For the past decade Zendaya‘s music career has seemed like a game-set-match. But on Friday (April 26), the Challengers star gave longtime fans a glimmer of hope that she could mount a return to the studio someday during a chat with Jennifer Hudson.
But first, Hudson heaped praise on the 27-year-old multi-talented star, noting, “you’re so gifted, you’re musical, you write music, you sing… you dance! Oh my goodness. Where did the music come from?”
“I love music and it’s something that’s been special to me and being in the music industry… it didn’t kill the joy of music, but when you put music and business together it cannot feel so good,” Zendaya replied diplomatically. Hudson could totally relate, but wondered if one day Z might again share her music with fans if it felt right.
Trending on Billboard
“You know, I think if the right timing and it came… again, I like creating it for myself,” Zendaya said. “But if there was a moment maybe I would put out a little something. Don’t be crazy, we’ll see. But maybe… one day.”
The actress/singer, who has not released her own music in more than a decade, was most recently featured on Bobby Brackins’ 2015 single “My Jam” alongside Jeremih. She released her self-titled debut — and so far only full-length record — in 2013, an electro pop collection that featured the glitch pop single “Replay,” which topped out at Nov. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Dune: Part Two star also talked about her surprise jump-up with Labrinth at Coachella last year, explaining that the English rapper/songwriter is “so talented” and such a “wonderful person” that there was no way she could not say no, despite her initial fears. “He asked me if I wanted to come out and perform and immediately I was like ‘oh, absolutely not.’ I was like ‘I can’t do that,'” she said, noting that she has “bad memories” of performing as a kid and that stage fright was a serious concern.
“I was like, ‘I can’t! I can’t do it! It drives me crazy! I’m too nervous. I don’t wanna not do good and I don’t wanna let people down,'” she recalled thinking. “And then I went to myself, ‘Dude, you can’t run from this. You can’t hide from this forever. You’re gonna want to be on a stage and perform live once in your life at least.’ And what better place to do it than with someone that I admire and I respect and it’s his set, not mine, so I can just enjoy being with him, and so I said yes and was like, ‘Why the hell did I do this!?'”
But after joining Lab for the final two songs of his set, “I’m Tired” and “All For Us” — which they collaborated on for her HBO series Euphoria — Z said she was a bit disappointed in herself, feeling it was not her best effort because she couldn’t hear the music over the audience noise. “[So] I was like, ‘We’re just going to have fun. I’m just going to look like I’m having fun and we’re going to deal with this later. Who knows what this sounds like?,'” she told herself.
Reflecting later, though, Z realized there was no reason to beat herself up because the reason she couldn’t hear anything was that hyped crowd was singing along with her at the top of their lungs, screaming and excited. “I was like, ‘be grateful and be happy about it!’,” she said, later appreciating the love and support she’d received.
Watch Zendaya talk about a possible return to music and her Coachella surprise with Hudson below.