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NBC is promoting the 2024 Summer Olympics with a celebrity-athlete dynamic. In a video posted on July 1, 2024, SZA competes in a handstand with world champion gymnast Simone Biles. SZA, a four-time Grammy winner, was a gymnast for 13 years before becoming a singer. Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in Olympic history.
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The 27-year-old has won seven Olympic gold medals and is also the recipient of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year three times. The Paris Olympics will be Biles' third appearance in the competition, and she will be looking to become the first woman to win two all-around gold medals since 1960.
The interaction became interesting when Biles challenged the 34-year-old to a handstand competition, which the singer seemed to have won. However, Biles didn't put her best foot forward like she did during the US Olympic trials, where she bested all her opponents and secured the top spot to gain a ticket to the upcoming Summer Olympics.
The interaction has gained a lot of traction on social media, as fans of both celebrities have shared their thoughts. Some of the reactions are as follows:
"The way Sza was a gymnast," lauded one fan on X.
"Simone holding back and not doing 4 tucks and 2 layouts in the same time," quipped another fan.
"Dang her set is better than most TG athletes purrrr," opined another fan.
Many fans lauded the singer's athletic skills and her ability to match up to Simone Biles in the video.
"okay sza team alternate !" declared one user.
"This is too cute!!!" opined another.
"This is absolutely precious!" declared a fan.
Other fans observed that the 4-time Grammy winner almost hit her head while doing the backflip.
"SZA definitely hit her head on the end of the beam. You can hear the knock," observed someone.
"Toes at the edge! SZA almost took her head off," observed another.
"SZA is such an awesome human being. I was so nervous for her beautiful head though I can’t even lie," declared another SZA fan.
"This is my dream to talk to you"— SZA fangirls over Simone Biles
The official X page posted a video of the singer interacting with Simone Biles. A visibly starstruck SZA started the conversation by mentioning how big a fan she is of the Biles.
"This is my dream to talk to you. I am not even kidding. I was so hupe, like, I was...cause you just, like, you are like my wildest dream," raved the Normal Girl singer after meeting the Olympic gymnast.
Thereafter, Biles challenged the singer in a friendly handstand competition. However, she cautioned the Hit Different singer to be careful and not hurt herself.
The two went on to discuss SZA's former career as a gymnast. The 34-year-old revealed that she decided to switch careers and pursue singing after realizing that she wouldn't make it as a 'national gymnast.' According to her, she chose something where she was competitive and singing was her choice.
"When it was, like, clear to me that I wasn't going to be like, a national gymnast. I was like, play, let me see what I can do," explained the singer.
The two finally stood on their hands and pulled off the handstand competition. Simone Biles seemed to be delightfully surprised by SZA's prowess. Although she seemed to almost knock Simone out with her feet at one point, both were safe by the end of the little stunt show and the clip ended with giggles all around.
SZA announced her upcoming album Lana during recent performance
On June 29, SZA announced the release of her upcoming album, Lana, during a performance at Hyde Park.
"New album, you ready?" shouted the 4-time Grammy winner before going on to sing a song from her upcoming album.
The singer also teased a clip of another unreleased song from her latest album on her X. The clip features a woman standing in the middle of a grassland in the dead of the night with a melodious voice filling the background.
"I know you told stories about me. most of them awful. All of them true. Here’s some for u," captioned the 34-year-old.
However, fans have been skeptical about her announcement, with many declaring that they will believe it only when the album comes out. This is the result of incessant delays that have plagued her recent release. Initially declared as a deluxe version of her SOS album, constant leaks made Lana evolve into a full-length LP.
The 34-year-old's last performance was her headlining set at the iconic Glastonbury Festival on the Pyramid Stage at the Worthy Farm. However, the performance was criticized for its bad audio quality and constant microphone issues.
Moreover, the timing of her set clashed with England's Euro 2024 clash against Slovakia, and most fans left to watch the match instead. This resulted in the Glastonbury Festival having a very low attendance during her performance.
The match between England and Slovakia turned out to be a nail-biter as England completed an epic comeback against Kvicha Kvaratskhelia's side. The three lions went behind in the 25th minute but clawed their way back into the tie in the dying minutes of extra time via a bicycle kick by Jude Bellingham. Thereafter, they went on to win the match in the additional time courtesy of a header by Harry Kane.
