Multi-GRAMMY Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter and Most Decorated Gymnast in History Meet for First Time and Compete in Friendly Handstand Contest in Conversation-Style Spot
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 1, 2024 – Four-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter SZA and seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles star in a new NBCUniversal promotional spot to highlight its coverage of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, which begin Friday, July 26 in Paris, France.
The two-minute video opens with SZA, a former gymnast herself, meeting Simone Biles for the first time at the World Champions Centre training facility, located in Spring, Texas, and owned by Biles’ family. As they stretch in preparation for a handstand contest, Biles asks SZA about her pivot from gymnastics to music, to which the singer reveals that singing was a hidden talent for her. With both women sharing a competitive spirit, they participate in a friendly handstand contest, leaving Biles impressed by SZA’s athletic abilities.
“SZA and Simone’s mutual admiration for each other’s talents provide a preview of the incredible competition in store at the Paris Olympics,” said Joseph Lee, SVP, Creative Marketing, Sports & Entertainment. “Their shared joy in being together shows the cultural excitement we will experience as we watch these athletes compete.”
SZA’s distinctive musical style has earned her recognition as one of the most acclaimed artists of her generation. Her debut studio album, Ctrl (2017) earned five GRAMMY Award nominations in 2018 and holds the record for the longest run for any Black female artist’s debut album on the Billboard 200. SZA’s second album, SOS (2022), spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and garnered three Grammy Awards, including Best Progressive R&B Album.
The most decorated American gymnast in Olympic and world championship history, Simone Biles delivered an outstanding performance at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials, securing a spot on her third U.S. Olympic Team. She hopes to become the first woman to win two Olympic all-around titles since Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia in 1964 and 1968. Biles has the chance to tie or break the all-time record for Olympic gold medals won by a U.S. woman (8) in Paris this summer. Biles has had a strong start to the 2024 season, winning her eighth and ninth U.S. all-around title at the Core Hydration Classic and the U.S. Gymnastics Championship in May and June.
Additional clips from this conversation will air within NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and on social platforms. Previous NBC promo for the Paris Games featured GRAMMY award-winning rapper Cardi B and Team USA sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson (Part 1).
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In Paris this summer, the world’s greatest athletes will compete against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world where the modern Olympic Games were conceived 130 years ago. This will be the third time Paris has hosted the Olympics (1900 and 1924), tying London for the most as a Summer Games host. Los Angeles (1932, 1984) will tie those two cities when it hosts the first Summer Games in the U.S. in 32 years in 2028.
The Paris organizers are reimagining the Games to make them more accessible to the public and to showcase their city to the world. In a first, competitions will be held amidst iconic Parisian landmarks – beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, equestrian at the Palace of Versailles, and urban sports at Place de la Concorde. The surfing competition will take place nearly 10,000 miles from Paris in Tahiti, a part of French Polynesia.
The NBC broadcast network and streaming service Peacock will be the company’s primary platforms for its coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, scheduled for July 26-Aug. 11. Click here for more linear programming information and here for more about the Olympic experience on Peacock. NBC and Peacock will present live coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26, beginning at Noon ET. Telemundo will provide Spanish-language coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Primetime coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock.
NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games through 2032, which are scheduled for Paris (2024), Milan Cortina (2026), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032). The host city for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games has not yet been chosen.
ABOUT NBCUNIVERSAL
NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, sports and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a premium ad-supported streaming service. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
ABOUT SZA
American singer and songwriter SZA is known for her distinctive, genre-defying musical style. She first gained recognition through the release of her EP’s See.SZA.Run (2012) and S (2013). In 2017, SZA released her major label debut album Ctrl (TDE/RCA), which landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart, No. 2 on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart, No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. RIAA-certified 3x Platinum, the album received five GRAMMY nominations in 2018. In 2022, SZA’s long-awaited sophomore album SOS, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and remained in the top spot for 10 non-consecutive weeks. SZA closed out 2023 as the most GRAMMY nominated artist of the year, winning three awards for Best Progressive R&B Album, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - “Ghost in the Machine,” and Best R&B Song - “Snooze.” Over the course of her career, SZA has received over 40 awards and accolades, including four Grammy Awards, Brit Awards’ International Artist, Billboard Music Awards’ Top R&B Female Artist, BET Awards’ Best New Artist, American Music Award’s Collaboration of the Year, NAACP Image Awards’ Outstanding New Artist, Billboard’s 2023 Woman of the Year, Webby Awards Artist of the Year, WSJ Magazine’s Music Innovator of the Year, Variety’s Hitmaker of the Year, and the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
ABOUT SIMONE BILES
Seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history. Her career skyrocketed in 2013 when she won both the U.S. and World Championships all-around titles. At the 2016 Rio Games, Biles led the U.S. women’s gymnastics team to gold while securing five medals for herself. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, she earned a silver medal with her team and a bronze on the balance beam. Overall, Biles has earned 37 Olympic and World Championship medals and secured her ninth national all-around title, making her the first gymnast to achieve this accomplishment. She is a three-time recipient of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year (2017, 2019, 2020), three-time Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year (2016, 2019, 2023) and has received numerous accolades, including TIME 100 Most Influential, Forbes 30 Under 30, Ebony Power 100, People Women Changing the World, and USA Today 100 Women of the Century. In 2022, President Joe Biden presented Biles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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