SZA is one of the best artists of this era. She is a singer who has dominated the industry this past year and her immense success in the industry can be shown by the facts. Her debut album Ctrl released in 2017 reached the #3 spot on the Billboard top 200 chart. SZA’s next album, SOS, was released 5 years after Ctrl was even more successful. SOS was ranked #1 on Billboard R&B charts for 41 weeks–six songs off the album also landed in #1 spots.
SZA proves to have staying power and longevity, which is something that all musicians aim for. After her debut album, many fans were left wanting more. However, SZA would wait five whole years before dropping another album. Most artists would have lost popularity and relevance in this time gap. SZA on the other hand maintained a loyal fan base who waited patiently for her new music; a solid chunk of people found her music worth the wait.
While maintaining a solid fan base, SZA will also continue to gain new fans as she releases more music in the future. That is because she has music that covers many broad topics. A lot of songs today are about love, relationships, and break-ups, and of course, SZA has made many of her own breakup and love songs, but she also strays away from mainstream love songs. She makes many songs that cover more sensitive topics like her song “Special” which conveys the message of how insecurity develops when people compare themselves to others. The song “Normal Girl” covers trying to fit into society and trying to blend in. SZA also makes songs that cover other subjects such as self-reflection, mental health struggles, and new beginnings. SZA’s music has meaning to it and it is not just about superficial topics to try to boost her popularity. The broad range of topics helps SZA reach a broader audience. She is able to make music for different types of people which in turn, makes her popularity stronger.
There are probably some people out there who may disagree and think that SZA is not a great artist. The most common criticism of SZA is that her music encourages self-centered or inappropriate behaviors. For example, SZA made a song called “Kill Bill” which had lyrics like “I might kill my ex, not the best idea/His new girlfriends next, how’d I get here”
Some people believe that the song is normalizing violent behaviors as well as showcasing a lack of empathy for other people. However, these people would be wrong, because the song itself is a play on the movie “Kill Bill.” In the movie “Kill Bill ” there is a portrayal of a relationship that went sour and had a violent end. Since the song is based on that movie it shows that SZA is more or less playing a character in her song and she herself is not saying she will commit these acts. The purpose of the lyrics is to encapsulate emotions of jealousy or being wronged in a relationship.
SZA is a great artist whose popularity will continue to grow in the future thanks to her songwriting skills and abilities to attract a broad audience.
