Shibuya

Posted on her own YouTube channel in August 2020, this cover of "Shibuya" by The Free Nationals (feat. Syd on the original) catches Maeta in the pre-Roc Nation window where she was still introducing herself to the internet one track at a time. The choice is telling — she reaches for a song buried inside The Free Nationals' self-titled 2019 album, a track that fans of neo-soul know but that sits far from the obvious cover-circuit choices.

The original rides on the Free Nationals' signature live-band warmth — Anderson .Paak's house musicians doing what they do best, with Syd delivering the vocal in that weightless, half-whispered register that made "The Internet" a generational reference. Maeta trades Syd's intentional restraint for something a touch more present: her voice leans into the pockets instead of floating above them, and the phrasing turns the track into a confession rather than a mood piece.

Four years later, in 2024, Maeta would release "Through The Night" with The Free Nationals themselves — a single that went on to top the Billboard R&B Airplay chart. Looking back, this cover reads like a blueprint. What starts as a quiet tribute posted to YouTube becomes, half a decade later, an actual studio collaboration. The line between fan and peer gets short when the work is good enough.