SZA has revealed what it was like working with Justin Bieber during a wide-ranging interview with the Wall Street Journal that was released on Monday.
The 33-year-old singer collaborated with the Sorry songwriter on a remix of her 2022 single Snooze, and he later starred in the original track’s official video.
The performer also shared that the 29-year-old songwriter was not supposed to appear in the very risque clip until he called her after the release of her second album.
SZA recalled: ‘Justin wasn’t even in the video until the video was already being shot. Him and Hailey [Bieber] were randomly the first people to hit me on FaceTime after SOS dropped.’
The hitmaker, born Solana Imani Rowe, also stated that Bieber was particularly easy to work with while they shot the video.
Opening up: SZA spoke about working with Justin Bieber during a wide-ranging interview with the Wall Street Journal that was released on Monday; she is seen in August
‘[Bieber] showed up and he was down as f*** for the whole day, and didn’t trip about nothing,’ she stated.
The original Snooze was met with commercial success and peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Kill Bill singer also spoke about working with other artists during the sit-down, and she recalled being surprised when Drake used her first vocal take on the final version of their collaborative track Slime You Out.
The track was featured on the Find Your Love singer’s newest album, For All The Dogs and the 37-year-old rapper became embroiled in a minor controversy after he used an image of Halle Berry as the song’s album art.
SZA stated: ‘I just handed in the first draft to Drake, and he’s putting it on his album. I’m scared because I handed in second vocals and he didn’t use that. And now I’m like, “Are you trying to sabotage me?”
‘I literally know that’s not true, but that’s how bad I feel about my first draft. When things come from an effortless space, I almost can’t enjoy it,’ she added.
The Ghost In The Machine singer then spoke about being disappointed with receiving positive reviews for songs she viewed as afterthoughts.
She stated: ‘The songs that I care so much about, that I tried so hard on, people be like, “That’s nice.” But the s*** that took no thought and came out of my mouth in five seconds? “Girl, that’s the one.”‘
Showing up: The performer, who revealed that the 29-year-old songwriter was not supposed to appear in the very risque clip until he called her after the release of her second album
Looking back: The Kill Bill singer also spoke about working with other artists during the sit-down, and she recalled being surprised when Drake used her first vocal take on the final version of their collaborative track Slime You Out; she is seen in February
Not what she expected: The Ghost In The Machine singer then spoke about being disappointed with receiving positive reviews for songs she viewed as afterthought; she is seen in March
Grounded: However, SZA did discuss how she viewed the process of recording music as both therapeutic and calming; she is seen in 2022
However, SZA did discuss how she viewed the process of recording music as both therapeutic and calming.
‘When I leave the studio, I feel better and empty. There’s no better sleep than empty-brain sleep, and that can only come after I’ve been in the studio for 10 hours and done something good in there,’ she said.
The performer concluded by discussing expanding her musical boundaries and attempting to retain the attention of her old fans while making new ones.
‘I don’t want to push the R&B audience away. I also don’t want to not be allowed to be who I am in a full spectrum,’ she said.