The year 2022 was the year of SZA after she released her second EP titled ‘SOS.’ The artist had a very successful debut with her debut album in 2017 titled ‘Ctrl.’ The second album also followed a similar theme to the first one, but instead of a victim, she portrayed herself as a survivor in the second one. The album debuted at the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 with eight nominations at the MTV VMAs in 2023.
The MTV VMAs 2023 were one of the most iconic shows for MTV in many years. The awards night was graced by artists like NSNYC, Taylor Swift, Ice Spice, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, and others. This year, Taylor dominated the nominations and winners lists.Artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Shakira, Nicki Minaj, Sabrina Carpenter, and others performed. However, SZA, who was a nominee for ‘SOS’, did not perform. The artist’s manager has cited the reason for her absence.
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SZA’s Manager Found It Disrespectful That She Was Nominated For Artist Of The Year
SZA had a great year with her second EP, ‘SOS’. She garnered both public and critical acclaim with the album. The album had features from Travis Scott to Phoebe Bridgers. Songs like ‘Shirt’ debuted at the No. 4 position on the R&B list on Billboard. This year, at the MTV VMAs, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and SZA were top contenders in important categories. The ‘Ctrl’ artist was nominated in eight categories, including Song of the Year for ‘Kill Bill’.
However, SZA’s snub in the ‘Artist of the Year’ category irked her manager, Terence “Punch” Henderson. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Terence said, “Obviously, she had one of the best years, if not the best year, of any artist at this point. I don’t see why she wouldn’t be nominated for artist of the year. It just really didn’t make any sense to me. It’s disrespectful.”
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The Manager Accuses Other Nominated Artists For Being Off-Cycle
During the MTV VMAs 2023, artists like Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, Shakira, Karol G, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé were nominated for ‘Artist of the Year’. At the awards ceremony, Taylor won the trophy. Meanwhile, SZA’s manager was stern about his talent not getting nominated in the category.
Punch was on phone with MTV about SZA’s performance at the awards show. During the call, he asked about the snub, but “they couldn’t give a clear answer as to why she wasn’t [nominated]. It was just, ‘Well, she’s nominated for all these other [awards].’ “
In the interview, Henderson questioned the eligibility of some of the artists in the category, saying, “Why wouldn’t she be nominated for artist of the year? Even with the other artists that were nominated for artist of the year, some of them were even off-cycle. They didn’t have an album out. I mean, no disrespect to them or anybody else; everybody’s great and all of that, but still, you can’t discredit what SOS has done and is currently doing.”
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