in the rock and metal scene, did not resist change and instead celebrated the new side of Demi transforming from a pop star to a rock star. The all-female band was the cherry on top of their successful trek together.
Nita Strauss’ words about Demi Lovato’s style evolution read:
“It was an amazing experience working with Demi. Obviously, I come from the rock/hard rock/metal world, and I am so used to fans being up in arms anytime something changes.
The cool thing that I found is that Demi changed her entire style. She changed her clothing and musical style and reworked all her huge hits. She has a song, ‘Cool for the Summer,’ with billions of Spotify plays, and she did a full-on rock version with a little Metallica thrown in there for good measure. And the fans loved it. The fans supported her and screamed their faces off until the end of the show. There was no pushback. There was no ‘This is not what you’re supposed to sound like. This isn’t what we signed up for. We want the old Demi back…’ type gatekeeping that we see in the style of music that we’re more used to.”
She added:
“It was beautiful to be a part of this evolution. Demi was so happy on the road. You can really tell this is where she wants to be as an artist and to get to be a part of that along with such a great band — an all-female band, so many women on the crew (lighting director, production assistant, wardrobe, Demi’s day-to-day manager) — there are so many women in high positions on that tour as well, which was so unique.
It being a largely sober tour was huge for me too. I’ve been sober a long time, and being in that more healthy atmosphere and environment was really nice. It was a win all around.”
Even though Nita is back on the road with Alice Cooper, her reflections on her experience working with Lovato gave a glimpse into Demi’s transformation as an artist that broke down genre boxes and was a great example of a broader shift in the music industry. As Strauss put it, the ‘Holy Fvck’ tour was a ‘win all around’ for her as a rocker and for the genre as a whole.
