While Demi Lovato remains hospitalized following an apparent overdose, her devoted fans showered her with support from across the country.
The Grammy nominee was slated to perform in Atlantic City Thursday night at 9:15 p.m. However, on the heels of her emergency hospitalization on Tuesday, LiveNation confirmed to E! News that the headliner was withdrawn from the performance.
"Tickets will be valid to attend the Lauv performance on July 26 along with The Chainsmokers show on July 29 as part of the Atlantic City BeachFest Concert Series," a spokesman announced. "Refunds are also available at point of purchase if preferred."
Nevertheless, dozens of fans demonstrated their relentless support by heading to Atlantic City in Lovato's absence, sporting T-shirts with her face on them and holding signs of encouragement for the performer with messages like "Stay Strong."
E! News spoke exclusively with Paige Robison and Jake Rudzinski, who helped organize the last-minute gathering. "A couple days ago with the events that happened with Demi, we found out that the show was canceled, and a lot of people traveled from Canada, Indiana, Illinois, Chicago. We were all looking forward to the concert and the disappointment of it not going on, it being canceled, it motivated me to want to still get the people who traveled all this way together to show our support to Demi, to let her know that we love her, we care for her and we're going to stand by her," Robison told E! News.
"I felt like in this time we needed to be around people who understood what we were going through. This fandom is a family and it made us feel connected and we couldn't thank Demi more for that and we just wanted to show our support for her."
Using social media to spread the word, fans headed to Atlantic City boardwalk to participate. Once together, the Lovatics, as Demi's fans are nicknamed, did the honors for the star as they broke out into her hits like "Confident" and her recently released "Sober."
"We actually live-streamed it and we were taking requests from the people who were watching around the world. We sang a lot of her hits and the songs that she just came out with from her new album, Tell Me You Love Me and we sang her newest song, 'Sober,' just as a tribute to her because at the end we said 'we'll always be there for you!'" Robison recalled. "I know that song is probably hard for her to perform and we sat and we held hands for that one."
"We just want her to know that we are still here and we love her so much," Rudzinski added. "She always says 'Stay strong' and that's what we want to do. We used the hastag #prayfordemi and #staystrongdemi. We hope that she sees it!"
While her fans continue to stand in solidarity with her—including getting tattoos of her signature heart—Lovato remains in the hospital.
In a statement issued late Tuesday night, the "Heart Attack" singer's publicist said, "Demi is awake and with her family who want to express thanks to everyone for the love, prayers and support. Some of the information being reported is incorrect and they respectfully ask for privacy and not speculation as her health and recovery is the most important thing right now."
While it's currently unclear which substance or substances were involved in Lovato's overdose, a source told E! News "it wasn't heroin," refuting early reports.
"This is obviously a huge wake-up call. Demi doesn't want to die and she's very grateful to be alive," a source explained to E! News. "She will be leaving the hospital and heading straight to rehab. Her family has been by her side supporting her and is getting her the help she needs."
Though she's thousands of miles away from Atlantic City, we have a feeling her fans' supportive singing reached the star in some way. Even without being there, Lovato managed to help bring her fans together and bond.
"We actually rented an Airbnb and got a bunch of Lovatics together to stay there. We call it the Lovatic Beach House!" Robison added. "We've all met because of Demi."
—Reporting by Alli Rosenbloom