SOS

On December 9, 2022, SZA released SOS, her second studio album following the five-year gap after 2017's Ctrl. The project spans 67 minutes and 51 seconds across 23 tracks, serving as a metaphor for a cry for help during personal turmoil while highlighting resilience. Production duties landed on a diverse group including Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Benny Blanco, and Darkchild, creating a genre-fluid sound that blends contemporary R&B with pop, hip-hop, indie rock, and folk-pop elements.

The tracklist opens with the titular song "SOS," setting an isolated tone before moving through guest appearances by Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott, and archival vocals from Ol' Dirty Bastard. Songs like "F2F" incorporate grunge-punk influences while "Blind" leans into folk textures. Six singles emerged between 2020 and 2023, led by "Kill Bill," which became her first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Snooze," which remained on the chart throughout 2023.

SOS debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and spent 13 nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart, marking the longest-running top-10 run by a Black artist in history. Critics widely praised its emotional vulnerability and stylistic range, placing it among the best albums of 2022 and 2023. At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024, the album won Best Progressive R&B Album and received nine nominations, eventually reaching a historic 14 total nominations by 2025. [edit]