SZA Owes Beyoncé Royalties & Beyoncé Couldn’t Care Less
SZA admitted she owes Beyoncé a chunk of her publishing rights after borrowing lyrics from the pop icon’s 2006 ballad “Listen.”
SZA used some of the lyrics for her 2022 track “SOS”, but says the superstar has never asked for a dime.
The Grammy-winning singer dropped the confession in the comments of an Instagram reel posted by influencer Zuhaila Jama, who joked about Beyoncé’s long list of songwriting credits.
SZA said, “I literally owe her half my publishing off interpolation alone on ‘SOS’ and she never pressed me lmao. A generous QUEEN 😭.”
The interpolation in question appears at the end of “SOS,” where SZA sings, “And I cried and cried / Said what’s on my mind,” a slight lyrical shift from Beyoncé’s original lines in “Listen”: “And I’ve tried and tried / To say what’s on my mind.”
Despite the borrowed bars, SZA said Beyoncé hasn’t come calling for compensation.
The 36-year-old artist has long admired the former Destiny’s Child frontwoman and once admitted she was too nervous to epproach her.
“I can’t speak unless she wants to speak, in my brain, because I don’t want to bother her,” SZA told E! News in 2023. “She looked so peaceful and beautiful. I just admire her. She’s a masterclass on poise, grace, artistry, beauty and kindness.”
“SOS,” released in December 2022, marked SZA’s first studio album in five years and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.