SZA slams Grammys as a “thirsty, dark space”
SZA has hit out at the Grammy Awards, saying that the ceremony is a “thirsty, dark space” to be.
During a new cover interview with Rolling Stone, the ‘SOS’ artist recalled losing all five of the Grammys she was up for in 2018 off the back of her debut record ‘Ctrl’ (2017), including ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Best Urban Contemporary Album’.
Carter Lang, who served as a producer and co-writer on the LP, remembered “feeling [SZA’s] pain of having to go rock out onstage” in the article. SZA said: “That’s weird that that happened to me on TV.
“That night, right before I lost the last two, Tyler [The Creator] was like, ‘Nah, it would be so fucking weird if you lost everything and they asked you to perform. That’d be so terrible, don’t even worry’. Child, when I lost that last one…”
SZA went on to say that the Grammys is “not normal”, adding: “I hate that n****s be acting like this shit is normal and nobody talks about it at all.”
She continued: “The Grammy room is one of the weirdest rooms ever. There is so much wanting in there. Wanting to be noticed, wanting to be, like, acknowledged, to win, wanting to just be amongst n****s in the room, wanting to feel valuable or validated.”
She added: “All of us are in there striving for something. It means something, even though, like, this isn’t everything. But it’s kind of important that I’m here. It kind of matters.”
The star described the ceremony as being “like a thirsty, dark space”.
However, SZA recalled that she did enjoy cheering on the likes of Beyoncé, Lizzo, Bad Bunny and Steve Lacy at this year’s Grammy Awards.
The 2022 ceremony saw SZA and Doja Cat take home the ‘Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’ award for their collaborative single ‘Kiss Me More’. Her ‘SOS’ song ‘Good Days’ was also nominated in the ‘Best R&B Song’ category last year.
Back in 2021, SZA reflected on her Grammys 2018 snub, calling it “old energy”.
In other news, SZA has earned six nominations for the 2023 MTV EMAs including ‘Best US Act’, ‘Best R&B’ and ‘Best Live’.
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Tom Skinner
NME
