Frank Ocean Covers SZA's 'The Weekend'
Frank Ocean takes on SZA with his cover of “The Weekend.”
A year-and-a-half after the song appeared on SZA’s debut album Ctrl, Ocean has shared a snippet of his cover via Instagram Stories. While cruising down the highway at sunset, the reclusive singer filmed the audio playback, tagging SZA with a heart emoji.
“Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday / I just keep him satisfied through the weekend,” he sings. “You’re like 9 to 5, I’m the weekend / Make him lose his mind every weekend.”
It’s unclear if Ocean intends to release the full version, but the teaser alone has fans losing their minds. “Best thing ever,” wrote one Twitter user, while another added, “We’re never getting this.”
Frank’s cover of @sza‘s The Weekend pic.twitter.com/LAF3fzlksC
— Blonded. (@blondedocean) January 24, 2019
I NEED THIS SONG NOW!!! THANKS!!! pic.twitter.com/RLdUfhl2Ae
— BRIAN (@Supremexbrian) January 24, 2019
we’re never getting this pic.twitter.com/nFegBm5Aju
— ivy (@inkxanity) January 24, 2019
Ocean has delivered standout covers in the past, including Audrey Hepburn’s “Moon River,” Aaliyah’s “At Your Best (You Are Love),” and Stevie Wonder’s version of “Close to You.”
During his interview with GQ, he explained how he decides what to cover. “Nowadays, I have to live with the song for a bit and I have to see if it’s worthwhile to interpret it first,” he told the magazine. “It’s much more deliberate than when I was just focused on the rap mixtape approach of taking a beat or flow, swapping the lyrics and performing it. The performance almost being the stream-of-consciousness, in-the-moment thing, whereas now I would much prefer having the song be with me for more time before I have to record it.”
Out of all his covers, he revealed that “At Your Best…” and “Moon River” are his favorites. “It’s the ‘ocean in the drop’ idea, all these feelings inside this small thing,” he added. “Living with it, listening to the many versions, thinking about who I would work on it with and what I would go for in interpreting it. Of the covers I’ve done, ‘At Your Best…’ and ‘Moon River’ are my favorites.”