Earlier this month, Beyoncé dropped her highly anticipated documentary, “Homecoming,” on Netflix along with a surprise live album filled with tracks from her discography over the years.

Out of the 40 songs including on Homecoming: The Live Album, one of the biggest surprises was Queen Bey’s cover of Maze’s 1981 classic “Before I Let Go.” Frankie Beverly, frontman of the ’80s group, recently spoke to Billboard about the Lemonade singer’s updated version and shared his reaction to learning Beyoncé had covered it in the first place.

“That’s kind of the shocking part of it,” Beverly told the outlet. “She’s a great friend of mine, but I didn’t know she was going to do this.” According to the 72-year-old, Bey kept the cover a secret until a week or two before the documentary was released. “When they played it, that’s when I heard the first draft of it, and I was blown away. It’s a blessing. It’s amazing how she works, she’s very smart. I’m caught off guard, but in a beautiful way,” he shared.

Beverly, who first met Beyoncé when she was a teenager, praised the way she released the song. “It’s off the chain. She’s done so much, this is one of the high points of my life,” he stated. “This cover was just like she is. She didn’t make a big deal out of doing this song, and that’s just the way she works. I love the way she does her thing,” he added.

Interestingly enough, Beverly went on to reveal the classic uptempo song was inspired by heartbreak. “It was about a relationship I was in. It was just up and down, and by the end of it I wrote a song because I was feeling I needed to get out of it,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘What am I gonna do?” and that thought inspired the song. I was going to try to do all of these things ‘before I let go.’”

“I feel bigger than ever! I feel like I have a huge smash out there,” Beverly said in response to the success of Beyoncé’s cover which has since sparked a viral #BeforeILetGoChallenge. “It’s definitely a blessing. Other people have done my songs, but the way she did this was in a class of its own. I’m hearing from people I haven’t heard from in years. She’s done something that has affected my life,” he concluded.