Pair two inspirational vocalists and what do you get? The ultimate remix of Lizzo‘s “Special” featuring SZA.
Lizzo, fresh off her record of the year Grammy, unveiled the updated version of her latest album’s title track on Thursday (Feb. 9), featuring a new opening verse from SZA. “Woke up this morning to somebody judging me / No surprise they judging me / Don’t know who I’m ‘sposed to be / I’m just actin’ up, I’m brash as f— / Never saying sorry / Found out in the end that I can only do it for me,” the singer croons in the first verse, before joining Lizzo in the chorus for angelic harmonies.
Lizzo hinted that she was getting to work on something with SZA back in November. “Something Special coming your way soon… 👀 @sza,” the four-time Grammy winner shared on Twitter, along with a video of her and SZA, with a snippet of the “Special” remix playing over the video.
The duo’s collaboration was also featured in Lizzo’s Live in Concert HBO Max special, in which they performed the track onstage in November 2022 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
“My actual sister. I could cry thinking about you right now. Nothing could make special more special than you @sza [red heart emoji],” Lizzo captioned a clip from the performance. “A gift to the world,” SZA tells her Grammy winning bestie onstage. “Thanks so much for even being my friend. I love you. You’re special.”
Listen to the new version of “Special,” featuring SZA, below.