SZA and Justin Bieber may have failed at romance in the official video for the former’s hit single, “Snooze,” but now, the two have reconnected to bring the song to life in a whole new way. On Friday, SZA shared a new version of the track entitled “Snooze (Acoustic),” and instead of just having a cameo in the video, Bieber actually duets on the track. Stream the song below.
“Snooze” first debuted in December 2022 as the eighth track on SZA’s sophomore studio album, SOS. This past April, it was shared as a single, and as of the chart dated September 9th, it’s sitting at its peak position of No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart. In August, a music video for the song arrived, featuring SZA going through a “multiverse” of romantic relationships with cameo lovers: Woody McClain, Young Mazino, Benny Blanco, and, of course, Bieber.
Now, “Snooze (Acoustic)” features SZA and Bieber’s voices in harmony, and though they each have moments to take the lead vocal, the track’s highlights really are when they sing together. The artists’ signature lilts are complimentary, and the blend of their performances elevates the sparse, acoustic-guitar-led arrangement to a dreamy level. Listen to it below.
SOS is the follow-up to SZA’s celebrated debut album, Crtl, and has spent 10 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard charts since it dropped, marking the first No. 1 album for our previous cover star. Our review describes the album as “an assured, ambitious, expansive, and genre-defying journey into the very depths of heartbreak and the many shades it comes in,” and celebrated its message that it’s “okay to keep wondering, to keep exploring, to keep having empathy, and to be alone.” Last week, a deluxe version of SOS entitled Lana was announced, but the project currently has no release date.
Meanwhile, SZA is still on the road for her “SOS Tour,” which runs through the end of October. Check out the full list of dates, and grab your tickets here.
As for Bieber, he recently appeared to have parted ways with his longtime manager, Scooter Braun, after a report arrived from Puck News in August that the two haven’t spoken in several months. Representatives for both Bieber and Braun subsequently denied the report, but Braun has indeed lost several notable clients, including Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato.
