There’s a hidden Lizzo feature on SZA’s ‘SOS’ – and they’ve recorded more songs together
Lizzo secretly appears on SZA‘s new album ‘SOS’, it has been revealed, with the pair having also written more collaborations together.
The long-awaited follow-up to the singer’s 2017 debut LP ‘CTRL’ came out on December 9, which features a surprise collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers.
Also on the new album is ‘F2F’, an unexpected turn towards rock music from SZA. According to a new appearance from SZA and her collaborators on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, it’s one of “five or six” rock songs recorded for the album, and also features a secret cameo from Lizzo.
“I made a whole bunch of rock songs,” SZA said. “They were all terrible in terms of, like, saying bad things about what I’ve done to people, but it sounded cool, and I think that’s what all those songs are really about. Just being super honest and letting that out.
“But yeah, I love making those type of songs….For sure on this album. I made a whole bunch of versions of me.”
‘SOS’ producer, engineer and songwriter Rob Bisel revealed that Lizzo is on the track in the form of a pitched-up vocal on its bridge. “We just happened to have that one pulled up the day that that Lizzo was there,” he said.
Bisel added that there are “definitely a handful” of SZA songs featuring Lizzo, with the producer adding: “I don’t want to incriminate myself here, but there’s some stuff floating around for sure.”
Of her relationship with Lizzo, SZA added: “We just have so much fun together. And I feel like she gets me. She’s another person who has hella [wide] music tastes and doesn’t fit in anybody’s box of anything.
“She makes it seem like she doesn’t even care, like she just does whatever she wants. And I just love being with her, just as a friend and hanging out. So whenever she comes to a studio, I just feel like, ‘Let’s drop into some bullshit.’”
The list of potential collaborators for ‘SOS’ didn’t end there, with recent reports revealing that the album could have featured collaborations with the likes of Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and more.
A recently released behind-the-scenes video titled ‘SOS: Where The Hell Have You Been?’ reveals that at one point, SZA was considering more collabs.
One scene of the documentary sees a whiteboard of potential features that lists the likes of Doja Cat, Drake, Finneas, Frank Ocean, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Harry Styles and Kacey Musgraves.
According to SZA’s whiteboard, collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, The Creator and Rosalía were also considered.
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Will Richards
NME
