Zendaya.Photo: Steve Jennings/WireImage, Momodu Mansaray/Getty
Zendayawon’t be putting her pop star career on “Replay” anytime soon.
Speaking to fellow actor andSpider-ManstarAndrew Garfieldfor the cover ofVariety’s Actors on Actors issue, Zendaya revealed the reason she mainly chooses acting over music — aside from the occasional soundtrack cut.
“I was talking to Sam [Levinson] about this earlier. I was like I don’t know if I could ever be a pop star,” she said. “It’s because as an actor, there’s a level of anonymity that I get to have, which I really like.”
“And I get to sort my stuff, whatever that is, through a character and nobody needs to know about it. Whereas in other forms and other mediums, it’s all you all the time,” continued Zendaya. “I like the idea that somebody else, meaning Rue [fromEuphoria], gets to take on that stuff and I can…”
“Boundaries,” interjected Garfield.
“Yeah, boundaries. Learning what’s for me,” explained the former Disney Channel star.
Andrew Garfield and Zendaya forVariety.Alexi Lubomirski for Variety
Perhaps Zendaya’s thoughts on musicianship stem from personal experience, as she used to be a pop star.
After recording covers includingKaty Perry’s “Hot n Cold” in 2009 as a member of Kidz Bop, the then-adolescent star landed her television debut the following year on Disney Channel’sShake It Up, for which she put out pop songs including “Something to Dance For” and “Fashion Is My Kryptonite.”
Nearly three years later, Zendaya signed to Republic Records and released a collaboration with Chris Brown titled “Something New,” which seemed to signal more music to come.
However, the track charted at No. 93 on theBillboardHot 100, and aside from a guest appearance on “X” with Prince Royce from hisFivealbum in 2017, Zendaya’s since retreated from pop music altogether.
She hasn’t stopped singing completely though, as she’s released songs as part of film and television soundtracks forThe Greatest Showman,Smallfoot, andEuphoria.
Zendaya expressed a similar sentiment about valuing “anonymity” while speaking toIssa Raeforan interview in 2019and revealed she stepped away from music because of “bad contracts.”
“Acting allows for a character for people to fall in love with, but also for my own anonymity and a life of my own — which music doesn’t really afford,” she explained. “So that’s another thing that kind of scared me about music is not being able to have as much of a life.”
Asked further about her decision to leave the music industry, Zendaya continued, “I stepped away from music on purpose because of bad contracts, to be honest with you. The music industry is very different — it’s very different from a movie and the theatrical world.”
“I stepped away from music quite a while ago, for a number of reasons, but I still really love it,” she wrote, “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
source: people.com
