The year-end for SZA and her fans has been blissfully amazing. In the period between her debut album ‘Ctrl’ in 2017 and her latest album ‘SOS’, SZA collaborated with some of the top musicians in the industry including Kendrick Lamar and Doja Cat. After five years, she is at it again, taking her inner voices to center stage and giving us a genre-bending 23-track album with ‘SOS’.
The album was released on December 9th, 2022. She released a single titled ‘Shirt’ from the album, which debuted at No.4 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Streaming Songs. She is basking in the glory of success and praise for another R&B banger appreciated by both the critics and fans equally. The album has been making a lot of noise, but the artist did not think that the music heads will embrace the album and the euphoria that it created.
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SZA Never Anticipated That People Would Like ‘SOS’
Whenever SZA drops a song or album, the fans are sure that it will never disappoint. In her debut album ‘Ctrl’, SZA took us on a lovelorn journey after an aching heartbreak. It was feisty and reckless. But, with her sophomore album, the themes linger, but the energy is different. The album cover is inspired by Princess Diana’s picture where she is sitting on a diving board alone. SZA was inspired by isolation. The audience, however, did not let the album go unnoticed, and they welcomed the artist with open arms along with her music.
As per SZA’s admission, she did not anticipate such love. During the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, she said, “I never thought in a million years that people would like it. My dad’s visiting right now, with my mom. Everybody came down to make sure I didn’t lose my mind if the album went bad once it came out. And now we’re just hanging out, ’cause it didn’t go badly!” The songs are also loved unanimously. She surpassed Mariah Carey’s Christmas anthem ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ with the song ‘Kill Bill’.
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The Artist Talks About The Theme Of ‘SOS’
On the same podcast, SZA talked about why chose a particular tone and theme for the album. The artist said, “I think this album was partially inspired by love lost, but mostly inspired by my departure from attempting to be a nice girl. I’ve tried to be a nice girl for so long and it’s just not who I am, inherently”.
She continued, “And I think I’ve done nice things and I am a kind person, but I’m not a nice girl. And I think coming to terms with that and really expanding upon that and exploring that is kind of like this new chapter in my life”.
SZA collaborates with Travis Scott again after their smashing hit ‘Love Galore’ on ‘Open Arms’ in ‘SOS’. The new collaborators include Phoebe Bridgers, Ol’ Dirty Bastard of the Backstreet Boys, and Don Toliver. But, there were more artists to be featured on the album. Many artists did not send their verses. She said, “For a lot of these people, I didn’t turn in my verse – so I can’t be too mad. But also, in the same token, it’s like, ‘Damn this sucks, I really needed you. I wish you showed up for me’. But I’m sure they felt the same way for me”.
She admired and appreciated the rest of the collaborators like Travis Scott and Phoebe Bridgers. “I really appreciate that he’s [Travis Scott] just a consistent friend in my life and really believes in me as an artist. I’m grateful Phoebe showed up for me, I didn’t think she would come to the studio in person. She did. We laughed, it’s just hilarious”.
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