Recording artist Solána Rowe, known professionally as SZA, has taken the internet by storm upon releasing her second studio album, SOS, in December of 2022. Consisting of 23 stellar tracks, SOS takes listeners on a journey of emotional self-discovery and unfiltered heartbreak. The new album clutched the Billboard Hot 100’s number one spot for nine consecutive weeks, the longest span since Taylor Swift’s release of 1989. 

SOS’s album cover is a photograph of SZA sitting on an extended diving board over a vast dark-blue sea. SZA took inspiration from an iconic picture of the late Princess Diana, seated on a diving board off Mohamed Al Fayed’s yacht in 1997. SZA stated on radio station Hot 97 that she “loved how isolated [Princess Diana] felt, and that is what [she] wanted to portray the most.” SZA’s display of isolation and loneliness in her cover art was a creative way to foreshadow the theme of loneliness in her new album. 

I love this album because there is a whirlwind of emotion. “Nobody Gets Me”, a song with over 150 million streams on Spotify, gets a perfect 10/10 rating from me. In this song, SZA uncovers the raw feelings that came with the demise of her relationship with an ex-fiance. Throughout the song, SZA reveals how her ex-fiance was the only man who truly understood her. On Hot 97, SZA explained how “this rock in her life…no longer exists.” She then described the feeling as “insane.” If I ever need a song to sing my heart out to, I turn the volume of Nobody Gets Me up and let it all out.

A sadness-provoking song from this album, “Special”, leads listeners through SZA’s struggles with self-identity and how prior relationships have changed her. “I gave all my special away to a loser, now I’m just a loser,” she sings. If you need a song to get the tears flowing, I recommend this track. SZA has a beautiful way of using words that truly connect with her audience on a personal level. Long-time SZA stan and avid SOS listener Bo Casey ’26 said she appreciates SOS because “it’s so relatable to what girls our age could be going through.” The song “Special” is a personally relatable song as SZA opens up about her insecurities and struggles with self-identity.

I am going to award the song “F2F” the official broken heart anthem of this year and my number-one song on this album. SZA took a chance with this song by experimenting with the Rock genre. While a bulk of the songs on SOS emulate a sad, heartbroken vibe, “F2F” is a brutally honest, powerful song that is necessary to be played at maximum volume. In verse one, SZA opens up about her own wrong-doings in a prior relationship. She sings that she is worried she “done took it too far” and her ex is “too hurt” to hear her. The mood dramatically changes in the chorus, though, as SZA belts out her rageful emotions. She reveals her true sentiments towards her ex through the lyrics, “get a rise out of watching you fall, get a kick out of missing your calls.” “F2F” does a great job of encapsulating SZA’s deepest, rawest emotions in a way that convinces the audience to belt out with her.

SZA blessed all of our ears by releasing SOS. Reese Roaman, ‘25, agrees and said, “SZA is able to use her fantastic songwriting skills to relate to and captivate a range of audiences with her music.” For my final rating, I give this record an overall 9.7/10. This album is a remarkable listen; if you have not heard it, get to it!