New version of the song appears on the album Revamped, which features the singer’s old hits in a more rock-oriented reinterpretation
Released as the album’s first single Confident (2015), “Cool for the Summer” is one of the biggest hits of his career Demi Lovato. The song entered the top 10 of the charts in several countries, such as the United Kingdom, Greece, Canada and New Zealand, in addition to obtaining platinum certification in the United States (triple), Australia and Germany.
Interestingly, the song underwent a subtle and at the same time important change in terms of lyrics for its re-recording in Revampedalbum where Lovato explores his previous hits in a more rock facet. In its original lyrics, the chorus said:
“Don’t tell your mother (Don’t tell your mother)
Kiss one another
Die for each other
We’re cool for the summer.”
On the new album, released on September 15th, the artist transformed the excerpt into:
“Go tell your mother (Go tell your mother)
Kiss one another
Die for each other
We’re cool for the summer.”
Quantitatively, it’s a subtle change: just one verse, which went from being “don’t tell your mother” to “go tell your mother”. However, because it is a song where Demi addresses a romance between two women, she wanted to make it something that shouldn’t be hidden.
The change was explained in an interview with The Zach SangShow (via American Songwriter). Lovato evaluated:
“I changed the lyrics from ‘Don’t tell your mother’ to ‘Go tell your mother.’ It’s a pride and I wanted it to be reflective. When I first released the song, I wasn’t in a place where I felt comfortable enough with my sexuality to tell the world that I was bi at the time, so the lyrics reflected where I was emotionally, which was, ‘Don’t tell your mother’.”
The biggest fear of Demi at the time it was his family. She had not yet come out as bisexual to her parents. In the end, “Cool for the Summer” It was a hit and both dad and mom got the tone of the lyrics without much difficulty.
“I didn’t tell my mother or father that I had feelings for women. After I told my parents and the rest of the world — first of all, my parents said, ‘Yes, we heard the ‘Cool for the Summer’, we already know’. As soon as I came out, I thought, ‘Why did I release a song with ‘Don’t Tell Your Mom’? I want people to feel proud, so I changed the lyrics.”
Demi Lovato and the rock approach to pop hits
During his recent shows, Demi Lovato He has already presented revamped versions of his songs, now more rock-oriented. However, they needed to be adapted into studio recordings. The album Holy Fvck (2022) already brought this rock approach, but in a new repertoire. Revamped makes the artist return to songs from the past to do the same.
During the interview, she reflected on this and other motivations that led her to work on re-recordings.
“I wanted to make a greatest hits album without it being a greatest hits album. My fans love certain songs that maybe aren’t my hits, but are deep songs that fans know. ‘La La Land’ is one of them. It’s not a hit that played on the radio, but it was a song that my fans, who have been fans of mine for a long time, know very well. I wanted to make a new album that reflected my new sound, but was still reminiscent of the 2008-2009 era when I released it. I loved the result. I’m very happy with it. Nostalgia is something that millennials really enjoy now, so that has had an influence as well.”
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
