SZA’s Sophomore Album ‘S.O.S.’ Is Coming
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37 SZA’s fans won’t have to wait much longer for her highly anticipated sophomore album. According to Billboard, the Grammy-winning singer is preparing to release her second album, S.O.S., in December.
SZA informed Billboard’s Heran Mamo of her plans to drop her album next month, though she is “currently stressed” about it.
In the cover story, Mamo teased what fans can expect to hear on SZA’s “most daring body of work” to date.
“Instrumentally, S.O.S is the most captivating music she has ever made, her beloved lo-fi beats sharing space with surf rock within the same track, a grunge record and an acoustic guitar-driven ballad coexisting without either sounding out of place,” wrote Mamo. “S.O.S is an album that certainly justifies a five-year wait.”
While an official tracklist has not been confirmed, the album is expected to include SZA’s most recent single, “Shirt,” produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. The Dave Meyers-directed video has garnered more than eight million views since premiering Oct. 28.
It may also feature her hit single “I Hate U,” which was released in December 2021. The kiss-off anthem shattered Apple Music’s first-week streaming record for an R&B song by a woman. In January, “I Hate U” was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for reaching 500,000 equivalent sales units. In August, it reached platinum status for achieving one million equivalent sales units.
S.O.S. will follow SZA’s critically acclaimed debut album, Ctrl, which was released June 9, 2017. SZA celebrated the album’s fifth anniversary by releasing a Ctrl (Deluxe), an expanded edition featuring seven unreleased tracks recorded when she was working on the album.
“This is JUST a gift for camp ctrl . Nothing more nothing less . if u family you get it . 5 yrs is a long time . Thank you for changing my life I love you . Happy anniversary. #HAPPYCTRLANNIVERSARY,” SZA tweeted.
This is JUST a gift for camp ctrl . Nothing more nothing less . if u family you get it . 5 yrs is a long time . Thank you for changing my life I love you . Happy anniversary 🤍 #HAPPYCTRLANNIVERSARY
— SZA (@sza) June 9, 2022
Ctrl debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. By July 2020, the Grammy-nominated album was certified 2x multi-platinum.
On Dec. 3, SZA will appear on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest. Multi-hyphenate Keke Palmer will host the show.
SZA is nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 65th Grammy Awards for being featured on DJ Khaled’s song “Beautiful.”
The prestigious ceremony will air live Sunday, Feb. 3, 2023 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBS. It will also stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.
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