Watch SZA’s Action-Packed Performance of 'Kill Bill' at the 2024 Grammys

SZA was already a winner before she hit the stage at the 2024 Grammys: Earlier in the evening, her remarkable sophomore effort SOS had notched the award for Best Progressive R&B Album. Her other eight nominations tonight aside, the “Kill Bill” singer had something to prove as she slid into a medley of “Snooze” and “Kill Bill,” the Grammys stage transforming into an action set as her vocals floated over the room.

Her Grammys set began with a video montage demonstrating SZA’s journey as a performer, and particularly what she wanted to express with SOS. “I couldn’t figure out who I wanted to be on this album because I had so many points to prove,” she said in a voiceover. “SOS took me about five years to finish and put out. I consulted the water about every aspect of this album. I never feel nervous in the ocean, when I’m swimming in open water. I loved the isolation, the vastness, the emptiness. I definitely feel like fear and anxiety are part of who I am. My intense fear is part of the reason why I have a lot of energy on stage.”

As she told ELLE in May 2023, “Some people think that, like, me having anxiety or me being shy or struggling with self-esteem is an act. I’m just, dead-ass, a person. Everybody else has feelings and fears. Why wouldn’t I be scared to be famous? Would you be scared to be famous? Because I’m famous, I’m not allowed to be scared? I wasn’t born famous. I had regular quiet-ass parents from a small town like everybody else. And I guess at some point I’m supposed to acclimate to all of this?”

She continued, “Even if I win a bunch of Grammys, that shit doesn’t matter. It would be so cool. But also I would not be surprised at all if I didn’t win any [more]. Because that’s just how shit goes. But that’s why the tour matters to me. ‘Cause it’s like, No, we packed out these stadiums all over the country and that was real. That’s why I can’t let up, because at the end of the day it was like, yeah, [whatever haters say] is good and well, but just make sure you add, we have sold-out dates in all arenas. Make sure you tell them that we sold out the Forum twice and we could have done it four times. Make sure you tell them that I was in the air, and that my mic was on.”

Watch SZA’s 2024 Grammys performance below.

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