SZA's SOS: A Worthy Successor to CTRL? 

I heard open arms first and started to cry uncontrollably and then kill bill started playing and my mood went 180.

I don’t care what nobody says this album is what I needed. She always arrives right on time.

THIS ALBUM WAS NOT ABOUT GROWTH 😂😂😂 it’s about owning your messy immature self!!! We talk alot about growing and being above things and she’s scarily honest about the self sabotaging behavior that she engages in and she owns that.

It’s funny how people on Twitter saying they “can’t relate to her new music anymore” AS IF they can relate to artists who sings/raps about bitches and Lamborghini 😂

I think CTRL will always be CTRL. It was a culture defining album. One that truly did catalog a lot of our experiences of going thru our 20s. But that’s not to take away from SOS. Like time, nobody stays stagnant. SOS provides a different attitude from SZA. One of confidence, assurance in the unsure, and a place of accountability in a way, of where she is currently. Songs like SOS reflect that, and yet songs like Special show you just how Sza is truly not only one of us, but she’s made alot of mistakes that we have in regards to relationships/acceptance. SOS shows us how alienated she may have felt/feel all the while being expected to “keep up” and show up like many of my fellow people have to do every day. Shit is exhausting. Overall, SOS is a solid 8/10. It would’ve been 10/10 if she wouldn’t have added Good Days, Shirt, and I Hate U. Those should’ve been saved for new music that we haven’t heard. That’s the only complaint here 🙏🏾💯

I loved CTRL. I remember listening to her entire album while driving to work. When CTRL, I was going through HELL and alot of her songs I could relate to. I haven’t listened to her new album yet but I will when I get the chance.

I think SOS definitely delivered because each song had its own vibe. Some artists will create an album and all the songs sound very similar to each other but I felt like this one was literally a BODY of work. Homegirl rapped a verse and even paid a homage to 2000’s rock. She took the end of 2022 and owned that shit! SZA is a versatile artist, I truly believe she can take any genre and roll with it in her own style.

I'm biased. Björk being my favorite singer I liked Forgiveless for that Björk Hidden Place sample. She worked it really well and changed it up to fit the song really well

SZA and Beyoncé saved music in 2022 by putting out two of the greatest albums in recent memory, two queens 👑reclaiming their thrones👑

I love that we can feel her anger, her insecurity sometimes and confidence in others. Growing is hard, we are complex people and she is telling us she is not perfect after five years. She is better at some things and still fucked up in other things.

SOS was a great body of work in my opinion. I loved Sza’s vocals, the genre diversity, and every featured artists that was included. My only gripe with the album was that it was too lengthy. Some of the songs felt as though they could’ve been left off. My favorites were Kill Bill, Love Language, F2F, and Nobody Gets Me

One thing I will say I love about SZA's music is that she is always going to deliver a vibe and atmosphere of whatever the theme and feeling of the song is. This album really felt like I was stranded on an island all alone with headphones on with every track of the album playing. 10/10 for me.

I love her first but this new one there isn’t a skip in sight out of all 23 songs! Sis even rapped and has a rock song . That’s unheard of! And it had me bopping too! I think it’s the best body of work in 2022 for Sure . Love Beyoncé but way better then that album , I knew anything sza does is gonna turn into art but I have to say I was still impressed because usually the 2nd albums aren’t all that but sis dropped a 23 song ALBUM in 2022 the era of singles . She wasn’t kidding when she said she had mad songs already recorded. She showed that she is one of the most versatile artist out there and I actually love the fact as a black woman she didn’t let them box her into only R&B sis said lemme just do all genres right quick. I think as far as past couple years that it’s my favorite next to planet her

f2f, nobody gets me, kill bill and low are the top tier sos tracks i fear…

The vibes Kill Bill give off is insane. I keep coming back to it at the moment.

She definitely delivered with this body of work. Usually when I see more than 15 songs on an album I’m already exhausted but I genuinely enjoyed the entire thing even if it could have been shorter (I wouldn’t take out any of the new songs though). Each song served its purpose and I really loved it. SOS was worth the wait for sure

With the heartbreak I’m going through sos is the perfect touch to get me through it! Just like ctrl, the entire album made my emotions up and down from feeling confident to feeling extremely bitter! I love when album can do tht! ❤

She truly delivered. I can listen from beginning to end. I listen to Gone Girl on repeat.

i think you encapsulated the album perfectly. Ghost in the Machine is my personal favv.. love the message. thanks for talking about the album, your opinions are very refreshing!

Naomi dropping a day early, omg?? SOS to me is an excellent album in my opinion. I see the growth of SZA’s vocal ability on here. SZA doesn’t have to top CTRL because it is already cemented in pop culture. I’m probably the only person who doesn’t mind the topics she sang about on here (love, isolation, misunderstood, being cheated on etc) because at this point it’s SZA’s brand 💀. Cheat N B music kinda hits different even if I don’t relate to it.

This album is such a good body of work, I thought it would be clustered cause of the amount of songs on it but it's a masterpiece. It's brilliant sonically, lyrically, production was on point, a 10/10. Also the way sza had me jamming to conceited and then crying to special chile omg

Thought this album was really good and cohesive, but upon my first listen only Blind, Snooze, and F2F really stood out to me. CTRL was a 10/10 for me since all the songs had their own unique sound, where as SOS had a couple of songs that sounded the same melody-wise. As of right now, I’d probably give it an 8/10, but that might change as I continue to listen to it again and again (although w/22 songs, it may not be as frequent). EDIT: after listening to it again, think I’m gonna keep the 7-8/10 score. Something’s missing in it for me, I found myself kinda bored with a lot of the songs (unusual since I really like SZA). Idk if I just can’t relate to it and I’ll appreciate it in a couple of years, but as of rn, I’m only going back to a few singles. Glad everyone else seems to really enjoy it tho.

I think Good Days plays a crucial part in the story of S.O.S. and I think it is placed in the perfect order on the album.

SZA, Beyonce, and Amber Mark all released my favorite albums this year

the whole album is amazing but kill bill, seek & destroy and low are truly excellent like wow. I loved all of the singles with my favourite still being I hate U. she didn't disappoint.

i love both albums and whole heartedly agree that they both were fitting to where i was in life when they came out. when CTRL dropped i was in a healthy relationship and coming to terms with how fucked up the treatment i’d gotten from exes was. 5 years later i’m still mourning that relationship (lol rip) so SOS feels very pertinent! it’s nice to have an album to lean into your messiness and admit you’re not as mature & healed as you want to think you are.

I think SOS is a good sophmore album and overall I enjoyed it. But if I had to be honest (apart from Kill Bill) none of the first 9 songs really stucked with me and I was started to get a bit worried, until I got to Gone Girl. Everything from that song on was pretty great! So far my favourites are: *Kill Bill, Nobody Gets Me, F2F and Far.*

SZA really went into her scorpio bag for this one, it gave that " I'd rather sting myself and you than let anybody take you from me" vibe, I love it.

Listen her album was a Christmas gift to me! This album gives me SO much mixed emotion and I LOVE IT! 😍 one song that stood out to me the most is “Snooze.” Like she took that simple work and made a masterpiece out of it along with “Special!” OMG! I can relate to “Special” because I gave my special away to a loser who didn’t even attempt to make me feel special at all! Her writing is *chef kiss* the album was worth the wait and you can tell that she’s in a different space from CTRL! Looking forward to her tour because I will be attending! 😂 I don’t care if I have to bring Lysol and double mask myself I am going! I would love to see her make a song with Seyvn Street and Jhene Aiko and H.E.R. and Coco Jones and Ella Mai!

I replayed Blind i loved the cinematic feel. I also started crying on Gone Girl, I was like why am I crying?

10:53. GIRRRRRRLLLL...WE GOT THE SAME TASTE. Listening to the album on first listen, i definitely picked Conceited as my favourite. Also good because Conceited by Flo Milli is also one of my absolute faves!!

I'll be honestt i'm not big on the new SZA but man does the production ever shine it is so wavy! Oh and SZA rapping? never thought we'd see the day!

took me two or three listens to honestly have an opinion on the album. it grew on me - but i was in a different place when CTRL came out. it’ll always have a special place in my ❤

used was definitely recorded a while ago; the snippet was out for at least some years & then don's verse was added later. so it makes sense how u can see similarities to ctrl :) i don't think u mentioned "love language", but it is also old too; she added the outro later on i guess, but the chorus was online as a snippet before & there are remixes of it from before the release. i love it sm but i haven't seen many ppl talking abt it. i also LOVE jay versace! 😭 not surprised he produced stuff on here, they're really close. we share the same standout lyrics from "smokin on my ex pack". they really resonate with me. with conceited; i also love the content & melody, but i didn't realize the similarity to "intentions" til u mentioned it LOL. my first thought is it sounds like pop/rap from 2016. however; the instrumental from "too late" makes me think of multiple old drake songs 🙈

omg gurl! why didn’t you talk about love language and open arms??? Those were legit my favs, they’re so underrated 😭✨

Interesting. I disagree on the stance of having old singles in an album cuz I rlly love it. 1. I find it reminds me that the singles exist in the first place in case I hadn't listened to them in a while if they fell out of my playlist rotation. 2. It's like getting a new gift with an old fav you already love cuz that familiar sound "oh I've heard this before" helps me feel closer to the rest of the album if that makes sense bc the newness doesn't feel so terribly new anymore... 3. It idk just sounds refreshing to hear the singles within the context of a more full body of work. I just saw a interview on RU-vid earlier where sza says her friends call her sos so yea can't remember what else she said ab the album name from that vid oop

SZA can go into any genre and it sounds amazing. Also her and Travis Scott can never do wrong together in music. And love language I feel like is a song people are sleeping on.

snooze best song on album to me

I'm so excited for this video. I've been listening to SOS and tbh I love it. I'm more of a pop girl but SZA is so special. Her music moves me lol ✨

This album has me in a chokehold and had pulled out a lot of emotions for me and its making me mad! SOS is sooo good. Good days in the album feels different than before. I love every track so much and if this is the last of her music, im happy she gave me so much.

This is a very good and detailed review...I love it...well done....👏🏿👏🏿

The whole album is a masterpiece and worth the wait that’s for sure. When I heard the song “Special” it highkey made me cry my eyes out because it reminded me of my ex and how used to tell me I was special. But when I heard Kill bill that’s exactly how I felt with him and his new lover.

idc i love f2f whether or not it sounds like a disney channel song... it FUCKING bangs

I love SZA and i love this album cuz she is experimenting with different sounds

SOS is a gooorgeous album! For me it didn’t quite click with CTRL but it definitely clicked with SOS for me. I can listen from the beginning to the end with no skips (but honestly I do skip Good days cuz I heard it a lot now)

Yea we’re the same, control came out my freshman year of college so there’s a certain nostalgia that we have towards her music and sos was a flawless sophomore album. Well worth the wait which is rare from current artists

Omgg love your videos! And such a smart and good review! My faves are: sos, kill bill, seek and destroy, gone girl and ghost in the machine

The toxicity is on 10 from the jump, it is called SOS...but Laaawwd, some of the songs on the album are so beautifully crafted & sung..yeah it's not CTRL, but still soooooo freakn good...👐🏽👐🏽👐🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💯

SOS is an amazing album

i LOVEEE sos!! its one of the best albums of 2022 in my opinion. i do think i like ctrl better but that might be bc i havent really been completely focused on the album all the way through since its so long. yes, the album is a little too long and incohesive at some points, but i love the album overall. i wish there werent so many filler tracks (at least what i felt like were fillers), but i definitely appreciate it. i meaann.. its sza. im not complaining. very happy this released now instead of later!! hope it doesnt get blocked in the charts by the damn christmas songs/albums lool

You described exactly what I saw in my head regarding Ghost in the Machine.

Loved your thorough review and accessible thoughts!! ❤

9:09 the way i started nodding aggressively, you hit that on the head

conceited is also my fav song 🤍 amazing video ✨

With CTRL, on the 1st listen EVERY SINGLE SONG I loved and repeated multiple times within the 1st listen. With SOS, the songs are okay and seem to be sound alike and repetitive topics.

You're giving so much content for the dolls to cannibalize. 🤩🙌

I didn’t like the album at first, but once the lyrics came out and I understood what she was saying I liked a lot of the songs more.

GONE GIRL REMINDED ME OF SLIDE AWAY TOO. It’s all I could think about when I heard it the first time

Also glad to see you Bessie! ❤️❤️

Haven’t watched the video but to answer the question…YES. YES IT IS😭😍❤️.

We can all agree that she's not an "ONE ALBUM WONDER" anymore.

Great review! I loved SOS but would give it an 8/10 too there was definitely some filler and I can’t help but think of what this album would sound like had other artist turned in their verses and she really got to show us her vision even if that meant a delayed release. As for the singles I think I hate u and good days thematically fit SOS so I liked their placement. Good days especially sounded even better here to me on the album. My favs are definitely snooze, special, notice me, and gone girl.

Fun fact: Leon Thomas aka Andre from Victorious, co-wrote Snooze

SO SO SPOT ON WITH BLIND

So I actually have some tea on sos. So before sza did the teasers I got told by my friend who works for a stadium in a semi major city a live in that sza was doing a tour early 2023 called sos. Literally two weeks later the shirt music video came out and sos was used to hint at the album. So since like September I know about sos. Only a couple tours like lizzo and stuff I’ve found out about before the album, But my close friends and I were so excited about the Sza news.

Is that “The Great Wave” behind you? It’s moving. Love your comprehensive review.

After watching this I'm gonna give the album another listen, as well as CNTRL. Sometimes you needa reevaluate something to really appreciate it. I do agree with your comment about some tracks feeling like filler. Upon first listen the standout tracks for me were Gone Girl and SOS.

Not related but your eyes are so beautiful 🥰

I LOVED the Björk sample in forgiveness

While I do get the criticism of adding the old singles to the album, I think hearing it with the album did provide more meaning to the songs.

First ten seconds! I agree completely we INDEED WON! 🎉🎉🏆

I haven’t fully healed to listen to this album yet. I was living in CTRL era and I still having fully heard that yet. I need some music that is empowering right now.

I love your channel!

Justice for snooze. That was definitely one of my favorites

Snooze is the sleeper song on the album 🧍🏾‍♀️.

JC, you were right that Conceited is so good. I really hope there's a feature on the deluxe. It's simply delicious.

Please do more albums reviews I love that you have notes and gave us a nice analysis and breakdown of the songs 🙏🏼

THIS ALBUM IS A 100/10

Special is a full circle moment from Normal Girl. She wanted to change for someone and after she did, she regrets it.

Had to come back after a relisten and ill start off by saying Concieted is that gworl! So are gone girl, notice me, nobody gets me, love language, seek & destroy, smokin on my ex pack, blind and last but not least used WITHOUT don Toliver. Production wise Gone Girl has a very cinematic vibe to it therefore top tier imo I feel that what people are struggling with in this album is connecting to it and i think thats the thing lol. S.O.S is souless, SZA is depicted as distant on the cover art and kinda low vibe wise so i think she was going for the detached aesthetic and i kinda relate lol. I overall appreciate it for what it is and think CTRL is CTRL Lyrically and vocally better tho

Lovely review ! Congrats on the sponsor ! 💰💜🤞🏾

Love language is a hit

The whole album is amazing but both are amazing in a separate unique way and I love it

This review is 🔥 🔥🔥🔥🔥 SOS Is a great album

Yes & Yes! 💜 👸 💜

Not to be messy and bring up old sh*t but I think this album cleaned up some of those reputation issues she had for not telling the truth in interviews.

You gave a great review!!! Lol but I honestly feel this album is a 10/10

your hair is gorgeous

Ah another great video!!! My exact thoughts🌊🌊🌊

Omg i thought i was the only one who hears slide away on gone girl 😭🙏

I love Special, Snooze, Kill Bill and Love Language(cuz Aaliyah)

SOS delivered I was really worried about it especially because of how good and acclaimed her first album was and I get gladly say she did what had to be done.

Special feels like its piling on to "Ordinary Girl" from CTRL. She wanted to be ordinary and fit in so bad to this man and his friends and "Special" feels like a realization that she never had to town down or be "less than" to be noticed. "I gave all my special away to a loser" hits deep lol

my fave is LOVE LANGUAGE but u forgot her :(

Sza had something for everyone on this album, Each track off sos is sonically different, and had different elements of pop, rock, r & b, etc.

11:36 I have been saying the Conceited beat sound like that JB nokia ringtone album… but better execution

GOOD MORNING

sos is a good album with good songs but CTRL is a BODY OF WORK with an on going theme

The way I relate to the album is very worrying 😭

it's a great album, but CTRL is still the Queen ❤❤❤