Who Was in Demi Lovato’s Backing Band at the 2023 MTV VMAs?
Who was in Demi Lovato's backing band for the pop star's rocking performance at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday (Sept. 12)?
Because that assuredly wasn't Nita Strauss on guitar with her — Strauss has returned to her previous role as a guitarist in Alice Cooper's band after becoming part of Lovato's group last year.
At the 2023 VMAs, Lovato did a rock medley of her songs "Heart Attack," "Sorry Not Sorry" and "Cool for the Summer." The pop star returned to her emo-tinged rock roots on her last album, 2022's HOLY FVCK. Strauss toured with her behind it.
See video of the VMAs performance below.
Who Is in Demi Lovato's Band?
But, again, that wasn't Strauss on guitar with Lovato at the VMAs — it was her current guitarist, Constance Antoinette, along with the bassist Leanne Bowes and the drummer Brittany Bowman.
All three are Los Angeles-based musicians who also perform with other acts. Antoinette got her musical education at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood before getting her break playing guitar on Fox's Glee backing Adam Lambert, as she said in an interview. She's also played with Shiragirl and opened for the Misfits as a solo artist.
Both Bowes and Bowman played with Strauss and keyboardist Dani McGinley on Lovato's "Holy Fvck Tour" last year. And while Strauss is now back with Alice Cooper, she still stopped in to perform a song with Lovato at a concert back in June.
Tuesday was the first time Lovato performed at the VMAs in six years. She last sang at the awards show in 2017, when she participated in an animated presentation of "Sorry Not Sorry," per Us Weekly.
Demi Lovato Rock History
Lovato has myriad rock ties. In 2020, she contributed to a version of All Time Low's "Monsters" with blackbear. Before that, she released a Travis Barker-assisted "emo version" of one of her pop songs. As a fan, Demi Lovato's love for old-school emo and metalcore is well documented.
Of late, she's been revisiting some of her old pop hits and giving them a more rock-influenced makeover. "Sorry Not Sorry" was revisited back in July with a new assist from Slash. Demi Lovato's new Revamped album is due this Friday (Sept. 15).
READ MORE: See the Full Rock + Alternative Winners List From the 2023 MTV VMAs
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