SZA
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SZA’s SOS rules the Billboard 200 chart (dated Jan. 7) for a third straight and total week as the set earned 128,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 29 (down 29%), according to Luminate. Plus, five holiday albums populate the top 10 — the most in a year — led by Michael Bublé’s former No. 1 Christmas.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Jan. 7, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Jan. 4 (one day later than usual, due to the New Year’s Day holiday on Jan. 1). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of SOS’ 128,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 126,500 (down 29%, equaling 168.73 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 1,000 (down 20%) and TEA units comprise 500 (up 3%).
SOS is the first R&B album by a woman to spend three weeks at No. 1 since Beyoncé’s self-titled effort also spent its first three weeks atop the list in 2013. (R&B albums are defined as those that have hit Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.)
Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Midnights is a non-mover at No. 2 with 106,000 equivalent album units (down 32%), while Bublé’s Christmas rises 5-3 with 62,000 units (down 14%). Christmas is one of five holiday albums in the top 10, the most in the region since the chart dated Jan. 2, 2022, when the top 10 also housed five festive sets.
Metro Boomin’s chart-topping Heroes & Villains is stationary at No. 4 with 58,000 equivalent album units earned (down 24%). Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song hits a new peak, rising 7-5 with 57,000 units. It previously topped out at No. 6, first achieved on the Jan. 2, 2021-dated list.
Drake and 21 Savage’s former leader, Her Loss, holds at No. 6 with 50,000 equivalent album units earned (down 16%) and Bad Bunny’s former No. 1 Un Verano Sin Ti climbs 10-7 with 48,000 (down 9%). A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector climbs to a new chart high, rising 11-8 with 47,000 units (down 1%). The set had earlier plateaued at No. 10 on the Jan. 8, 2022-dated tally. Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas is a non-mover at No. 9 with 47,000 units (down 10%) and Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack falls 8-10 with 45,000 units (down 20%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
SZA earns her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Dec. 24) as SOS starts atop the list with one of the biggest debuts of 2022. The set launches with 318,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 15, according to Luminate – largely driven by streaming activity. That start marks the fifth-largest debut of the year and SZA’s biggest week ever.
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SOS also garners the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album, and the third-largest of 2022 among all albums.
Also in the top 10, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie captures his fourth top 10-charting effort, as Me vs. Myself debuts at No. 6.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Dec. 24, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 20. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of SOS’ 318,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 309,500 (equaling 404.58 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 7,500 and TEA units comprise 1,000.
With a total start of 318,000 equivalent album units, SOS logs the fifth-biggest debut of 2022, following the opening weeks of Taylor Swift’s Midnights (1.578 million), Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (521,000), Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss (404,000) and Beyoncé’s Renaissance (332,000).
Further, as SOS generated 404.58 million official on-demand streams for its 23 songs, the set registers the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album, the second-largest streaming week ever for an album by a female artist, and the third-largest streaming week of 2022 for any album. (R&B albums are defined as those that have hit Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.)
Among all R&B sets, SOS passes the streaming debut of Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind (250.23 million) for the top weekly total ever. The only larger streaming week ever registered by a woman was notched by Swift’s Midnights (549.26 million). And, the only bigger streaming weeks overall in 2022 were tallied by the debuts of Midnights and Her Loss (513.56 million).
SOS is SZA’s second studio album and comes more than five years after the June 2017 release of her smash Ctrl project. It debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, has earned 3.9 million equivalent album units and has yet to leave the weekly Billboard 200 after 288 consecutive weeks (it climbs 35-28 on the new chart). Ctrl contains a trio of Billboard Hot 100-charting hits in “Love Galore,” “The Weekend” and “Broken Clocks.” Before SOS’ release, Ctrl had amassed 5.1 billion official on-demand streams for its songs in the U.S.
Though fans waited a long time between albums from SZA, she kept very busy releasing hit singles and collaborative tracks. Since Ctrl’s release (but before SOS’ bow) SZA charted 15 further songs on the Hot 100, including five top 10s: “What Lovers Do,” billed to Maroon 5 featuring SZA; “All the Stars,” a co-lead collaboration with Kendrick Lamar; “Good Days;” “Kiss Me More,” billed to Doja Cat featuring SZA; and “I Hate U.”
SOS, which contains 23 songs, includes three tracks that were released prior to the album’s arrival: “Good Days” (released in late 2020), “I Hate U” (released in late 2021) and “Shirt” (released in October of 2022). Those three tracks collectively garnered 980 million official on-demand streams in the U.S. before SOS’ release.
SOS was released on Dec. 9 via Top Dawg/RCA Records. It gives RCA its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since Tool’s Fear Inoculum (released via Tool Dissectional/Volcano/RCA) debuted at No. 1 on the Sept. 14, 2019-dated chart. SOS is the seventh No. 1 for Top Dawg, following four leaders from Kendrick Lamar (Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers in 2022, DAMN. in 2017, untitled unmastered. in 2016 and To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015; all were released via Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope Records, except Mr. Morale (pgLang/Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope), Black Panther: The Album in 2018 (Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope), and ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron in 2014 (Top Dawg/Interscope).
Four former No. 1s follow SOS on the latest Billboard 200, as Midnights is a non-mover at No. 2 (139,000 equivalent album units; down 3%), Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains falls 1-3 in its second week after debuting atop the list (102,000; down 45%), Her Loss dips 3-4 (67,000; down 15%) and Michael Bublé’s Christmas is steady at No. 5 (62,000; up 14%).
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie captures his fourth top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as Me vs. Myself debuts at No. 6 with 53,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 50,000 (equaling 66.92 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 3,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible. The rapper previously visited the top 10 with Artist 2.0 (No. 2 in 2020), Hoodie SZN (No. 1, 2019) and The Bigger Artist (No. 4, 2017).
Bad Bunny’s former No. 1 Un Verano Sin Ti falls 4-7 on the Billboard 200 with 51,000 equivalent album units earned (down 7%), Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song climbs 9-8 with just over 47,000 (up 17%), Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack rises 12-9 nearly 47,000 (up 19%) and Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album falls 7-10 with 45,000 (down 3%).
Dangerous: The Double Album has now accumulated 100 nonconsecutive weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard 200. It continues to have the fifth-most weeks in the top 10 among all albums since the chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956 – and the most for an album by a single artist.. The all-time top 10 record-holder is the original cast recording of My Fair Lady, with 173 weeks in the top 10 between 1956-60. See list, beow.
Albums With Most Weeks in Top 10 on Billboard 200 Chart (March 24, 1956-onwards)Weeks in Top 10, Artist, Title, Year First Reached Top 10173, Original Cast, My Fair Lady, 1956109, Soundtrack, The Sound of Music, 1965106, Soundtrack, West Side Story, 1962105, Original Cast, The Sound of Music, 1960100, Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album, 202190, Soundtrack, South Pacific, 195887, Original Cast, Camelot, 196187, Soundtrack, Oklahoma!, 195685, Peter, Paul and Mary, Peter Paul and Mary, 196284, Adele, 21, 201184, Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A., 1984(through the Dec. 24, 2022-dated chart)
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Phoebe Bridgers joined Danny Elfman for a live-to-film performance of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas on December 9 and 10 at London’s OVO Arena Wembley, and the duo sat down with NME to discuss their creepy collaboration.
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The “I Know the End” singer revealed that she had “such a crush on Sally” growing up and the film “informed stylistically a lot of me gravitating towards goth stuff as a kid.” Thus, she was the perfect fit to take on the singing role of the rebellious ragdoll, alongside Elfman, who reprised his role as the pumpkin king Jack Skellington for the shows.
Later on in the interview, Bridgers talked about the process making her SZA collaboration, “Ghost in the Machine,” off the latter’s freshly released album, S.O.S. “That record is insane,” Bridgers noted.
“She just hit me up. She just sent me a DM, and then it all happened so fast,” the 28-year-old recalled of how the collaboration came together. “I wasn’t really used to that in that pop world, because vinyl isn’t so much of a consideration until way later. It’s just like, ‘Do you want to be on this record? OK, it’s out next week.’ It was so recent, which I really like. I like that turnaround time. Personally, I sit on stuff for so long and it takes me years to make albums. I like seeing someone else’s world from that angle.”
Of SZA, Bridgers gushed, “She’s definitely my favorite rapper. She’s so, so effective and cool and a great hang.”
Watch the full interview below.
Welcome to The Contenders, a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming Billboard 200 albums chart dated Dec. 24): Just before the last Christmas push, a final ‘S.O.S.’ from the pop world aims to sleigh the competition.
SZA, S.O.S. (Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA). It’s been five years and countless false starts since R&B superstar SZA dropped her massively influential full-length debut Ctrl. Early signs from the release of her second album S.O.S. indicate that the fans have stuck around: the set dominated the daily Spotify and Apple Music charts over the weekend, while drawing reviews strong enough to make a lot of early December year-end lists look premature.
With no physical release on the schedule, the vast majority of the album’s first-week numbers will mostly come from streaming. But with 23 tracks, including a trio of proven singles in Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hits “Good Days,” “I Hate U’ and “Shirt,” plus guest appearances from Travis Scott and Phoebe Bridgers, it should still end up scoring one of the late year’s strongest debuts.
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Me vs. Myself (Highbridge the Label/Atlantic). A Boogie Wit da Hoodie was one of the most prolific artists on the Billboard charts at the turn of the decade, with a couple dozen Hot 100 hits and a Billboard 200 No. 1 album in 2018’s Hoodie SZN. The past two years haven’t been as kind commercially, but the artist born Artist Dubose looks to reverse that trend with the release of fourth studio album Me vs. Myself.
Me vs. Myself will also need to lean on streaming , since it, too, has no physical version and A Boogie has never sold much music – Hoodie SZN was the first album to top the Billboard 200 with sales of under 1,000 copies. But MvM will also get a boost from its 22-song tracklist, with features from fellow streaming stars Kodak Black, Lil Durk, Roddy Ricch.
Anuel AA, LLNM2 (Real Hasta la Muerte/Sony Latin). As with SZA and A Boogie, Latin trap hitmaker Anuel AA’s latest effort arrives without a physical product – but it has a tracklist expansive enough to make both S.O.S. and Me vs. Myself look like EPs by comparison. LLMN2 (short for “Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren 2,” or “Legends Never Die 2”) runs a bountiful 33 tracks, with big-name guests from both reggaetón (Nicky Jam, Jowell & Randy, Zion) and hip-hop (DaBaby, Lil Durk, Kodak Black).
Anuel’s hit the Billboard 200 top 10 twice already, with 2020’s Emmanuel (No. 8) and 2021’s Ozuna teamup Los Dioses (No. 10), but 2021’s first Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren release peaked at No. 30. That album had just 16 tracks, so maybe going with the volume-shooter approach for its sequel will net him the top 10 hat trick.
SZA is just days away from dropping her much-anticipated new album, S.O.S, and the 33-year-old singer-songwriter took to YouTube Shorts on Tuesday (Dec. 6) to tease one of the LP’s tracks titled “Nobody Gets Me.”
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“I don’t want to lose what’s left of you / How am I supposed to tell you / I don’t want to see you with anyone but me / Nobody gets me like you,” SZA muses over an acoustic guitar melody in the clip, which features a behind-the-scenes look at a promotional photoshoot.
Earlier in the week, the star released the official tracklist for the upcoming set, and the 23 songs on the album has a number of guest features including Don Toliver on “Used,” Phoebe Bridgers on “Ghost in the Machine,” Travis Scott on “Open Arms” and Ol’ Dirty Bastard on “Forgiveless.”
S.O.S follows the star’s 2017 debut, Ctrl, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and featured hits like “Love Galore,” “Broken Clocks” and “The Weekend.”
SZA recently covered Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue. In the cover story, she questioned her longevity in music and where she sees her career going forward. “I feel like music, in this capacity, I don’t see longevity,” SZA admitted. “I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody. I’mma take a good swing at it, and I’mma give ’em my absolute best.”
S.O.S is out on Friday (Dec. 9).
SZA is just days away from unveiling her long-awaited new album, S.O.S, and the star added to the anticipation on Monday (Dec. 5) by dropping the star-studded tracklist.
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“Which version for back tracklist?” she tweeted alongside two separate creatives for the 23-track list, which is scribbled in white font on a photo of SZA laying on the ground, oiled up with her underwear on display. The upcoming album has a number of guest features including Don Toliver on “Used,” Phoebe Bridgers on “Ghost in the Machine,” Travis Scott on “Open Arms” and Ol’ Dirty Bastard on “Forgiveless.”
Over the weekend, the TDE singer-songwriter also debuted a new song, “Blind,” from the upcoming set while serving as the musical guest on the Keke Palmer-hosted Saturday Night Live. She also performed her recent viral single “Shirt,” which debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early November.
SZA recently covered Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue. In the cover story, she questioned her longevity in music and where she sees her career going forward. “I feel like music, in this capacity, I don’t see longevity,” SZA admitted. “I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody. I’mma take a good swing at it, and I’mma give ’em my absolute best.”
S.O.S follows the star’s 2017 debut, Ctrl, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and featured hits like “Love Galore,” “Broken Clocks” and “The Weekend.”
On Wednesday (Nov. 30), fans got closer to receiving SZA’s long-awaited sophomore album S.O.S. when the TDE singer unveiled the project’s cover art on Instagram.
Donning a football jersey with S.O.S. stitched on the sleeve, SZA sits on the edge of a diving board planted over a large body of water.
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Earlier this month, SZA released her newest single, “Shirt,” which debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Along with doling out another high-charting single, SZA recently covered Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue. In the cover story, she questioned her longevity in music and where she sees her career going forward.
“I feel like music, in this capacity, I don’t see longevity,” she admitted. “I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody. I’mma take a good swing at it, and I’mma give ’em my absolute best.”
Since her 2017 opus Ctrl, SZA’s road to S.O.S. has been a long one. Despite remaining tight-lipped about her pending release, she strung together a bevy of one-off singles, including “Good Days” and “I Hate U.” Both songs enjoyed considerable success on the Hot 100, peaking inside the top 10 at No. 9 and No. 7, respectively. “I only do what I want to do,” SZA revealed in her cover story, “and this makes me feel free and safe and unrestricted.”
This weekend, SZA is set to be a musical guest on Saturday Night Live with Keke Palmer serving as the show’s host.
Check out the album cover of SZA’s S.O.S. below.
Living for it! The Weeknd offered his thoughts Tuesday (Nov. 22) about potentially revisiting a remix of his 2017 single “Die for You” with SZA.
The topic came up when a fan asked SZA about the pair’s long-rumored remix of the Starboy-era song, which was never released. “SZA I know you don’t like rumors, can you clarify this for us??” the Instagram user asked, to which SZA replied, “Lmao it’s super old but it does exist. I should re record it.”
While the “Shirt” songstress has since deleted her comment, a screenshot of the exchange caught The Weeknd’s eye, and he endorsed the idea by retweeting it and writing simply “yes please.” Interestingly, the original track has recently found a second life thanks to its re-emergence as a hit on TikTok, even reaching a new high of No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 (chart dated Nov. 26).
In her brand-new Billboard cover story, SZA finally confirmed that she’s readying the release of her long-awaited sophomore album, titled S.O.S, after a more than five-year wait since her celebrated 2017 debut Ctrl.
Check out The Weeknd’s stamp of approval on a new “Die for You” remix with SZA below.
SZA claimed her sixth top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “Shirt” debuted at No. 4 on the chart dated Nov. 12.
After teasing fans with the song’s snippet in late 2020, “Shirt” later found its way onto TikTok, where a viral challenge began. At the top of 2021, the CTRL singer caught wind of the social craze and said she was “finalizing” the record, before at last dropping it this year in October.
If you need a guide to follow along with SZA’s “Shirt,” find the lyrics below:
Kiss me dangerousBeen so lost without you all around meGet anxiousLead meDon’t look back, it’s all about you
In the dark right nowFeelin’ lost, but I like itComfort in my sins and all about meAll I got right nowFeel the taste of resentmentSimmer in my skin, it’s all about
Bloodstain on my shirtNew bi— on my nervesOld n—a got curvedGoing back on my wordDamn, bi—, you so thirstyStill don’t know my worthStill stressin’ perfectionLet you all in my mentalGot me lookin’ too desperateDamn (you ain’t deserve)
Broad day, sunshineI’ll find a way to f— it up stillCan’t cry about the sh– that I can’t changeJust my mindGotta get outta hereTough crowd, I hate itCan’t stay
In the dark right nowFeelin’ lost, but I like itComfort in my sins and all about meAll I got right nowFeel the taste of resentmentSimmer in my skinIt’s all about
Bloodstain on my shirtNew bi— on my nervesOld n—a got curvedGoing back on my wordDamn, bi—, you so thirstyStill don’t know my worthStill stressin’ perfectionLet you all in my mentalGot me lookin’ too desperateDamn
It’s what you say and how you do meHow I’m ‘posed to trust, baby? ‘Posed to love?It ain’t ‘posed to hurt this wayAll I need is the best of youBaby, how I got to say it? Give me all of you
In the dark right nowFeelin’ lost, but I like itComfort in my sins and all about meAll I got right nowFeel the taste of resentmentSimmer in my skinIt’s all about
Bloodstain on my shirtNew bi— on my nervesOld n—a got curvedGoing back on my wordDamn, bi—, you so thirstyStill don’t know my worthStill stressin’ perfectionLet you all in my mentalGot me lookin’ too desperateDamn (you ain’t deserve)
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Rob Gueringer, Rodney Jerkins, Solana Rowe
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SZA stitches together her sixth top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “Shirt” debuts at No. 4 on the chart dated Nov. 12. The single, released Nov. 4 through Top Dawg / RCA Records, begins in the top 10 of both the genre’s sales and streaming charts as well.
“Shirt” arrives with 20.3 million official U.S. streams registered in the week ending Nov. 3, according to Luminate, enough to prompt a No. 2 start on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. In the same period, the track sold 3,000 downloads and enters at No. 9 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales list. In addition, the song drew 990,000 in radio audience in the week. It ranks outside the 50-position R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, though most singles are driven largely by streams and sales in their debut weeks, as airplay is traditionally the slowest-moving metric.
With “Shirt,” SZA nets her sixth top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Here’s a look at her collection:
Song Title, Artist (if other than SZA), Peak Position, Peak Date“All the Stars,” with Kendrick Lamar, No. 5, Feb. 24, 2018“Good Days,” No. 3, Jan. 23, 2021“No Love,” with Summer Walker, No. 5, Nov. 20, 2021“I Hate U,” No. 1 (one week), Dec. 18, 2021“Beautiful,” DJ Khaled featuring Future & SZA, No. 10, Sept. 10, 2022“Shirt,” No. 4 (to date), Nov. 12, 2022
Beyond its impact on SZA’s chart ledger, “Shirt” returns another R&B veteran – Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins – to the top tier thanks to his co-write and co-production credits. The hitmaker, whose resume includes work on defining hits such as Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” and Destiny’s Child “Say My Name,” cracks the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs’ top 10 for the first time since January 2008. Then, he produced and co-wrote Keyshia Cole’s “Shoulda Let You Go,” featuring Amina, which exited the top 10 that month after having reached No. 7 a few weeks earlier.
Elsewhere, “Shirt” debuts at No. 3 on the Hot R&B Songs chart and gives SZA her 16th top 10 there.