Royal & the Serpent Excitedly Recalls Being Asked to Collaborate with Demi Lovato on Holy Fvck
Jim Bennett/Getty; Emma McIntyre/Getty Royal & The Serpent, Demi Lovato
Ryan Santiago, aka Royal & the Serpent, was stoked to find out Demi Lovato was looking to collaborate.
In a video posted to the 28-year-old musician's TikTok page in late June, Santiago excitedly recalled the events that led to the creation of "Choke on It," a collaboration with Lovato that appears on the pop star's upcoming album Holy Fvck, which drops August 19.
Following a popular third-person TikTok storytelling format, Santiago said in the clip, "Put a finger down if your publisher called you one day and asked you if you had any interest in writing for other artists instead of just writing for yourself."
She then recalled saying "Yeah" — depending on the artist. "And they said, 'Would you like to write for Demi Lovato?' And you say, 'Yes,' because holy s---, you've loved them for your whole life and used to sing and blast their songs in the car when you were just a young girl," continued Santiago.
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When it came time for the studio session, Santiago said she was "freaking out" and "so nervous" she nearly canceled. "But your entire team yells at you and says that you have to go," she said. "And then you end up really hitting it off, and you have a really great time in the session, and you write a really cool song."
Santiago's budding friendship with Lovato didn't end there, as they later exchanged numbers. "And after you text them and say how much they mean to you, and how much their music has meant to you, and how you learned to sing [by] singing their songs in the car when you were a little girl," added the musician. "And then next thing you know they ask if you wanna come write some more songs for the album."
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Island Records Demi Lovato
The Royal & the Serpent performer remembered feeling "really nervous again" and "terrified" because Lovato said there'd be a "camera crew" at the studio. But the session went well, and Santiago was then asked to feature on "Choke on It."
Both musicians went back to the studio the following day to record the song. "But it's the hardest song you've ever had to sing because their voice is so high, and you lose your voice for an entire week after, but you don't care because it's so cool," said Santiago in the TikTok, which is captioned "PINCH ME."
"The next thing you know, they text you a couple weeks later, and they ask if you wanna go on tour," continued Santiago, referencing Royal & the Serpent's opening slot on Lovato's upcoming Holy Fvck Tour. "And so you say yes, obviously, because of course you wanna go on tour with them, but you still kind of don't believe it until a few months later, they post on Instagram that you're actually doing it."
Demi Lovato
Lovato seemed to love Santiago's TikTok post, as they took to the comments section to leave a note for their future tourmate. "YOU F---ING CUTIE - soooo sweet," wrote the "Skin of My Teeth" singer. "I love you and I'm so glad you didn't cancel and we'll struggle w that super high song together."
"I LOVE U hehehehe," replied Santiago. "i'm SO grateful."
