| Grammy-award-winning music trendsetter and icon SZA is the next artist to take the stage for Apple Music Live — the live performance series that gives the biggest stars in music a platform to connect with audiences around the world.
The “S.O.S. Tour” marks SZA’s first-ever arena tour and earned the superstar endless praise. The Apple Music Live performance at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York will debut Wednesday, December 13th at 7:00pm PST / 10:00pm EST exclusively on Apple Music at http://apple.co/SZA-AML and Apple TV+. Fans can also stream the Apple Music Live performance anytime on demand on both Apple Music and Apple TV+.
During the performance, SZA showcases her biggest hits and fan favorites including, “Kill Bill”, “Snooze”, “Seek & Destroy”, and “Nobody Gets Me”, plus selections from the critically acclaimed Ctrl: “Drew Barrymore”, “Broken Clocks”, “Love Galore” and more.
In an extensive career spanning conversation airing tomorrow on Apple Music 1, SZA sits down with Zane Lowe to reflect on the Apple Music Live performance and her record-breaking year, telling Zane: “I love connecting with people in the crowd when I feel like it’s really me and you right now. And I go eye to eye with so many people during this show, and it’s something about tour that it makes the love real, and tangible.” During the candid conversation, SZA also touches on navigating fame, her spiritual hygiene, overcoming anxiety, taking creative risks, and more. Tune in to the full interview on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 10am PT on Apple Music 1 at http://apple.co/_Zane.
“SZA is one the most streamed artists of 2023 with only her second full length album, so we are elated to have her S.O.S Tour be apart of our 2023 season of Apple Music Live,” said Apple Music’s Global Head of Hip Hop and R&B Ebro Darden. “The show is, of course, incredible just like her music, her songwriting and her desire to give us, the fans, so much amazing content this year. Thank You SZA!”
Over the past year, streams for SZA’s music has nearly quadrupled on Apple Music worldwide increasing 280% as she smashed a number of all-time records with her sophomore album SOS. Upon the release of the album, SZA broke the record for the R&B artist with the most simultaneous entries on the Global Daily Top 100, with 26 songs reaching the chart in one day. Breakout single, ”Kill Bill” spent 28 days at No. 1 on the Global Daily Top 100, her longest run at No. 1 in the chart’s history. All told the song reached No. 1 in 37 countries worldwide. Additionally, “Kill Bill” finished at No. 3 on Apple Music’s Top 100 2023: Global chart. With single “Snooze” at No. 5, she became the first R&B artist in the year-end chart history to have two songs in the top five of the year-end global songs chart. SOS was the second biggest album of 2023 on Apple Music worldwide, and the No. 1 R&B album of the year.
Over the past two years, “SZA Essentials” has been one of the fastest-growing R&B playlists on Apple Music, with a 203% increase in streams worldwide. SZA has launched 12 songs to the top 10 of Apple Music’s Global Daily Top 100. She is among the top 50 artists of all time on Apple Music worldwide.
The second season of Apple Music Live kicked off this past May with a special performance by Ed Sheeran, which was followed by Burna Boy’s historic London Stadium show from earlier this summer and Dominic Fike gave an electrifying show in Atlanta. Brent Faiyaz serenaded a packed house in London and most recently Peso Pluma brought his música mexicana sound to Anaheim complete with his full live band. Additional Apple Music Live standout performances have included Harry Styles’s One Night Only in New York performance, Billie Eilish’s Live at the O2 performance; Alicia Keys’s first-ever Holiday Masquerade Ball; and riveting performances from chart-topping artists Lil Durk, Mary J. Blige, Luke Combs, and Wizkid. Explore the full lineup of past performances in the Apple Music Live archive.
Get exclusive wallpapers for your phone on SZA’s concert page in Shazam. Tap “Save” to unlock the Apple Music Live setlist, tour photos, and more after the show.
About SZA:
Born in St. Louis and raised in Maplewood, NJ, genre-defying, and GRAMMY Award winning recording artist SZA released her long-awaited sophomore album SOS (Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records) on December 9, 2022, which earned RIAA Gold certification upon release. Instantly and universally met with acclaim, SOS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has remained in the top spot for ten non-consecutive weeks. Amassing over 400 million streams in the US during release week, SOS became SZA’s first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (the second largest streaming week for a female artist and third largest of 2022 among all albums at the time), and dominated worldwide charts with No. 1 debuts in Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, and more. While SOS also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, several tracks dominated song charts and playlists across digital service providers, with standout track “Kill Bill” earning SZA her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Global 200 charts.
Currently RIAA-certified 3x Platinum, SOS includes features by Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers and Ol’ Dirty Bastard; with production by Ctrl hitmaking collaborators ThankGod4Cody and Carter Lang, alongside Jeff Bhasker, Rob Bisel, Benny Blanco, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Emile Haynie, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Jay Versace, and more.
The launch of SOS fostered a series of new achievements for the dynamic global icon. SZA peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart as the most popular artist across all musical genres, and No. 1 on the Hot 100 Songwriters chart. SOS broke the record for the most weeks at No. 1 by a woman on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart, and the first R&B album to spend ten non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this century. SOS yielded four No. 1 hits at both Rhythm and Urban Mainstream radio – “Snooze,” “Kill Bill,” “Shirt,” and “I Hate U.” SZA closes out 2023 as the most Grammy nominated artist of the year with a total of nine, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Kill Bill,” Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&B Album for SOS, Best R&B Song for “Snooze,” and more.
A multitude of critical praise complemented the remarkable success of SOS, inclusive of ranking No. 1 on several best-of lists in 2022 and 2023. Variety described the album as “cinematic in its scope and tone as it ripples with elements of folk, jazz, pop and ambient electronica and brings in undertones of even surf, trap, grunge and AOR rock,” while the Associated Press proclaimed “SZA proves in ‘SOS’ she still a voice of this generation.” Her first ever arena tour in the US and overseas sold out in minutes and garnered similar rave reviews. The New York Times called her Madison Square Garden headlining debut “vigorous, confident, theatrical and intimate – the sort of show that manages the rare trick of feeling both vibrantly communicative and also protectively insular,” while Billboard declared that the performance “delivered a message that she’s truly made a next-level step in her career.”
In 2017, SZA released her major label debut album Ctrl (TDE/RCA). Revered for its raw and honest lyrics, it landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart, No. 2 on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. RIAA-certified 3x Platinum, the album received five Grammy nominations in 2018 and more than half the songs on Ctrl are currently certified multi-Platinum and Gold. Ctrl continues to remain on the Billboard 200 chart since its release and holds the record for the longest run for any Black female artist’s debut album.
An Academy Awards nominee, SZA has won 27 awards since the release of Ctrl including a 2022 GRAMMY Award for Best Pop Dou/Group Performance for “Kiss Me More” with Doja Cat, Billboard Music Awards’ Top R&B Female Artist, BET Awards’ Best New Artist, BET Soul Train Awards’ Best R&B/Soul Female Artist and Best New Artist, MTV Video Music Awards’ Best Visual Effects for the “All The Stars” with Kendrick Lamar, and NAACP Image Awards’ Outstanding New Artist, among others. In 2018, she won NAACP Image Awards’ Outstanding Duo or Group for “All The Stars” with Kendrick Lamar and Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation for the Black Panther Soundtrack. SZA also received Billboard’s 2019 Women in Music Rule Breaker award and more recently named Billboard’s 2023 Woman of the Year, Webby Awards Artist of the Year, WSJ. Magazine’s Music Innovator of the Year and Variety’s Hitmaker of the Year.
To this day, SZA continues to set the standard on creativity and songwriting, while shattering records with over 10 billion streams worldwide across all platforms
About Apple Music
Apple loves music. Apple revolutionized the music experience with iPod and iTunes. Today, the award-winning Apple Music celebrates musicians, songwriters, producers, and fans with a catalog of over 100 million songs, expertly curated playlists, and the best artist interviews, conversations, and global premieres with Apple Music Radio. With original content from the most respected and beloved people in music, autoplay, time-synced lyrics, lossless audio, and immersive sound powered by Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, Apple Music offers the world’s best listening experience, helping listeners discover new music and enjoy their favorites while empowering the global artist community. Apple Music is available in over 167 countries and regions on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod mini, CarPlay, and online at music.apple.com, plus popular smart speakers, smart TVs, and Android and Windows devices. Apple Music is ad-free and never shares consumer data with third parties. More information is available at apple.com/apple-music. |
