LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Solana Imani Rowe, more famously known as SZA, recently sat down for an interview. The Grammy-winner singer, who is currently on her SOS Tour, frankly spoke of fame and its downside as well as her mental health struggles before comparing herself to Susan Boyle.
SZA told ELLE magazine, “It’s all really fickle...Had the first three shows of my tour gone poorly, would the rest of my dates have been sold out? Would those people be outside waiting in line by the time we got to LA? No. All it takes is, what, three poorly shot TikTok videos to basically decide that this tour is not worth coming to see.”
‘I’m grateful that they like my art’
“I know that people don’t love me because love is really unconditional, and I’m one scandal away from being canceled indefinitely like anyone else. I’m grateful that they like my art and that it speaks to them, and it connects and tethers all of us together in this weird way,” the ‘I Hate U’ singer mentioned.
“It’s dope, but it’s also still a string that could be cut at any moment. Literally, sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason to it. Remember Susan Boyle? Like, what if I’m Susan Boyle?!” she asserted while probably referring to the singer's instant fame after the third season of ‘Britain's Got Talent’ in 2009 and her Asperger's diagnosis some years ago.
‘I wasn’t born famous’
SZA then shifted her focus to mental health as she noted, “Some people think that, like, me having anxiety or me being shy or struggling with self-esteem is an act. I’m just, a dead-ass, a person. Everybody else has feelings and fears. Why wouldn’t I be scared to be famous? Would you be scared to be famous?”
The ‘Broken Clocks’ hitmaker went on to say, “Because I’m famous, I’m not allowed to be scared? I wasn’t born famous. I had regular quiet-ass parents from a small town like everybody else. And I guess at some point I’m supposed to acclimate to all of this?”
The 33-year-old songwriter also spoke of her safe space in the music industry and how she copes with negativity. She explained, “If I can’t take my wig off in this space, I don’t need to be there! That’s why I hang out with Lizzo because I can take my wig off at her house!” before mentioning, “The only way that I don’t bore myself is to bare myself. It’s freeing and empowering AF.”
‘Some of it is probably a mental issue’
Meanwhile, SOS Tour director Ian Valentine has shed light on SZA and her ongoing concert tour. He said, “This is probably one of the most ambitious shows that we’ve ever made. These are powerful songs that really require an amazing performance out of her musically. She’s got to do that while she’s doing choreo, navigating set changes, and the physicality of the performance space, all while looking beautiful and like she’s having a great time.”
“She navigates all of those challenges so well that the show just feels seamless. She’s a fighter who is serious about her performance. She’s also her toughest critic,” Valentine added, which SZA validated by stating, “I’m never happy with anything because I’m just like, ‘This was not good enough.’ I don’t know why I’m like that. I feel like some of it is probably a mental issue, some disorder that needs to be treated.”
