SZA Wanted to Perform “Snooze” at the VMAs But Her Manager Said No, Citing “Disrespect” from MTV

SZA was the second-most-nominated artist at this year’s MTV VMAs. The only artist to receive more nods than her was Artist of the Year winner Taylor Swift. Many fans probably hoped they’d get to see the “Kill Bill” singer perform but she didn’t. Recently, her manager, Punch, revealed that the singer was in talks to perform at the awards show. However, things fell through.

A recent Rolling Stone feature revealed that SZA was ready and willing to take the stage at the VMAs. Unfortunately, though, her manager took the offer off of the table. This happened, in part, because apparently MTV didn’t nominate her for Artist of the Year.

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Punch noted that SZA received six nominations but wasn’t in the running for the big prize. When he asked the network why she didn’t get the nomination, they didn’t want to elaborate. At that point, the manager decided that the “Good Days” singer didn’t need to perform.

Punch called MTV’s refusal to discuss why SZA wasn’t nominated or the criteria for the award “the ultimate disrespect.” He went on to say that when he asked about the nomination, MTV pointed out that the artist had received several other nods.

SZA planned to sing “Snooze” at this year’s VMAs if things had gone differently. Fortunately, she’ll have a few other chances to bring her act to awards show stages. In the feature, she mentioned performing at the Grammys and a country music awards show.

“For all that shit we have coming up, like the [magazine] covers, performing at the Grammys, performing at the Country Music Awards, at the VMAs — things that I would normally say ‘Fuck no’ to because I’m terrified — I’m thinking that I’m going to say yes to because it might change my life,” she explained.

Elaborating, SZA said, “It’s not even about what I want. That’s what’s scary. It’s about what could happen.” She went on to say that performing on those stages will help her climb the ladder of stardom. “All of those things, what they mean together, is terrifying.”

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