sos

Victoria Monét Announced The ‘Jaguar II’ Deluxe Album’s Release Date, Now Fans Are Clawing For More Clues

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Victoria Monet Billboard R&B No 1 2024 (1024x437)
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Victoria Monét isn’t abandoning with her multiple Grammy Award-winning album, Jaguar II just yet. Today (September 13), the “Alright” singer announced the long-awaited deluxe version of the project is finally on the way.

Over on X (formerly Twitter), Victoria revealed the forthcoming album’s release date, writing: “🐆 JAGUAR II DELUXE is otw!! 🐆🤎 10/4! It’s available for pre-order right now. ✨🎉 go do that please 😌.”

Back in February during an appearance on iHeart Radio’s The New Hit List, Victoria confirmed she begun working on the project but was hesitant to share any further details. Now, supporters have a better understanding of what’s to come thanks to a sit down with Apple Music’s New Music Daily, we know Jaguar II will feature several new tracks within the parameters of the Jaguar musical universe.

So far, Victoria has released one new track, “SOS (Sex On Sight)” with Usher, which is slated to appear on the upcoming body of work. Over on the Apple Music pre-save page, eight unnamed tracks will join “SOS (Sex On Sight),” and Victoria’s Bryson Tiller duet “We Might Even Be Falling In Love” to make up the Jaguar II Deluxe‘s official tracklist.

But this project is bittersweet moment for Victoria’s superfans. Victoria has made it clear that Jaguar II Deluxe marks the end of this era sonically. However, there’s still more to come.

Artwork

RCA

Jaguar II Deluxe is out 10/4 via RCA. Find more information here.

Victoria Monét and Usher Release Highly Anticipated Single “SOS (Sex On Sight)”

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Three-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Victoria Monét and global entertainment icon Usher have officially joined forces to release their highly anticipated single “SOS (Sex On Sight).” The track, out now via Lovett Music/RCA Records, marks the first collaboration between these two R&B powerhouses, following a series of public moments throughout the year.

Their partnership has been teased in the lead-up to this release, with Monét gifting Usher a Super Bowl leather jacket at his Las Vegas Residency, both artists leading wins at the NAACP Image Awards, and Monét’s viral performance with Teyana Taylor at the 2024 BET Awards, where they paid homage to Usher’s iconic 2005 “Bad Girl” performance during his Lifetime Achievement Tribute.

“SOS (Sex On Sight) is about desire. It’s about the urgency you feel when you need some love, physical touch and quality attention! Sometimes that desire can feel as urgent as being rescued from a natural disaster, or in this case rescued from your own sensual urges. Just like a storm, SOS summons and forewarns a lover of the rainfall that is to come and welcomes the beautiful relief from that desire. It feels romantic, playful, sultry and direct. Based in fantasy and the warmest tones of r&b. It feels timeless and we hope you enjoy the escape!”

– Victoria Monét

Produced by Grammy-winning producer Camper, “SOS” is a sultry R&B track that showcases Monét’s songwriting prowess, featuring her signature wordplay and double entendres. Usher’s sensual verse complements Monét’s vocals, creating a flirtatious back-and-forth that leaves listeners eagerly anticipating what’s next. “SOS” is the first release from Monét’s forthcoming JAGUAR II Deluxe album, following her Grammy Award-winning JAGUAR II.

The post Victoria Monét and Usher Release Highly Anticipated Single “SOS (Sex On Sight)” first appeared on The Source.

The post Victoria Monét and Usher Release Highly Anticipated Single “SOS (Sex On Sight)” appeared first on The Source.

SZA Thinks “SOS” Is Too Low On Apple Music’s Greatest Albums List

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SZA is ruthless when it comes to critiquing herself. Part of what makes her such a good songwriter is her ability to pinpoint her insecurities and express them with lyrics that connect with the masses. It’s what’s led to her first two albums being hailed as modern classics. SZA is, conversely, very confident about the music she puts out. She knows she’s one of the best R&B artists working today. The confident side came out on May 16, when SZA was informed that SOS cracked Apple Music’s list for the greatest albums of all time. She was flattered, but she expected higher.

Apple Music is slowly rolling out its ranking for the greatest albums of all time on its streaming platform. There have already been some heavy hitters that have made the list, including Usher’s Confessions and Tyler, The Creator’s Flower Boy. SZA’s second album had the honor of placing much higher than these albums AND classics like people like George Michael and Solange. Rather than celebrate, SZA made it clear she was underwhelmed. “Lmao,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “72nd is so disrespectful.”

Read More: SZA Shows Off Her Twerking Skills In Her MET Gala After-Party Fit

SZA Spent Several Years Working On SOS

SZA’s comments drew mixed reactions from fans. Some felt the singer was being ungrateful, despite having placed higher than several notable artists. Others championed her confidence, and felt that SOS was indeed one of the greatest albums of all time. The singer’s took several years making SOS, which is probably why she feels so proud of it. “I never thought in a million years that people would like it,” she told Variety. “Everybody came down to make sure I didn’t lose my mind if the album went bad once it came out. And now we’re just hanging out, ’cause it didn’t go badly.”

“Didn’t go badly” is an understatement. SOS earned nine Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and won Best Progressive R&B Album. It spawned a number one single with “Kill Bill” and a number two single with “Snooze.” The latter the distinction of being the only song to chart on Billboard for all of 2023. SOS was also ranked 351 on Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time list. If you ask SZA, though, she probably felt that placement was too low as well.

Read More: SZA Believes People Label Her As An R&B Artist Only Because She’s Black

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Benny Blanco Recalls SZA Eating An Entire Tray Of His Banana Pudding: “We Wound Up Cooking More Than Making Music”

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Benny Blanco joked that SZA ate an entire tray of his banana pudding while the two were working on music together at his house. Appearing on SiriusXM’s The Sporkful podcast to promote his new cookbook, Blanco explained how SZA has become a huge fan of his cooking. Blanco worked with SZA on “Nobody Gets Me” and “Special” off of her 2022 album SOS.

“We were at my house, and she went down to get a drink and she saw something in the fridge,” Blanco recalled. “She had one bite. It was in a big like sheet tray. And then by the end of the day, there was no more banana pudding left. She would just, like, sneak down for bites. And then every time she came to the studio, she needed a banana pudding. Then it was like, ‘Oh, wait, what else do you make?’ Then it was like, lasagna … We wound up cooking more than making music, you know?”

Read More: Justin Bieber Joins SZA In New Music Video For “Snooze”

Benny Blanco & Selena Gomez Attend Lakers Game

Los Angeles, CA – January 03: Actress Selena Gomez, left, and actor Benny Blanco during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“There was a time when SZA said, ‘I’m not coming over unless you have spicy rigatoni cooked for me,’” Blanco said. “And she was, like, halfway joking, but halfway serious. ‘Cause I’ll bark demands at her. I’ll be like, ‘We need to get this vocal done.’ And she’s like, ‘We need to eat the spicy rigatoni!’” SZA’s SOS went on to spend ten non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart. Check out Blanco’s comments on working with her below.

Benny Blanco Reflects On Working With SZA

Blanco’s cookbook, Open Wide, will be hitting shelves on April 30. Be on the lookout for further updates on Benny Blanco on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: SZA’s Nearly Naked Robot Lap Dance From “Snooze” Music Video BTS Is Seriously Hot

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The post Benny Blanco Recalls SZA Eating An Entire Tray Of His Banana Pudding: “We Wound Up Cooking More Than Making Music” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

SZA Didn’t Expect “Snooze” To Be A Hit Song: “Wasn’t My Favorite”

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SZA bucked the curse of the sophomore slump and then some. The R&B superstar took a long time to follow up her debut album, Ctrl, but SOS proved to be an even bigger success on the charts. A lot of this success was due to the single “Snooze,” which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Best R&B Song. It’s become one of SZA biggest hits, which is why she decided to share a funny anecdote about the song on X (formerly Twitter). The singer admitted that was not really a fan of “Snooze” when she first recorded it.

SZA broke the news to fans on April 24. “I’m not gon lie snooze wasn’t my favorite when I made the album,” she told her followers. Fortunately, the song grew on the singer as the sessions wore on, and it’s since become her favorite. “Now it’s my favorite hands down,” she added. “Played it at the beach and it was noiiiiiiceeeee. I’m late but thank y’all for riding til I got some sense.” It’s easy to see why SZA came back around on it. In addition to the Hot 100 placement and the Grammy, “Snooze” broke the record for most weeks atop the US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart with 30 weeks. It’s safe to assume she’s going to be playing it for the rest of her career.

Read More: SZA Has A Big Problem With Online Haters For This Reason

SZA Says “Snooze” Has Become Her Favorite SOS Song

Miraculously, “Snooze” almost missed the cut for SOS. During an interview with Revolt, producer Leon Thomas revealed that the song was originally intended for a Babyface album. “Snooze” came about as SZA and Babyface were riffing in the studio. “It was a collaboration for Babyface’s new album, Girls Night Out,” Thomas revealed. “We were just getting creative and having Babyface walk in and out of the room and lay parts. We did the beat that same day, and she recorded the song on the same day.”

This spontaneity extended to the “Snooze” music video. SZA told WSJ Magazine that Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber FaceTimed her when she was planning the video, and she asked if Bieber wanted to be in it. The pop star obliged, and an iconic video resulted. “[Bieber] showed up and he was down as f*ck for the whole day,” SZA recalled. “and “[He] didn’t trip about nothing.” SZA is currently working on her follow up album, Lana, which was born out of unused songs from the SOS sessions.

Read More: SZA Set To Receive A Special Award From The Songwriters Hall Of Fame

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SZA Set To Receive A Special Award From The Songwriters Hall Of Fame

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SZA had about as impressive of a 2023 as anybody. Following the release of SOS in late 2022, she took a year-long victory lap marked by some of the biggest hits of her career so far. It began with “Kill Bill” which hovered in the top 5 of the Hot 100 for months following the album’s release and eventually hit #1 when Doja Cat teamed up for a remix. As soon as the momentum from that song slowed down, “Snooze” took over and became her biggest chart hit ever. The track is still on the charts and next week will be its stunning 70th week on the Hot 100.

Now SZA is receiving yet another honor in the wake of her massive year. It was announced today that she’ll be this year’s recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award. She’ll be given the award at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame Awards on June 13 in New York City. According to Billboard, the announcement describes the award as an honor presented to “gifted young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs.” The “Snooze” singer is just the second black woman to win the award following Alicia Keys being honored nearly two decades ago. Check out the announcement of her award below.

Read More: SZA’s “Kill Bill” Among Bill Nye’s Top Songs Of 2023

SZA Getting Special Songwriters Award

Late last year, SZA announced that she had a deluxe edition of SOS coming soon. The special new deluxe album was called LANA and fans were expecting it sooner rather than later. When she dropped the single “Saturn” back in February fans assumed that the full album would be dropping soon, but that hasn’t been the case. A big reason was revealed to fans last month.

The R&B darling went on a public rant against the person who leaked LANA and revealed that she’s writing and recording an entire new deluxe album instead of officially releasing the leaked songs. What do you think of SZA being honored at this year’s Songwriters Hall Of Fame Awards? Are you looking forward to SZA eventually releasing her SOS deluxe version LANA? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: What Is SZA’s Best-Selling Album?

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SZA Puts “Lana” Leaker On Blast, Fans Troll Her For Going After Someone With Only 4 Likes

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SZA called out a user on Twitter for leaking unreleased music from her upcoming project, Lana, on Monday. In doing so, she clarified the status of the deluxe version of SOS after going on a since-deleted rant about scrapping the music she has and starting over. In response to the drama, fans noted that the post SZA was upset about only managed to get four likes before it was deleted.

“Will be dropping the leaks and outtakes from SOS as promised as the deluxe asap. Lana deserves more time and music no one’s ever heard before seems fair. Bless,” she wrote in one post. From there, she shared a screenshot of the leak. “Yesterday Janessa leaked unreleased pics and audio,” she captioned the post. “Then she deleted and deactivated before rca could get her. I screenshotted. Being that this is material from Lana This prompted me to make a decision.”

Read More: SZA Says She’s Restarting “‘Lana’ From Scratch” Due To Leaks

SZA Performs At The Grammy Awards

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 04: SZA performs onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

SZA continued in the thread: “The second leak tweet was fake but for sure pissed me off lol. Janessa was also in the replies to that tweet before she deactivated. I decided w all the leaks and me not knowing what someone has or doesn’t have it’s too complicated so I should jus consolidate the leaks and the outtakes and drop that as to not prolong the process and then focus on my next project as a win win for everybody. Y’all know I hate a thread but I had to clarify .. now enjoy your evening. I love you. And please be clear anybody defending a thief is weird as f*ck. I don’t come in your job and take sh*t and f*ck up your work. Why would that be okay? Where’s the home training? Nobody wants to prosecute a young woman. We’ve all asked very nicely for some time now.”

SZA On “Lana” & How She’s Handling Leaks

It’s not the first time SZA has complained about leaks relating to Lana. She also threatened to take legal action over the situation back in January. Be on the lookout for further updates on SZA on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: SZA Flaunts Bikini In New Photo Dump, Addresses “Lana” Demands

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SZA Says She’ll Release The ‘SOS’ Leaks As Part Of The Deluxe, But Is Still Working On ‘LANA’

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We have yet another update on SZA‘s upcoming album, LANA. Originally set to be an extended version of SOS, the seemingly mythical LANA has had fans waiting with great fervor. However, it looks like we’re still going to have to wait a a bit longer.

Earlier this week, the “Snooze” hitmaker said that as a result of fans leaking songs from LANA, she would be starting the project over. But tonight (March 26), it appears she’s had a change of heart.

SZA took to Twitter to explain to fans that she will, in fact, give the leaked material a formal release.

“Will be dropping the leaks and outtakes from SOS as promised as the deluxe asap,” SZA said. “Lana deserves more time and music no one’s ever heard before. seems fair. Bless.”

She continued, saying that keeping up with the leaks was very taxing on her, and decided that it was easier to simply share the material as a gift with fans, and for LANA to evolve as its own body of work.

“I decided w all the leaks and me not knowing what someone has or doesn’t have it’s too complicated so I should jus consolidate the leaks and the outtakes and drop that as to not prolong the process and then focus on my next project as a win win for everybody,” she said.

Now, as for a release date, we’ll believe it when we see it.

SZA Says She’s Restarting “‘Lana’ From Scratch” Due To Leaks

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SZA says she’s restarting work on the deluxe version of her SOS album, Lana, due to fans leaking songs she had planned for the project. She explained the situation in a pair of tweets she’s since deleted that went up on Monday. She says fans can keep the three songs they’ve already gotten access to.

“So, we’ll make this really simple,” she wrote. “Y’all leaked three songs from the deluxe. At this point, y’all can keep the throwaways and leaks. I’ll be starting ‘Lana’ from scratch. Do not ask me about it again. Thank you.” She added in a follow-up: “I’ll round up the leaks y’all already got and u can have those. Seems like a fair deal. ENJOY.”

Read More: SZA Visits Sesame Street, Shares Clip With Elmo & Old Tweet About Wanting To Join

SZA Performs At The Grammy Awards

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 04: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) SZA performs during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Timothy Norris/FilmMagic)

It’s not the first time SZA has gotten heated about the leaking of her music on social media. Back in January, she threatened to take legal action over the situation. “Leaking my music is stealing,” she wrote at the time. “This is my job. This is my life and my intellectual property. You are a f*cking thief, and I promise to put maximum energy into holding everyone accountable to the full extent of the law. I am tired.” Check out her posts on the matter on Twitter below.

SZA Expresses Frustration Over Leaked Songs

SZA has been working on the deluxe version of her critically acclaimed 2022 album for over a year now. Speaking with Variety in December, she admitted the work she’s put into it is starting to make it feel like it’s own separate album. She dropped the lead single, “Saturn,” last month. There’s still no release date for Lana. Be on the lookout for further updates on SZA and her new album on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: SZA Flaunts Bikini In New Photo Dump, Addresses “Lana” Demands

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SZA Wins “Best International Artist” At The BRIT Awards

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SZA beat out a crowded field to take home “Best International Artist” at the BRIT Awards this week. The St. Louis singer took home the award ahead of the likes of Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift. In fact it, was a quiet night overall for Swift. Cyrus took home “International Song of the Year” for “Flowers”. However, it should be noted that Swift did not have a nomination in this category. Previously, Swift had topped SZA for “Album of the Year” at the Grammys.

Elsewhere, it was a rough night for up-and-coming rapper Central Cee. Despite entering the night with the second-most nominations (4), Cee came away with no awards. Furthermore, the rapper has been making a huge name for himself over the last 18 months. This has included reaching the heights of a potential collab with Drake.

Read More: SZA Visits Sesame Street, Shares Clip With Elmo & Old Tweet About Wanting To Join

SZA & Phoebe Bridgers Win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy

Furthermore, it’s already been a huge year for SZA in terms of award recognition. Alongside Phoebe Bridgers, she won the 2024 Grammy for best pop dup/group performance for their track “Ghost in the Machine”. The pair most notably won the award over Swift, who was nominated for her track “Karma”, which featured Ice Spice. “Holy sh-t THANK YOU @phoebe_bridgers!!!I F-CKING LOVE YOU B-TCH !! 🥹😩Thank you to @RecordingAcad!!!!!!! I’m so grateful 🥹🙏🏾 and thank you to every producer on this record especially rob and Carter 🥹🫡🫶🏾 love u gang . WE GOT ONE !! 🤞🏾😭,” SZA wrote on X after the award was announced. “Ghost in the Machine” peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

However, aside from Swift and Spice, SZA and Bridgers have several other big-name contenders for the award. Cyrus had been nominated for her track “A Thousand Miles” with Brandi Carlisle. Lana Del Rey was nominated for her track “Candy Necklace” featuring Jon Batiste. Furthermore, Billie Eilish, who won for her song on the Barbie soundtrack, was nominated for her feature on Labrinth’s “Never Felt So Alone”.

Read More: SZA Reveals Which Of Her Songs Are Associated With Each Zodiac Sign

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