Demi Lovato Faces Criticism Over Her Song Selection At Heart Disease Awareness Event

Singer Demi Lovato recently took the stage for a good cause. On Wednesday, 31 January, the singer-songwriter was seen turning heads at the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection Concert in New York City. Notably, the annual event is held every year to help bring fashion, entertainment, and philanthropy together and generate awareness about women’s heart health. While Lovato’s looks for the day grabbed attention, it was something else that went viral. In what seemed to be an odd choice for the occasion, Demi Lovato was seen performing her 2013 hit song ‘Heart Attack’ at the event.

The song was among her 10-song sets chosen to be performed at the NYC concert. However, it didn’t go well with a lot of fans, as she received a lot of backlash from a section of them. While some questioned whether the song was appropriate for someone who suffered three strokes and a heart attack, a section of fans also called out being insensitive to the occasion. “Almost as bad as Beyoncé doing the airplane dance while performing Diva for a 9/11 event,” a user wrote.

While fans continue to give divided reactions to this, reports suggest that the song was a strategic choice by Lovato, and it was even encouraged by the AHA. Besides that, the crowd also enjoyed the show and didn’t seem to have taken any offence to the song choice.

Why did Demi Lovato sing ‘Heart Attack’ at AHA event?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Demi thought she wouldn’t be able to perform on the song Heart Attack, following her heart attack and a near-death experience a few years ago. However, it was at the event that she reclaimed the song and expressed the same to the audience, explaining what it meant to her.

“While my next song is about the intense feelings that come with falling in love as well as heartbreak, opening yourself up, taking risks and not being afraid to do it again, this song has many parallels for me, my journey and a reminder for all of us in the room just how strong the mind-heart-body connection truly is,” Lovato said right before performing the song.

In the meantime, the singer-songwriter was seen dressed in a custom Nicole+Felicia Couture gown on the red carpet and later changed to an all-red pantsuit after taking to the stage. She also shared several backstage pictures on her Instagram.