R&B singer SZA is speeding up the release of her follow-up album five years after her commercially successful debut studio album “Ctrl.” According to a recent Billboard interview, the next project, titled “S.O.S.,” will be released in December.
R&B artist SZA is currently in the fifth year of her breakthrough debut studio album “Ctrl.” Her trademark lo-fi beats are mixed with surf rock sounds on the next album, which also includes a grunge record and a “acoustic guitar-driven ballad” at various points in its running duration. While her producer ThankGod4Cody noted how quickly she typically writes songs, SZA described her songwriting style during the “Ctrl” days as being “more carefree” but added that she has since honed it.
“I feel like music, in this capacity, I don’t see longevity,” she told Billboard’s Heran Mamo. “I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody. I’ma take a good swing at it, and I’ma give ’em my absolute best.”
The 33-year-old singer also admitted that she is “currently stressed” about making the deadline. She told Billboard that she struggles with the constant pressures of being an up-and-coming pop star in the music industry, being put on a pedestal by her fans, the five-year gap between albums, and her priorities.
SZA used the example of performing on “Saturday Night Live” with DJ Khaled in May 2019 while her maternal grandmother Norma was critically ill to illustrate these particular challenges. “I just wish I spent those last moments with her at home. That was a hard lesson,” she said. “Like, ‘Great, I perform for a minute and 30 seconds on ‘SNL’ and I lost my grandma for the rest of my life.’”
SZA performed “Just Us,” a solo track from Khaled’s 2019 “Father of Asahd” album, as part of a larger ensemble performance on the late-night sketch comedy program, which also featured Meek Mill, Lil Wayne, and John Legend. Throughout the whole “Ctrl” album, her late grandmother made spoken outros and interludes appearances, frequently giving her granddaughter sage counsel. On December 3, SZA will make her second appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” this time as a solo artist. Keke Palmer will serve as the show’s host.
The Top Dawg Entertainment singer’s single “Shirt,” which she first teased to fans in 2020 and was accompanied by a music video in which she co-starred with actor LaKeith Stanfield, has increased the intensity of the rollout for her upcoming album in the past month. Her “PSA” teaser video, which featured fresh music, was released at the beginning of November, and fans took it as an unofficial announcement that a new album was forthcoming..
The long-anticipated “Shirt” by SZA, which was released after other songs like “Good Days” and her Doja Cat collaboration “Kiss Me More,” featured Lakeith Stanfield in the music video.
