SZA
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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.
The wait for SZA‘s sophomore album has drawn on for half a decade now, but the singer dished on Monday (Oct. 17) that she’s spent all that time recording a whole lot of music.
At LAX airport, the Grammy winner was approached by TMZ for details about the long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s Ctrl, and she let slip that it’s set to arrive “any day” without giving a specific release date. “I’m hoping it goes well,” she added of the studio set.
As she made her way to the TSA Pre-Check line, the paparazzi following her asked, “How many total songs do you think you’ve recorded?” From beneath her white hoodie and black face mask, she replied, “Total? A hundred, maybe? Like, I don’t even know, actually… Five years worth of material.”
This summer, SZA issued a special deluxe re-release of her smash debut album to celebrate its fifth anniversary. Featuring seven previously unreleased tracks like “Tread Carefully, “2AM,” “Miles,” “Percolator,” “Awkward,” “Jodie” and an alternative version of “Love Galore,” the LP climbed back up Billboard‘s Top R&B Albums chart where it reclaimed the No. 1 spot for the first time since its initial release.
Ctrl was nominated at the 2018 Grammy Awards for best urban contemporary album and she was up for best new artist the same year.
The singer also joined Pharrell, Justin Timberlake, Clipse, Q-Tip and more at the 2022 Something in the Water festival over Juneteenth weekend in Washington, D.C., and more recently took the stage for the 10th iteration of Global Citizen fest all the way from Accra, Ghana, in order to help mark the 65th anniversary of Ghanaian independence as well as the 20th anniversary of the African Union.