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Music

Have a Double Whammy of Feelings with Paramore's SZA Mash-Up

The band covered part of SZA's "20 Something," blending it with their track "Grow Up," at shows in Barcelona and Paris over the last few days.
Lauren O'Neill
London, GB
Image via PR

If, like me, you identify as 'in your feelings,' two albums you probably enjoyed last year were Paramore's After Laughter, and Noisey's favorite of 2017, SZA's Ctrl. Both are deeply confessional albums by—or fronted by—young women navigating love and the world, and explore their relationships to both. The two albums also absolutely slap, and each did something not necessarily expected of it: Paramore's represented a musical change of direction; SZA added something completely new and unique to the R&B canon.

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In my mind, then, at least, it makes sense that these two artists would link up somewhere along the road. Hayley Williams is a musical magpie, constantly sharing on social media about the bands and artists she loves. Unsurprisingly, SZA made her way into her ears, and recently, at shows in Barcelona and Paris, Williams interpolated a little bit of Ctrl into Paramore's live show, specifically during a rendition of "Grow Up," from the group's 2013 self-titled album.

Obviously Paramore have rocked "20 Something" out a little, as they're wont to do, but it sounds very cute, and it's a great nod to one of 2017's biggest artists—one whose output has, recently at least, matched up with Paramore's so well thematically.

SZA tweeted her joy in response ("Go off queen"), so now I'm just waiting for the collab—or, preferably, the 20-part reality show where SZA and Hayley are best friends.

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