As Euphoria fans figure out how to fill the void of what to do with their Sunday nights now that the controversial HBO Max series has wrapped its second season, at least Zendaya has left us a present on the way out in the form of two original songs. Zendaya worked with co-star Dominic Fike and the show’s composer Labrinth on two tracks that appeared in the season finale, and fans can’t get enough.
“I’m Tired” and “Elliot’s Song,” which were both co-written by Zendaya, dropped on streaming over the weekend, and they are already massive hits. “I’m Tired,” which had Zendaya resurrecting her singing voice for the credits of the somber finale, was No. 3 on Spotify’s global debut charts. And “Elliot’s Song,” which Dominic Fike plays during the episode (and became a duet with Zendaya in the recording) found a place at No. 7.
Euphoria is well applauded for its music, and these two songs signify the journey Rue and some of the other characters went on in the show. Check out “I’m Tired” below:
There’s certainly more weight to these songs when we hear the voice of Rue in them. Zendaya serving as a co-writer and singer was exciting, since her arrival on the scene as a Disney Channel star led to her recording the 2013 album Zendaya, featuring the hit “Replay.” She has since moved in directions away from that part of her career, but Zendaya was happy to see all the support from fans, and thanked them on Twitter:
I stepped away from music quite a while ago, for a number of reasons, but I still really love it, so the kindness and support I’ve received the past few days just for a little tiny toe dip back into some music means the absolute world to me..thanks<3March 4, 2022
Previously she leant her voice in Season 1 song "All For Us" and for The Greatest Showman, but neither she was a writer on. Following Zendaya’s new songs and words about taking a “little tiny toe dip back” in the world of music, fans are ready for the actress to go all in as an artist after nearly a decade without more Zendaya music.
Zendaya's vocals on "Elliot's Song" and "I'm Tired" are so gorgeous, I might need an entire Labrinth produced album from her. And if you haven't gotten into Dominic Fike's music yet, I mean, it's all sitting right there.March 6, 2022
When Zendaya came out, she was a teen and under contract with Disney Channel, imagine what her music could be like nowadays? Fans are cheering her on like this:
Real ones have had Zendaya on *replay* since 2013 and been waiting for the day you make music again.March 4, 2022
Back in 2019, Zendaya opened up about why she stepped away from music during a conversation with Issa Rae. During the interview, she said that “bad contracts” led her to step away from the music world. Additionally, she felt like being in music doesn’t afford one as much anonymity in her personal life, whereas being an actress she can disappear into roles people can fall in love with.
With that knowledge, it makes sense as to why Zendaya chose Euphoria as a place for her to get back into music. It’s attached to a role and “I’m Tired” and “Elliot’s Song” serve as an expression to the themes of the show. If she wrote a personal record, and included a love song for example, it’s likely people would draw conclusions about her relationship with Tom Holland. That being said, Zendaya clearly loves working in music still and perhaps one day she will decide to return to the industry. As one Twitter user put it:
no bc y’all should be so scared for when zendaya decides to dip her whole LEG in the music industry. very very scared.March 4, 2022
Zendaya will be playing the late Regina Spector in a biopic, so perhaps with that and other projects, we’ll hear her voice in more music-related projects like this. While we wait for Zendaya’s next move, you can watch Euphoria with an HBO Max subscription.
