Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, SZA, released her sophomore album “SOS” and has remained the leader of the Billboard 200 chart for six weeks.
SZA’s first album, “Ctrl,” gained critical acclaim after its release in 2017. Her debut project comprises 14 songs, including hit singles such as “Love Galore” featuring rapper Travis Scott and “The Weekend.”
“Ctrl” debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart and has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as of August 2022.
On the fifth anniversary of the release, SZA announced a deluxe version adding six new songs to all streaming platforms.
Unreleased songs from 2017 to celebrate 5 .. me thinks .
— SZA (@sza) June 6, 2022
“Ctrl” explores many themes, such as jealousy, low self-esteem and sexual politics. The content of SZA’s lyrics has been deemed vulnerable and relatable to many people leaving fans anticipating her next album.
“I’ve been waiting for her to release this album because on ‘Ctrl’ she really made me feel seen with her lyrics. I couldn’t wait to have more music from her,” said senior management student Mikayla Gilstrap.
In between the release of her albums, SZA released “Hit Different” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and “Good Days” in 2020 and later released “I Hate U” in 2021. Two of the three songs would later be singles on the album.
The R&B songstress announced her second album on Saturday Night Live. “SOS” was released on Dec. 9, 2022.
Superseding Taylor Swift’s album “Midnights,” the LP debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart selling 318,000 equivalent album units. In the first week, the album earned 404.58 million streams breaking the record for the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album.
The project consists of 23 songs over an hour and eight minutes. Travis Scott collaborated with SZA again on this album on the song “Open Arms.”. Other features include Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers and Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
SZA mentioned more features were meant to be on the album, however, other artists did not submit their verses in time for the release.
“Sometimes people turn in their verses and sometimes they don’t,” said SZA in an interview with Hot 97. “And a lot of people just like did not turn in their verses, but I’m grateful for who did.”
As SZA continues to dominate the charts with her album, she has also soared to number one on the Hot 100 Songwriters chart from her lyrics on “SOS.”
Thirteen of the songs from the album have also made way on the Billboard 100 chart including “Kill Bill,” which is currently at number two.
After leaving fans waiting for new music, the “Snooze” singer did not disappoint.
“Five years is a long time in between albums but I’m just grateful to have something else to listen to from her,” Gilstrap continued. “I’m glad she gave us more songs on this album too. Usually, I would say over 15 songs is a lot but after five years, I think she did the right thing.”
The streaming numbers and broken records show that SZA’s new album was definitely worth the wait.
