SZA is releasing ‘SOS’ at midnight: Here’s what to expect from her first album in five years

Brace yourselves. SZA season has arrived.

The tortured queen of alternative R&B is set to return on Friday with her sophomore album “SOS” — ending a five and a half year drought since her debut “Ctrl” became an instant classic among the heartbroken and lovelorn.

SZA announced the date for the highly-anticipated project following her performance of “Shirt” on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend.

The 33-year-old singer-songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, had previously teased fans with the “SOS” artwork, which appears to pay homage to Princess Diana.

On social media, fans are struggling to contain their excitement for the long-awaited album, which arrives on streaming services at midnight.

Who will be featured on the “SOS”?

On Monday, SZA shared the “SOS” tracklist on social media.

The 23-track project, which includes previous singles “I Hate U,” “Good Days” and “Shirt,” features appearances from Don Toliver, Travis Scott and the late Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

The album also features an unlikely collaboration with the beloved indie rock singer Phoebe Bridgers — an artist who shares with SZA an uncanny knack for expressing the delicate nuances of modern love and loneliness.

What has SZA been up to?

SZA set a very high bar when she released “Ctrl” on Top Dawg Entertainment back in June 2017. Distinguished by its candid exploration of unrequited love, self-esteem, jealousy and sexual politics, it became a touchstone of contemporary R&B, and is widely considered one of the best debut albums of the past decade. In 2020, Rolling Stone included “Ctrl” on it’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

And while she hasn’t released a project in more than half a decade, she has sustained her fans with a slow drip of high quality singles and collaborations with The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Kali Uchis, Doechii and more.

In 2018, SZA collaborated with rapper Kendrick Lamar for “All the Stars,” the lead single from the “Black Panther” soundtrack. The song was a major hit, receiving four nominations at the 61st Grammy Awards, and a nomination for “Best Original Song” at the Academy Awards.

In 2020, after a couple of relatively quiet years, SZA released “Hit Different.” Featuring Ty Dolla $ign and produced by The Neptunes, the song went double platinum and peaked at 29 on the Billboard 100.

On Christmas Day 2020, she released “Good Days,” which would prove to be the first single from “SOS.” The track was nominated for Best R&B Song at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

SZA had another successful year in 2021 — she went viral on TikTok with the eventual single “I Hate U,” and collaborated with singer Summer Walker on the excellent R&B hit “No Love.” An extended version of “No Love” featuring Cardi B was released in 2022.

In June of 2022, SZA released a deluxe edition of “Ctrl,” which features seven previously unreleased tracks that she recorded between 2014 and 2017 — including an alternative version of “Love Galore,” a track produced by Tyler, The Creator and another that flips the chorus from PartyNextDoor and Drake’s “Come and See Me.”

Her latest single, “Shirt,” arrived on Oct. 28, and was accompanied by a music video co-starring actor Lakeith Stanfield.

“SOS” Tracklist

01 SOS

02 Kill Bill

03 Seek & Destroy

04 Low

05 Love Language

06 Blind

07 Used (ft. Don Toliver)

08 Snooze

09 Notice Me

10 Gone Girl

11 Smoking on My Ex Pack

12 Ghost in the Machine (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)

13 F2F

14 Nobody Gets Me

15 Conceited

16 Special

17 Too Late

18 Far

19 Shirt

20 Open Arms (ft. Travis Scott)

21 I Hate U

22 Good Days

23 Forgiveness (ft. Ol’ Dirty Bastard).

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