SZA finally released her latest album, “SOS,” after playing with fans’ feelings for five years. SZA did not hold back. We asked and we received. She incorporated different music styles in her latest album, while remaining true to her usual R&B. “F2F,” “Low,” “Seek and Destroy,” and “Forgiveless” were some of the different styles she explored in this latest album. “F2F” was her take on pop rock and reminds me of Paramore’s “Riot!” I know some feel that it reminds them of a 2000s Disney song, but I loved it nonetheless. “Low” was something more angry and a lot less soulful than other tracks like “Special” and “Gone Girl.” Overall though, I loved the songs that showed that SZA tried something different.
My top tier songs on “SOS” were top because they were the most soulful, and I liked the more upbeat and happier songs. Yes, “Special” and “Ghost In The Machine” weren’t the happiest, but they definitely were soulful. Don’t get me wrong, SZA’s overplayed songs are overplayed for a reason, but there are other songs that should be receiving some of that attention. In the overplayed tier, I have the songs that are all over Tik Tok, although “Good Days” and “I Hate U” were some of her first singles that she came out with after doing other collabs and “Hit Different” since her “Ctrl” album. All of those songs blew up is because it’s like dropping fresh meat into a tank full of piranhas.
Mid tier includes songs that are very SZA-esque. We expect these types of songs from her like “Nobody Gets Me” and “Kill Bill.” Although “Kill Bill” is in the mid tier for me, it broke the record for the fastest R&B song by a female artist in Spotify history, surpassing 100 million streams and spending two weeks on top of the Billboard Global 200 chart. Moving onto the bottom tier, “Forgiveless,” and “SOS” were songs that I just got bored with after the first 30 seconds into the song. Nothing was wrong with those songs; they just weren’t the ones for me. In conclusion, I loved all of SZA’s songs like a mother loves her children and I’m glad that SZA’s grandmother made a cameo again.
