The powerhouse singer and actress, Cynthia Erivo, recently shocked (and delighted) fans when she named Sisqó’s early-2000s club anthem “Thong Song” as one of her all-time favorite vocal performances.
“Why do you need to sing like this when singing about a thong?” Cynthia Erivo asked viewers during her interview with Entertainment Weekly. She paused to let the question land. Then she continued, “The whole end section of this song is so unnecessary. You have a key change. There’s a praise break at some point. It’s ridiculous. You don’t need to sing like that—and he does.”
Erivo, a buccaneer of sound, highlighted the song’s daring. She praised the dramatic key change and what she called the “praise break” near the end. “With his voice it’s ridiculous,” she said. “He’s just enjoying himself and the voice is doing what it’s meant to be doing.”
Sisqó’s Vocal Bravado
Erivo was effusive in her praise. “You can’t tell me that that’s not a good vocal because it is a good vocal. That’s a brilliant vocal for a song about a thong,” she said. “He just keeps going, ‘I don’t think you heard me.’ We did. We heard you.” Her delight was clear: she admires the technical prowess put into a lyrical punchline.
She added wryly that the track “didn’t need him to do that—and yet he did.” “Hats off to you, Sisqó,” she concluded—delivering recognition to a track many may shrug off.
Star-Studded Vocal List
Erivo didn’t stop at Sisqó. She ranked him among musical giants. Her list included Whitney Houston’s “I Loves You Porgy,” Jennifer Holiday’s tour de force in Dreamgirls, Aretha Franklin’s “Dr. Feel Good,” Luther Vandross’s tender “A House Is Not a Home,” Jazmine Sullivan’s youthful “Home,” and Beyoncé’s emotional “Resentment.”
This choice reveals Erivo’s deep regard for vocal artistry across genres. To her, a pop-R&B smash and an emotional Broadway ballad can exist side by side with equal merit.
Busy Year Ahead
Erivo is no stranger to acclaim. She has already earned an Emmy, Grammy, and Tony for The Color Purple. She also earned an Oscar nomination in 2025 for Wicked. She’s set to reprise her role in Wicked: For Good, premiering November 21, 2025, and later will star as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl.
Amid this whirlwind, she took a moment to spotlight vocal bravado—even in tracks meant purely for fun. Her nod to “Thong Song” reminds fans that skilled singing can shine in any genre.