SZA Was ‘Too Scared’ To Do James Corden’s ‘Carpool Karaoke’

SZA has admitted she was too nervous to participate in a segment of James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke and ended up declining an invitation in the past.

The SOS singer opened up about her hesitancy to hop in the car with Corden and jam out in a recent interview with Alternative Press.

SZA revealed she was “scared of being on camera, looking bad, sounding bad and being perceived” in a potential appearance but she’s more open to the idea these days.

“I really have to remind myself this is my moment in the sun, and I have to take every opportunity because this shit may never happen again,” she added.

Corden is set to step away from The Late Late Show this year after almost a decade and the latest installment of Carpool Karaoke finds Method Man, Chelsea Clinton, Duran Duran as well as Ciara and Russell Wilson all making Season 5 appearances.

SZA’s epic sophomore LP, SOS, has now spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard 200 as she became the first woman to accomplish that feat since Adele’s 25.

Even without the Carpool Karaoke appearance, SZA is keeping busy traveling the country as part of her SOS Tour which will visit Boston, Philadelphia and New York City this weekend for a pair of sold-out Madison Square Garden shows.

The 33-year-old was also honored as Billboard‘s 2023 Woman of the Year to further cement her dominance.

“SZA is a force,” Top Dawg Entertainment honcho Terrence ‘Punch’ Henderson said. “To go seven consecutive weeks at No. 1 is legendary. She’s a true generational artist, a cultural reset, if you will.

“For her album SOS to blend so many different genres together in a cohesive frame shows her genius and versatility. Then you have the voice, the words, the pain, the growth, the relapsing, the delivery, the stories, etc. … a true masterpiece.”

The Grammy-winner unleashed SOS in December which debuted at No. 1 with 318,000 equivalent album units sold in its first week. It also grabbed 404.5 million on-demand streams, which broke the record for the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album, and the second-largest streaming week for an album by a female artist.