For today’s blog post, I am going to be talking about my favorite songs from SZA’s new “SOS” album. When this first dropped, my friends and I (and the internet) freaked out. First of all, the album art cover is an homage to an image of Princess Diana from 1997 sitting on a diving board off the side of a yacht, completely surrounded by a deep blue ocean. The image itself conveys isolation and contemplation, which is very fitting for most of the song topics in the album. SZA is known for her R&B, soulful, and occasional rap elements that define her music style.

Anyways, back to SOS. My favorite song from the album is probably “Special.” First of all, the opening is different from her usual R&B, and her voice sounds more wistful and innocent. I love this song so much because of the lyrics. “I never liked her, wanted to be like her, hate how you look at her, ’cause you never saw me, like I was an art piece, like I was an ordinary girl” YES SZA. This song captures what it is like to be cheated on in a relationship, be the second option, or be getting out of a relationship and comparing yourself to others. The chorus goes, “I wish I was special, I gave all my special, away to a loser, now I’m just a loser. I used to be special, but you made me hate me, regret that I changed me, I hate that you made me just like you.” LIKE COME ONNNNN. She knows what will hit home and exposes those weak spots by putting words to the emotion. Needless to say, this song deserves a listen.

Next, “Gone Girl.” Another one of my favorites from this album. This song opens in more of a classic SZA manner and sounds sort of spiritual. She is singing over a piano for the first verse, and gradually the song gets louder and adds snaps. “Trying to grow without hating the process… you better learn how to face it she’s gone, gone girl, so gone girl.” This song is vulnerable. It’s about trying to accept different versions of yourself and fear of growing or changing. It’s scary to realize that you aren’t the same person you were a year ago, and you might be surrounded by different people. While growing is good, it is also extremely hard.

I’d say a good one to scream with friends in a car is “Nobody Gets Me.” “It’s too late I don’t want to lose what’s left of you, how am I suppose to tell you I don’t wanna see you with anyone but me? Nobody gets me like you, How I’m suppose to let you go? Only like myself when I’m with you, nobody gets me, you do” Gosh SZA just gets it. It’s heart wrenching to watch someone you love slip away, especially when they’re the one who knows you best. It may feel as if they are your happiness, you can only truly be yourself around them, and the thought of losing that is horrifying. She captures that perfectly in this song with her heartbreaking lyrics and a nice acoustic guitar in the background.

There are definitely some songs in this album that can be skipped, and obviously I did not cover all the must-hears. Overall, I enjoyed listening to SOS. When it first came out, I only listened to that album for two weeks straight, so that says something.

Thanks SZA, always capturing exactly how we feel with her lyrics.