SZA unexpectedly shared a cover of Eminem‘s 2002 hit “Lose Yourself” on social media on Thursday night, leaving her followers and even Eminem in shock.
“U ever just cover Eminem on some tender shit for feels?” SZA said in the caption to her minute-long post. The piano cover features SZA sweetly singing the song from the “8 Mile” soundtrack in a stripped-back rendition and she notes that it’s not for a project and is purely “just for mental health.”
Just hours after she shared the cover, Eminem quickly responded to the cover with an emoji of a blushing, wide-eyed face. In the comments, other stars such as Camila Cabello, Kacey Musgraves and Questlove responded with praise and love for SZA’s voice and performance.
The cover arrived nearly at the same time as Eminem’s new single, “Houdini.” The song is the first taste of his upcoming 12th album “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce),” dropping this summer. Earlier this week, he released an Instagram Reel with magician David Blaine where he announced “Houdini” as the first single. “For my last trick, I’m going to make my career disappear,” he told Blaine.
The new album was announced last month. In March, Dr. Dre went on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and was the first to officially confirm Eminem’s new album, and that he worked on several songs slated for inclusion on it.
SZA, meanwhile, has been holding out on the release of what started as the deluxe issue of her Grammy-winning “SOS” album. She has seen success, however, with her single, “Saturn,” which has topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Listen to SZA’s cover below.