SZA’s “SOS” Album Takes Billboard’s Number One Spot For Third Week

Since SZA dropped her highly-anticipated album SOS last month, the Grammy-winning singer has continued to see it reach new heights. 

Earlier this week, Billboard reported that the new album was number one on the Billboard 200 chart for the third week in a row, making it clear that fans are still loving the 23-track project.

HOUSTON, TX – NOVEMBER 05: SZA performs on stage during the Astroworld Fest 2021 at NRG Park on November 5, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Omar Vega/FilmMagic)

Songs like “Kill Bill,” “Smoking on my Ex Pack,” and “Ghost in the Machine” were a few clear standouts on SOS. Last week, SZA’s label Top Dawg Entertainment dropped a music video teaser for “Kill Bill,” showing the St. Louis native on a motorcycle and swinging a sword in the Quentin Tarantino-themed visual.

SZA also announced her upcoming tour late last year. Stopping in Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, Dallas, and Inglewood, the North American tour also includes Toronto and Vancouver.

READ MORE: SZA Details “S.O.S.” Cover Art Being Inspired By Princess Diana

On ideas that she has to offer fans on the tour, which kicks off in February, the “Supermodel” singer told Rolling Stone, “I just wanna give them the craziest experience they could ever have and play whatever they want. Whether it’s unreleased songs that they thought they heard on the internet, or their favorite album cuts or f**king deep cuts from 2012, I don’t care. I just wanna give them what they deserve and make it beautiful.”

“That’s my biggest goal, and I’m really excited and there’s nothing I enjoy more than being on stage and performing,” SZA continued. “It’s way different than this whole like, putting out shit on streaming and then watching people yell about it on Twitter. It’s way more human and it really makes it all worthwhile.”

According to Chart Data on Twitter, SOS is also currently number one on the US iTunes chart. 

What has been your favorite song from the album? Let us know your pick in the comments below.

[Via] [Via]

SZA’s ‘SOS’ Claims A Third Week At No. 1 And Joins Beyoncé In The Record Books

SZA is starting 2023 on top: SOS, her highly anticipated and highly successful sophomore album, dropped on December 9, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated December 24, and she hasn’t relinquished the position.

According to Billboard, SOS has logged its third consecutive week at No. 1 on the chart dated January 7, with 128,000 equivalent album US units earned during the week ending on December 29. The publication additionally relayed, “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.)”

Last week, SZA teased a video for “Kill Bill” to reward her fans for making the track her first career No. 1 on Billboard‘s Streaming Songs chart and second career Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart No. 1.

Elsewhere on this week’s Billboard 200 chart, Taylor Swift’s Midnights remains at No. 2 for a fourth-straight week. The album had previously spent five weeks at No. 1, including a record-breaking debut. Michael Bublé’s Christmas comes in at No. 3, with Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains (No. 4) and Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song (No. 5) rounding out the top 5.

SZA Says She And Lizzo Recorded At Least ‘Five Or Six’ Songs While She Worked On ‘SOS’

SZA got candid about some of the influences on her album in a recent interview with Rolling Stone’s Music Now podcast. The “Kill Bill” songstress revealed that she looked to pop-punk artists like Blink 182, Avril Lavigne, and more. To help her cultivate the sound she was looking for, the TDE singer says she turned to her friend and pop star Lizzo after a run-in while she recorded her latest album, S.O.S.

SZA revealed that she and the “About Damn Time” singer recorded at least “five or six songs” during the session. The long-time friends took turns freestyling over the beat that became “F2F,” which was initially titled “Charlatan,” said songwriter/producer Carter Lang who joined the singer during the interview.

“They were putting some energy into it,” he said. “That was the thing that I feel sparked SZA really taking it into her own world and figuring out how it can be part of her story in an authentic way and not like, ‘Hey, I just did a rock joint.’”

For SZA, the pairing made sense because she feels Lizzo “gets her,” and they “have so much together.”

“She’s another person who has hella [wide] music tastes and doesn’t fit in anybody’s box of anything,” the singer said. “She makes it seem like she doesn’t even care, like she just does whatever she wants. And I just love being with her, just as a friend and hanging out. So whenever she comes to a studio, I just feel like, ‘Let’s drop into some bullshi*t.’”

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

SZA Thanked Her Fans After Achieving Career Milestones With ‘SOS’ And ‘Kill Bill’

SZA has been in Hawaii to celebrate the overwhelming success of SOS, which finally arrived on December 9 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Her sophomore album is currently spending its second consecutive week atop the chart, prompting SZA to reflect.

First, SZA posted an Instagram carousel featuring a series of selfies, a Wolf Of Wall Street screengrab, Billboard‘s article announcing SOS‘s second consecutive week, plus aggregate sites relaying that the album is “the first album by a Black female artist to spend its first two weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 since Beyoncé” and that SZA joined Taylor Swift as the sole female artists to ever chart at least 20 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.

“Lol instagram randomly deleted my post last week .. but APPARENTLY ITS STILL TRUE THIS WEEK,” SZA captioned the post. “number 1 two weeks in a row .. God is incredible. I won’t repeat it all ,but thank you everybody for supporting me and speaking power n love into me. It’s 9:43 in Hawaii . I couldn’t ask for anything more . Life is beautiful and what it should be.”

Then, last night (December 28), SZA doubled down on her gratitude on Twitter.

“I just wanna say the way y’all been riding for me and genuinely wanna see me win / get my first number one means SO much …community is everything and I couldn’t do any of this w out YALL,” she tweeted alongside heart, salute and “SOS emojis with the #KillBill hashtag. “THANK YOU I LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOU.”

The SOS track “Kill Bill” debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100 and sits at No. 7 this week. The song also became SZA’s first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard Streaming Songs chart.

SZA fans will be properly rewarded during next year’s SOS arena tour, beginning in February. Omar Apollo will serve as the opener. See the dates here.

SZA Dropped Cheeky Swimsuit Photos To Celebrate ‘SOS’ Spending A Second Week At No. 1

SZA has every reason to celebrate this holiday season. On top of appearing on Saturday Night Live, going viral with a parody track, and finally releasing her long-awaited sophomore album SOS, December keeps proving fruitful for the “Nobody Gets Me” singer. Yesterday, it was revealed that SOS topped the Billboard 200 for a second week.

It appears SZA spent the holiday in Hawaii. To commemorate her latest feat, she shared some pictures of herself on location, wearing a swimsuit that left little to the imagination. In the post’s caption, SZA appeared to reference a post celebrating the first week the album went No. 1 that had since been deleted. However, she was still in good spirits for the second consecutive week.

“Lol instagram randomly deleted my post last week .. but APPARENTLY ITS STILL TRUE THIS WEEK,” she said. “number 1 two weeks in a row .. God is incredible. I won’t repeat it all but thank you everybody for supporting me and speaking power n love into me. It’s 9:43 in Hawaii. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Life is beautiful and what it should be.”

Also in the post were other notable accomplishments, like the fact that SOS is the first album by a Black woman artist since Beyoncé’s 2013 self-titled surprise album two spend its first two weeks at No. 1. There is also a stat in there that notes that SZA and Taylor Swift are the only women artists to have at least 20 songs charting simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100.

Check out the celebratory post above.

SZA’s ‘SOS’ Owns No. 1 For A Second Consecutive Week Despite Her Fear Nobody Would Like It

SZA can exhale. During an interview with Rolling Stone last week, she shared that she “never thought in a million years that people would likeSOS, her sophomore album, before its highly hyped December 9 arrival. Well, SOS became her first career No. 1 album last week with 318,000 first-week equivalent album units, per Billboard, and Barack Obama probably contributed to those numbers.

SZA held firm at No. 1 on the new Billboard 200 chart dated December 31 for a second consecutive week. According to the publication’s Luminate data source, SOS netted 180,000 equivalent US album units in the week ending on December 22.

Tracks “Kill Bill” and “Nobody Gets Me” also debuted at Nos. 3 and 10, respectively, on last week’s Billboard Hot 100. “Blind” came in at No. 12, with “Low” at No. 17, “Love Language” at No. 21, “Seek & Destroy” at No. 24, “Snooze” at No. 29, and “Used” featuring Don Toliver at No. 30. Elsewhere on the Billboard charts, “Kill Bill” notched SZA her first career No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart and second career No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

This week’s Billboard 200 top five is rounded out by Taylor Swift’s Midnights (No. 2), RM’s Indigo (No. 3), Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains (No. 4), and Michael Bublé’s Christmas (No. 5). Drake and 21 Savage’s record-setting Her Loss collaborative album fell out of the top five to No. 6.

SZA will take SOS on the road with opener Omar Apollo for her first-ever arena tour beginning February 21, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio.

SZA’s New Album “SOS” Tops Billboard 200 For 2nd Week

SZA’s newest album, SOS, has landed at the top of the Billboard 200 chart for a second week. She shared the highly-anticipated album back on December 9.

The album earned 180,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 22. Of that figure, SEA units comprise 179,000 while album sales make up 1,000. SOS debuted on the chart with 318,000 units to lead it above the competition.

NEWARK, NJ – AUGUST 05: SZA attends Black Girls Rock! 2017 at NJPAC on August 5, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)

SOS features guest appearances from Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott, and even the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. She also worked with producers and songwriters including Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Benny Blanco, Rodney Jerkins, DJ Dahi, Gabriel Hardeman, Ant Clemons, Lizzo, and Björk. SZA released the singles “Good Days”, “I Hate U”, “Shirt”, and “Nobody Gets Me,” in support of the album. It is her first project since 2017’s Ctrl.

“It’s my first album in five years, so I’m ready to be a different person and step into this new part of my life,” she recently explained to GQ. “Really exemplify who this character is and get to know myself better while everyone else gets to know me live at the same time.”

Following the release of SOS, SZA will be touring across North America in 2023. She made the announcement on Instagram, earlier this month. SZA will be hitting Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., NYC, Dallas, Seattle, and many more beginning in February.

Elsewhere on the Billboard 200 chart, Taylor Swift’s Midnights landed in second place. The former No. 1 earned 155,000 equivalent album units. There were also several holiday albums that resurfaced on the charts. Michael Bublé’s Christmas, Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song, Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas, as well as Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas all cracked the top 10 as well.

Check out SZA’s SOS below.

[Via]

SZA Has Landed Her First No. 1 Album As ‘SOS’ Debuts On Top Of The ‘Billboard’ 200 Chart

SZA wrapped up 2022 with one of the year’s highlight albums, the long-anticipated SOS. In a recent interview, SZA revealed she wasn’t sure how the album would be received, saying, “I never thought in a million years that people would like it. My dad’s visiting right now, with my mom. 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!”

Indeed, people have enjoyed the LP and now the charts are reflecting that: On the new Billboard 200 chart dated December 24, SOS is No. 1, making it SZA’s first chart-topping album of her career. To claim the spot, it overtook Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains, which debuted at No. 1 last week. Previously, 2017’s Ctrl topped out at No. 3 while SZA’s 2014 Z EP peaked at No. 39.

Star power played at least some part in the album’s success: People were really excited about Phoebe Bridgers featuring on “Ghost In The Machine” and the album also features appearances from Travis Scott, Don Toliver, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. It was almost busier than that, as SZA wanted to get Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Drake, Finneas, Frank Ocean, Halsey, Harry Styles, Kacey Musgraves, Kendrick Lamar, Olivia Rodrigo, Rosalía, Tyler The Creator, and others on the album, too.

SZA & Lizzo Recorded A “Handful Of Tracks”: “She Gets Me”

It comes as no surprise that good friends SZA and Lizzo have a few would-be hits in the vault. We’re days into celebrating SOS, SZA’s sophomore effort that has reportedly earned her another No. 1 album. The singer fuses several genres, including R&B and Rock, and it’s a sound her fans are praising worldwide. Rolling Stone reports SZA’s alternative SOS track “F2F” features a “hidden” addition by Lizzo, who apparently just happened to be in the studio as SZA was recording.

The outlet stated that Lizzo “also did some writing” on the song’s bridge. Producer-engineer-songwriter Rob Bisel explained how the unplanned moment came to be while speaking with the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast. “We just happened to have that one pulled up the day that that Lizzo was there,” he said.

Read More: SZA Earns First #1 Album With “S.O.S”

“They were putting some energy into it,” songwriter-producer Carter Lang also revealed. “That was the thing that I feel sparked SZA really taking it into her own world and figuring out how it can be part of her story in an authentic way and not like, ‘Hey, I just did a rock joint.’”

Bisel adds that “there’s definitely a handful [of tracks with Lizzo].” It’s a revelation that should get fans excited. “I don’t want to incriminate myself here, but there’s some stuff floating around for sure.”

Meanwhile, SZA is thrilled to collaborate with her friend who she says understands her on a deeper level. “We just have so much fun together,” said SZA of Lizzo. “And I feel like she gets me.”

Read More: SZA Intended Frank Ocean, Drake & More To Be On “SOS”: Report

“She’s another person who has hella [wide] music tastes and doesn’t fit in anybody’s box of anything. She makes it seem like she doesn’t even care, like she just does whatever she wants. And I just love being with her, just as a friend and hanging out. So whenever she comes to a studio, I just feel like, ‘Let’s drop into some bullsh*t.’”

The singer also discussed fusing Rock into SOS, explaining that it developed organically.

“I made a whole bunch of rock songs. They were all terrible in terms of, like, saying bad things about what I’ve done to people,” she said. “But it sounded cool, and I think that’s what all those songs are really about. Just being super honest and letting that out. But yeah, I love making those type of songs….For sure on this album. I made a whole bunch of versions of me.”

“I look at everything when it’s done and then, and I’m like, ‘OK, this is who I’ve been for the last five years. And I don’t know if it makes any sense or if it goes together, but this is what’s hot.’”

What do you think of SOS? Was it worth the wait?

[via]