SZA Opens Up About Protecting Her Mental Health From Online Scrutiny And The Music Industry

SZA Mental Health

SZA, is known for leaving her most vulnerable feelings and emotion in her lyrics but, In a recent interview with Finish Line Women’s Community Voices series for Mental Health Awareness Month, The Grammy Award Winning R&B Singer admits the pressures of fame and being an artist affects her mental health. She, reveals how social media trolls impact her own thoughts, and the difficulties she faces when negative comments match up to her own insecurities.  “It’s weird sometimes when your personal thoughts and feelings align with some of the things people say about you,” she told the outlet. “It’s hard not to fall into that weird hole of self-loathing.” Although she finds refuge in her own creative process, she sometimes wonders if her skin is thick enough to face the pressures and the scrutiny that comes with stardom. “The physical exhaustion, the mental exhaustion does not come from making music,” divulged SZA. “But the exhaustion really comes from expectations, berating, and dehumanizing from outside forces. And that s— makes me feel like, ‘Why am I doing this? Why would I set myself up to be bodied like this on a regular basis?’ How does she find refuge and what are her best ways to cope?  “I’m an escape artist, so I love to get gone,” she said in her interview. “I love to hit an island, go for a walk at a local park, or just go to the beach and sit down.” She adds, “I feel like physical activity, being outside, and also prayer is really powerful for me.” She even escaped the infamous MET Gala party.

“For me, it’s like, I snuck out the back as soon as Lenny Kravitz hit the stage because I was feeling very like, ‘Whoa, my anxiety’s going crazy,’” continued SZA. “So much so that I couldn’t walk down the main steps to exit. I took a cab. I walked like three city blocks with no shoes on…” 

“I just tiptoed a couple of blocks and caught a yellow cab back to my hotel because I was just overwhelmed,” she recalled. “I had too much anxiety to wait for my cab in front of the crowd, and take pictures, and all those things. I didn’t want to do that. So I was looking like a little dirty Cinderella running away with my shoes.”  See SZA’s full interview below:  

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Lil Nas X, SZA, Paramore, And Red Hot Chili Peppers Will Play Austin City Limits 2022

This year’s Austin City Limits line-up is stacked with several exciting acts. Upon returning to Austin’s Zilker Park for its annual celebration of live music, ACL has a promising group of headliners.

Taking place over the course of three days for two consecutive weekends, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Chicks, Pink, SZA, Kacey Musgraves, Flume, Paramore, and Lil Nas X will headline both the weekends of October 7 to 9 and October 14 to 16. Texas fans of Lil Nas X will be elated to see the “Industry Baby” rapper live after the initial announcement of his Montero tour didn’t include any Texas dates, due to the fact that his “ex lives out there.

Also on the line-up are Diplo, Japanese Breakfast, Jazmine Sullivan, Omar Apollo, Bia and more.

While many of the acts will perform both weekends, some acts will only perform one of the weekends. Carly Rae Jepsen, Gayle, Lil Durk, and James Blake will all play weekend one only. Wet Leg, Lucky Daye, Princess Nokia, and Teezo Touchdown will play weekend two.

General on-sale begins today at noon CT. Check out the full line-up below.

ACL 2022 Line Up
Courtesy of Austin City Limits Festival

Some of the artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

ICYMI: SZA Leaves TikTok for Mental Health Awareness Month, Says The Internet Is ‘Demonic’

SZA offiially

Sza says the internet is ‘demonic’. Well did she lie? The TDE singer is priortizing her mental health and is no longer on TikTok.

The 33-year-old Grammy winner took to Twitter last Tuesday to call out naysayers who criticized her for attending the 2022 Met Gala after previously stating that she wasn’t going to any events until her next album was out.

READ MORE: SZA Says She Finished Her Album and Gives More Details Following Grammy Win.

SZA gave an update on her new album while on the red carpet, saying it was ready to go more than she’s ever felt. She later opened up on her Instagram story about why she’s deleting her TikTok account, calling the internet “demonic.” She went on to say the deletion was for Mental Health Awareness month, encouraging everyone to delete anything that doesn’t serve them.

The post ICYMI: SZA Leaves TikTok for Mental Health Awareness Month, Says The Internet Is ‘Demonic’ appeared first on The Source.

SZA Leaves TikTok for Mental Health Awareness Month, Says The Internet Is ‘Demonic’

Sza performing

Sza says the internet is ‘demonic’. Well did she lie? The TDE singer is priortizing her mental health and is no longer on TikTok.

The 33-year-old Grammy winner took to Twitter Tuesday to call out naysayers who criticized her for attending the 2022 Met Gala after previously stating that she wasn’t going to any events until her next album was out.

READ MORE: SZA Says She Finished Her Album and Gives More Details Following Grammy Win.

SZA gave an update on her new album while on the red carpet, saying it was ready to go more than she’s ever felt. She later opened up on her Instagram story about why she’s deleting her TikTok account, calling the internet “demonic.” She went on to say the deletion was for Mental Health Awareness month, encouraging everyone to delete anything that doesn’t serve them.

The post SZA Leaves TikTok for Mental Health Awareness Month, Says The Internet Is ‘Demonic’ appeared first on The Source.

SZA Deleted TikTok For Mental Health Awareness Month: ‘Delete Anything…That Doesn’t Serve You’

Following a stunning appearance at the Met Gala, SZA has announced she’s taking a small break from social media. This break seemingly follows fans calling the “Good Days” singer out for attending the Met Gala, despite not putting out her highly anticipated sophomore album.

Back in April, SZA tweeted, “Not going to any more awards or events til my album out.” Fans quickly pulled up this tweet after she made an appearance at the Met Gala. The next day, following an influx of callouts in her mentions, SZA took to Twitter to express her frustrations.

“I swear to God if I didn’t accidentally fall in love w music .. I would NEVER EVER COME OUTSIDE,” she wrote. “Y’all suck the joy and life out of EVERYTHING. Thank God for purpose cause Outside of art it’s f*ck y’all . Now run w that.”

Earlier today, she took to Instagram to further express her disdain for social media, and the internet in general.

“Get off the internet. The internet is demonic,” she wrote on her Instagram story (per NME). “I deleted my TikTok for mental health awareness month. I encourage everyone to delete anything anyone and everything that doesn’t serve you. Bless.”

All things aside, fans may not have to wait much longer for new music from SZA. On the red carpet at the Met Gala, she said her new album was complete, assuring viewers “It’ll be a SZA summer.”

You can view SZA’s social media posts above.

At Long Last, SZA Teases Her New Album At The 2022 Met Gala: ‘It’ll Be A SZA Summer’

More “Good Days” may soon be upon us: At last night’s Met Gala, SZA mentioned that her much-anticipated sophomore album is complete and its release is imminent.

When speaking with Vogue, SZA said, “The album’s finally ready to go — more than I’ve ever felt before. So this summer, it’ll be a SZA summer.”

SZA’s upcoming album will be her first release since her debut album CTRL, which dropped in 2017. She first gave us a taste of a new era back in 2020, with The Neptunes-produced “Hit Different,” which featured Ty Dolla Sign. On Christmas Day of that year, she surprised fans with a single called “Good Days.” Since then, fans have been eagerly waiting for a new full-length project.

Also coming soon is SZA’s Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming fourth and final album on the label, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which is set for release on May 13. If Top Dawg’s release schedule parallels that of 2017, SZA’s album could follow shortly after.

In addition to new music, SZA will perform at the Outside Lands festival this August. Perhaps we’ll get new music ahead of her performance. She also teased an acting role earlier this year, but has not confirmed the character or the film to which she is attached.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.