When Demi Lovato geared up to make her glorious return to the music scene, she teamed to celebrity manager Scooter Braun to help her career get back on track. A year after signing her, Braun is opening up about the details of his decision to work the singer, sharing that Ariana Grande was one of the biggest factors in making the deal happen.
Braun sat down with model and TV personality Ashley Graham to talk about his career on an episode of her Pretty Big Deal podcast. During the episode, he revealed that he was initially hesitant to add Lovato to his Rolodex of celebrity clients. In addition to Graham, who signed with Braun in 2018 to build her lifestyle brand, he currently works with Justin Bieber, Kanye West, J. Balvin, Usher, and Karli Kloss. Taking on a new client wasn't high on his laundry list of priorities at the time.
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Braun met with Lovato without intending to sign her, but upon sitting down with Lovato, he realized that he wanted to work with her. "I met her, and I said, 'I have to do this. She's special, and I want to do this,'" Braun shared with Graham on the podcast. But he knew that he had to get the green light from two women on his roster, Tori Kelly and Grande.
Both were on board, and Grande was especially thrilled with the idea of bringing Lovato onto the team. Following Lovato's overdose in 2018, Grande's mother Joan penned a heartfelt open letter, revealing that she had played a huge role in the sobriety journey of her son, Frankie, and had always supported her daughter's career.
"Demi and Ari went for coffee," said Braun. "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," he continued. "Very different from what you expect in today's music industry."
Lovato signed a contract with Braun's company shortly after sitting down with Grande, commemorating the move in an Instagram post.
"Couldn't be happier, inspired and excited to begin this next chapter with you Scooter!!" she captioned the photo. "Thank you for believing in me and for being apart of this new journey. Let's DO THIS!!!!!!"
Since signing with Braun, Lovato has been hard at work and booking major gigs left and right. She brought the house down at the 2020 Oscars, sang the national anthem at this year's Super Bowl, and will even host her own talk show on Quibi when it launches next month. On top of all that, she's working on her next album. The Demissance is here, thanks in part to Grande's love and support.