IOU: SZA Says She Owes Beyoncé for ‘SOS’ Interpolation
Even award-winning artists have IOUs — and SZA has one with Beyoncé. The title track of SZA’s 2022 hit album SOS includes both lyrics and the melody from Beyoncé’s “Listen”,…
Even award-winning artists have IOUs — and SZA has one with Beyoncé.
The title track of SZA’s 2022 hit album SOS includes both lyrics and the melody from Beyoncé’s “Listen”, a powerful song from the 2006 Dreamgirls soundtrack. But according to SZA herself, there’s still an unpaid debt for using it.
The detail came up in the comments section of an Instagram reel posted by influencer Zuhaila Jama on April 28. In the video, Jama jokes about how many people are credited on Beyoncé’s songs, suggesting the singer is generous with recognition — even to those who might have only briefly been in the studio.
SZA responded directly in the comments: “I literally owe her half my publishing off interpolation alone on SOS and she never pressed me lmao,” she wrote, calling Beyoncé “a generous QUEEN.”
The track “SOS” opens SZA’s album and includes a line near the end that nods clearly to Beyoncé’s original. SZA sings, “And I cried and cried / Said what’s on my mind,” which closely echoes Beyoncé’s lyric from “Listen”: “And I’ve tried and tried / To say what’s on my mind.”
According to Genius, “SOS” was written by SZA, Gabriel Samuel Hardeman, Rob Bisel, and Jay Versace, who also produced the track. The song interpolates “Listen” and also samples “Until I Found the Lord (My Soul Couldn’t Rest)” by the Gabriel Hardeman Delegation — which explains Hardeman’s songwriting credit.
“Listen”, meanwhile, was written by Beyoncé, Scott Cutler, Henry Krieger, and Anne Preven.
So while Beyoncé hasn’t asked for anything, SZA says she still owes her — and clearly appreciates her generosity.
