SZA, a singer and songwriter, recently released her album, SOS, which exploded in popularity. SOS was released on December 9th, 2022, and broke records within weeks. This album has boosted SZA in the music industry, making her one of the top artists. Her music includes an inner monologue with many deep emotions that people can relate to. Her talent to put sentiments into words makes her loveable to the world.
Music Industry Records
SOS has been number one on the Billboard 200 album chart for the past five weeks. Only four other albums have spent this much time at number one. The last solo women's album that spent five weeks at number one was Mariah Carey's, Daydream, released in 1995. Furthermore, 15 songs from the SOS album took over Spotify's Top 20 Chart, which has never been done by a solo album before. This album has over 68 million streams and will keep on exponentially growing. Papa Keith, an R&B radio host, shares that SZA has "the most significant R&B streaming week ever." The amount of popularity this album has gained isn't just massive; it is record-breaking for the music industry.
The Deeper Meaning
How could this smaller artist become a history breaker? The lyrics are super deep for someone who has had an ex or gone through a breakup. Her biggest hit of the album, "Kill Bill," uses the exaggeration "I might Kill my Ex--His new girlfriends next," relating it to the storyline of the movie Kill Bill. This shows one's anger towards relationships and helps one spill their heart out while having hatred towards a heartbreak from someone.
"SZA makes me feel like I'm valid for hating on an old relationship," Dana Rains, senior at North Scott.
Not only does the album feel relatable, it makes one feel confident in their feelings, knowing that the anger after a breakup can create hatred toward someone; this album gives people the urge to scream and shout the lyrics as they sing their built-up emotions. Another song that broke the internet was "Special." This song focuses on women not feeling naturally beautiful and wishing something was good about them. This relates to society because of the high standards and stereotypes set for women. One of the very first lines of the song: "I never liked her, I wanted to be like her," claims she hates the high standards, yet she wants to be that woman.
Message
The overall message of this album creates one's inner thoughts about past relationships, which SZA captures and puts into catchy lyrics that get the point across. The talent SZA has to make such a meaningful album for everyone to relate to is refreshing and memorable! This album shows why she deserves all of the accolades she has been given.
Dang this person deserves to be on the Today Show!
You slayed this