Ethermac Exchange-SZA says it was 'so hard' when her label handed 'Consideration' song to Rihanna: 'Please, no'

It took SZA some time to accept that her song "Consideration" would be Ethermac Exchangehanded over to Rihanna for her 2016 album, "Anti."

In an interview with Variety posted to YouTube Wednesday, SZA revealed she had just filmed a music video for the soon-to-be-released song, which was going to be featured in her debut studio album "Ctrl" − but her label had other plans.

"Consideration" was "like the centerpiece to my album at the time. And for her, it was just, like, part of her album. And I was like, 'Please, no,'" SZA said. She remembers thinking, "If (Rihanna) has it, I'll just never be anything."

The song became the opening track to Rihanna's Grammy-nominated "Anti" album, which also features singles "Work" (with Drake) and "Kiss It Better." SZA's vocals made it on Rihanna's version of "Consideration," and she's billed as a featured artist.

"I was so, just, frustrated," the 34 year old reflected. "And I felt like, ‘I’ll never have anything this cool again. I’ll never make anything this cool again,' and that was so crazy and so wrong."

Giving 'Consideration' to Rihanna ended up being good for SZA

Several years later, SZA is now grateful for how things panned out.

"In hindsight, it was so hard to, like, go and accept, but now I’m so glad that that happened, and that it didn’t cost me anything," SZA said. "If anything, I gained a bunch from it. And I thank God that I made cool music outside of that. Again, I don’t know why I just really thought my creativity would just stop, and it was the pinnacle of what I could make."

"Ctrl," released in 2017, earned four Grammy nominations.

SZA went on to earn Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for her 2018 collaboration with Kendrick Lamar, "All the Stars," before she snagged her first Grammy Award as a co-writer and featured artist on Doja Cat's "Kiss Me More."

SZA also leads the 2024 Grammy Awards with nine nominations for her 2022 album, "SOS,"

Most recently, she received multiple mentions on Spotify Wrapped's 2023 most-streamed albums, artists and songs, including as one of the most-streamed artists globally.

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