Fans have been begging for a Marshmello & Demi Lovato collaboration for years, and today, “OK Not To Be OK” is finally out. Released during Suicide Prevention Week, the song’s title and meaning is clear as day: some days aren’t as good as others, and that’s okay.
“I think it’s just such an important subject,” Marshmello told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “I think a lot of people, about negative feelings and negative thoughts that are affecting them are kind of scared to bring it up, scared to talk about it. When in reality, they’re scared because maybe the person won’t relate or the person won’t understand, when in reality most of time the person that you could bring it up to, will most likely has felt like this or will understand or can relate as well. So I think it’s very important to talk about it.”
The song itself sort of came into being around four years ago, though it wasn’t actively worked on until recently. Marshmello says the two of them met at a party years ago in LA where they first met. And seeing each other at awards shows thereafter, the two would always have a cordial experience, “so this collaboration has kind of been just in the works, I would say.” 
It’s filled with a lot of subtle and understated sounds. It’s not a festival banger, but you could almost picture all the images of fans crying meeting Mello for the first time, sending him messages about how they’re feeling down… Demi walking around the stage of Ultra singing this with a soft fog covering the stage. (Man, I miss festivals.)
“So she did the song and then I got it and it was just kind of piano and that’s about it,” Marshmello explained to Lowe. “And so then I was like, how can I create an instrumental, instruments, that compliment the emotion of the song? So in the beginning it’s very slow and stuff, so I made the instrumental very slow. And then during the hook, which is the resolve of the song, I kind of picked it up with the energy and it’s kind of like a little dance tune.
“I think that was a huge driving force in making the song, as well, as there was only one way the song could be. And so I spent a long time trying to find that exact moment where I was like, ‘Oh, okay, this is exactly how the song should sound. This is how it makes me feel.’ So it was just kind of like emotion turned to music in a way.”
“OK Not To Be OK” is a lot different from Marshmello’s other music, and that’s entirely by design. As he mentioned, “there was only one way the song could be.” It had to match both artists’ styles while still making a statement, and that statement had to be uplifting and meaningful. We’d say job well done.
Listen below!
Photo via Rukes.com
