Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt Talk Viral Success of “Superficial” and Dream Collab with Taylor Swift (Exclusive)

Over the past two weeks, Heidi Montag Pratt and Spencer Pratt have been through the unimaginable.

The couple, who've been married since 2008 and resided in Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades neighborhood, tragically lost their home and all of their belongings on Jan. 8 in the ongoing wildfire. As they mourned the destruction of their property, Pratt and Montag shared their experience candidly and in real-time with fans on social media — much like they've done for a decade.

Pratt heartbreakingly shared a TikTok video of their son’s bed burning in the shape of a heart, vocalized the irony of people referring to him as a "rich celebrity" and used dark humor as he showed off the remains of his burned washer and dryer.

Related: Spencer Pratt Reveals His Son’s Bed Burned in the Shape of a Heart, Calls It 'One Positive Sign' from the Palisades Fire

Meanwhile, Montag sobbed as she revealed how “homesick” she felt after losing their house. She even opened up about experiencing the common financial scenario of being “house poor,” a statement she was subsequently criticized for — which left her reticent about continuing to publicly speak about their situation.

But the couple wouldn’t have “shared anything vulnerable” if it wasn’t out of necessity.

“I don't think we would do that if our income didn't come from social media,” Pratt, 41, tells PEOPLE of his experience with the L.A. fires. “If we were rich, I wouldn't be on an app. I'd be buying a new house and starting to order things.”

In spite of the traumatic situation, the couple, who share sons Gunner, 7, and Ryker, 2, remained steadfast in their work ethic.

“We're programmed to continue making that content because that's how we pay for bills,” he adds. “So, when your house and everything's gone, you're not going to be like, ‘Oh, I'm going to stop doing the one thing that pays us.’"

The devastating loss of their home also happened to occur just days before Montag's cult-classic pop album Superficial turned 15. The project — which they famously claimed to have poured nearly $2 million into making in 2010 — has since earned a legacy as an underrated dance-pop masterpiece that evokes a Blackout-era Britney Spears.

As Pratt and Montag offered the world an unfiltered look into the grief of losing their home, the public rallied around them.

While a friend set up a GoFundMe to help the couple, Pratt championed his wife, using his captivating social media presence to get fans onboard to stream Superficial and help them rebuild.

“Spencer's always been that way from the beginning of our relationship,” Montag, 38, tells PEOPLE. “But I'm so glad that people can finally appreciate that in him. He always has been my biggest cheerleader.”

Soon, everyone from local businesses to former The Hills co-stars to celebrities began posting videos on TikTok and Instagram featuring songs from Superficial to help Pratt and Montag recoup some of their income.

Flavor Flav, Paris Hilton, Emily Ratajkowski, Julia Fox, Alix Earle, Brody Jenner, Kristin Cavallari and even Bad Bunny have taken to social media to encourage followers to stream Montag’s debut — leading Superficial to score the No. 1 spot on the iTunes chart.

At the time of its release, Montag compared the album to Michael Jackson’s 1982 classic, Thriller. and now, she says, Superficial is in fact “No. 1 like Thriller.”

She's been in awe of the widespread support during this difficult time.

“[It’s] been unbelievable to see and experience and to have so many people be so kind and really spending their whole days listening to my music to help us to chart,” she says.

Related: Spencer Pratt Reveals How Much He's Made from TikTok After Losing Home in L.A. Fires

For Pratt, seeing celebrities hop on board wasn't the most shocking part. It was the range of “age demos” and accounts posting. “This pizza place in Chicago made a video celebrating their opening like, ‘Prince Street Pizza [we're dedicating] opening our pizza place in honor [of] Heidi's music today.’ Things like that to me [are shocking]. Small businesses and people in Kroger and these markets playing the music at just every destination you can think of,” he says.

Pratt even prepared himself for what was the short-lived TikTok ban. “I downloaded a thousand of these videos in case TikTok goes away just so I could have these memories of all these amazing people that were there to support Heidi,” he says.

But even before the fires, Montag was planning to celebrate 15 years of Superficial with a new anniversary edition. Released Jan. 10, the expanded album features its original 12 songs, as well as “vault” tracks and six new remixes.

Montag believes Superficial’s widespread fandom “represents the nostalgia of 2000s for people, which they love.”

“But I didn't realize how many people's lives it did impact at the time and that it became its own cult classic over the years,” she says. “And I've had so many people come up to me and say my music saved their lives in their adolescence and how much it impacted them.”

Over the years, stories from fans about how much her album served as a balm and helped them find “escapism” or “confidence” have stuck with her.

“I've had countless stories of people coming up to me in tears [saying] how thankful they were and how much they appreciate what I stood for, went through and just public scrutiny, being publicly so criticized,” says Montag of an era when she and Pratt were a “cultural feast of clickbait.” “Because I think a lot of people feel that way in their own worlds.”

Five days after the release of the anniversary edition of Superficial, Montag shared an already-recorded music video for the song “I’ll Do It,” which featured her in a crystal Birkin dress and cosplaying a version of the “hot nurse” in her song. “OnlyFans TV approached me and they said, ‘We would love to make an official ‘I'll Do It’ music video for the anniversary coming up,’” says Montag.

While Montag may be commemorating the anniversary of Superficial right now, she’s also been churning out pop bangers like "5G," "WET HOT SUMMER" and her most recent single “Prototype,” with some of the most innovative, up-and-coming artists in pop, like Girlpool’s Harmony Tividad, Chrissy Chlapecka, Sizzy Rocket, Mel 4Ever and 6arelyhuman.

“The past year we've been really working hard in the music industry again,” she explains.

Montag credits Pratt for how strategic they’ve been when it comes to her pop career. “Spencer [is] obviously at the helm of it all,” she says. “But we're trying to get the new ‘it people’ in pop. They are the ‘it people.’”

Like they did for Montag’s debut, she and Pratt are “A&Ring” her forthcoming project, which she says is a mixtape. “It's really hard to officially compose another album,” Montag admits.

Ideally, she’d want to make something as “sought-after” as Superficial. “The music industry has changed a lot,” she explains. “So we're just trying to be relevant with the way the industry is working, with all the up-and-coming artists and trying to strategize the best that we can.”

Related: Paris Hilton Supports Heidi Montag by Dancing with Her Kids to Superficial After Both Lose Homes in Wildfires

However, Montag has one dream collaboration with a pop megastar on her bucket list. “Obviously, everyone wants Taylor Swift, so that would be amazing,” she says, adding: “So Taylor, if you want to collab, I'm fully available. I'll fly wherever you are.”

While more music is on the horizon for Montag, the couple are hoping the reinvigorated hype around them in the past few weeks will help some projects stuck in limbo move forward — like a reality TV show they were “shopping” around a few months before the fires.

“We have had some networks that are interested and continue to have conversations,” says Montag. “I feel like we thrive on reality TV, and that's our roots individually and as a couple.”

They envision a show where they would be able to “help rebuild the Palisades and be able to help other people with everything that they're going through, [with] the dynamic journey of the success of my music and balancing family life.”

And yes, they do plan to rebuild their home in the Palisades. Their architect neighbor’s “fireproof house” is “fully intact,” and he’s already agreed to rebuild their home and make it “fireproof.”

“We are going to rebuild no matter how long it takes,” says Montag. “Our main goal is for our kids to inherit [our house]. So we definitely need to rebuild that back regardless of how much time that ends up taking.”

Related: Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag Break Down Crying After Losing Their Home in Wildfires: 'Out of Body Insane'

While she hopes it’s sooner rather than later, for now, Montag hopes people will continue to support them by streaming her music.

“You can stream it on silent, you can stream it on sound, however, you want. Buy the iTunes album — and that’s the biggest way,” Montag notes. Next, she’s eyeing “that Billboard No. 1.”

Regardless of what comes to fruition, Montag and Pratt are just grateful for the support they’ve received thus far.

“It just really went so much further than we had hoped or dreamed and obviously, out of such a devastating time and moment, but we're really thankful for everyone really rallying behind us,” says Montag.

Read the original article on People