Back to the studio? Zendaya has made music in the past, but the actress took a break from her singing career in lieu of other projects. Did she officially quit the music world or can fans expect more from Zendaya in the near future?
Keep reading for all the details.
Did Zendaya Quit the Music Industry?
Zendaya’s first live performance in years took place in April 2023 at Coachella, when she joined Labrinth onstage for their various collaborations.
“I have a lot of negative experiences with the music industry, and being onstage is really the worst,” she told Elle in August 2023. “It carries a lot for me, and I was afraid to open that door again. But I was also like, ‘You can’t run away from this forever.’ I had to be like, ‘Dude, take a second and look at how special this is. These people are giving you so much love and energy.'”
The actress explained that she “never experienced that before,” recalling her thoughts during the performance. “I had to go, ‘Stop thinking about the f–king technical stuff. Like, it’s fine. Like, whatever. It’s not going to be perfect You haven’t been onstage in front of that many people ever in your life. Enjoy the fact that you did it. You got over your fear. You did it, and these people enjoyed it with you, gave you love and energy, and were excited that you were there. That’s enough,'” she recalled.
Will Zendaya Ever Release New Music?
The Euphoria star has reflected on possible plans to return with more songs.
“I stepped away from music quite a while ago, for a number of reasons, but I still really love it, so the kindness and support I’ve received the past few days just for a little tiny toe dip back into some music means the absolute world to me … thanks,” the actress shared via Twitter in March 2022. Her post came after she released two songs — “I’m Tired” and “Elliot’s Song” — following the Euphoria season 2 finale. Both tracks were used in the show.
Amid her Disney Channel days, the California native was known for her music alongside her acting. Zendaya released one self-titled studio album in 2013 and, over the years, she’s dropped a few singles here and there. She’s even showed off her singing talents in her acting projects. In both seasons of Euphoria, for example, Zendaya had a musical moment. The first came in the season 1 finale, in which her character, Rue, sang the tune “All for Us.”
“I still love making music, and I still get to do it through acting a lot of times, and being able to work on the finale song for Euphoria was fun,” she said during a November 2019 interview with Allure. “There’s a layer of personal life that I think actors get that music artists don’t. They have no character to hide behind, so they have to be very open. [As actors] we get a little bit of a separation.”
Zendaya has also shared her qualms with the music industry as a whole, despite the release and subsequent success of her music.
“I think the [music] industry takes a little bit of passion away from you,” she told Paper magazine in June 2019, explaining her ongoing break. “It sucks you dry a little bit. What I thought I wanted, it’s not what I want anymore, [especially] when I think about what I had to deal with in the music industry. … If anyone asks my number one advice, for [the entertainment] industry in general but mostly the music industry, it’s look over those contracts, every single word, and don’t sign anything that isn’t worth it to you. You are worth more than they will say that you are.”
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