Tour by SZA | |
Location |
|
---|---|
Associated album | SOS |
Start date | February 21, 2023 |
End date | August 4, 2024 |
No. of shows | 81 |
Supporting acts | |
Box office | $95.5 million |
SZA concert chronology |
The SOS Tour is the second concert tour and first arena tour by American singer-songwriter SZA, in support of her second studio album, SOS (2022). It was announced on December 13 alongside merchandise for the album, four days after the album's release. The first and third legs took place in North America, with 18 shows for the first and 20 for the third. There were 15 stops in Europe for the second leg, and there will be 9 stops in Oceania for the fourth leg. Other stops for 2024 include festival appearances in Latin America, Europe, and North America.
Lasting for about 90 minutes, every show had a set list of over 30 songs, most of which were from SOS. Some were taken from Ctrl (2017), her debut studio album. Select shows had surprise guests who performed with SZA songs on which they had collaborated. Omar Apollo, Raye, and D4vd were the opening acts for each leg, respectively.
A nautical visual motif persisted throughout the concerts, and theatrical and cinematic influences were apparent. This was intentional; with the tour, SZA aimed for catharsis: to "pop ass and cry and give theater". There was a loose plot where a fishing trawler sailed to sea and sunk, some moments referenced the films Titanic (1997) and Kill Bill (2003–2004), and the production was inspired by Broadway and Disney films like Cinderella (1950). Stage settings included a pier, the trawler, a lighthouse, and a seabed. Every show began and ended with SZA on a diving board, recreating the SOS cover art. To start the show, she appeared to jump off the board and into the waters below her, done through pre-filmed visual effects.
SZA's debut studio album, Ctrl , was released in 2017. Her next, SOS , was highly awaited. This was in large part due to Ctrl's critical acclaim, as well as the five-year-long wait and the several delays that occurred surrounding SOS's release. [1] [2] [3] In November 2022, SZA told Billboard that the album would come out the following month. She posted the track list via Twitter on December 5, and SOS was released four days later [4] [5] to critical and commercial success. [6]
In promotion of SOS, SZA announced merchandise for the album on December 13. At the same time, she revealed she would go on tour in early 2023 in support of the album. [7] She wrote on Instagram, "Time to take this shit on the road!" [8] Tickets went on sale via SZA's website on December 16, at 12 pm local time, [9] with pre-sales hosted by Ticketmaster one day beforehand. [10] Several publications called the tour one of 2023's most anticipated; [note 1] some cited the critical acclaim of SOS [17] and the years-long wait for SZA's album. [11] [14]
The SOS Tour is SZA's second concert tour—following Ctrl the Tour which ended in 2018 [18] —and also her first arena tour. [19] She was set to perform only in North America, with dates in 17 cities across Canada and the United States. [20] Omar Apollo, who never toured in arenas before, was announced as the concerts' opening act. [21] [22] The first concert was on February 21, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio, and the last was on March 23, 2023, in Inglewood, California. [note 2] One date in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, scheduled for March 2, was postponed. [23]
Three weeks after the second Inglewood show, SZA announced 30 more shows for the SOS Tour due to high demand. It included a new leg in Western Europe, [24] with 10 dates in six countries. [note 2] Pre-sales happened on April 12, 2023, starting 10 am local time, and an on-sale is planned for April 14 if there are leftover tickets. [25] British singer Raye performed as the opening act in nine of the dates. [26] After touring Europe, SZA returns to North America [27] for 21 concerts in the United States and another concert in Canada. [note 2] The set of 21 US shows includes the postponed Philadelphia date. Pre-sales are on April 13 at 10 am local time, and tickets go on sale on April 14 at 12 pm local time. [28] In a November 2023 Variety interview with SZA for the magazine's Hitmaker of the Year award, author Jem Aswad revealed that a fourth leg set in Latin America and Oceania will take place in 2024. [29]
The SOS Tour's concerts were around 90 minutes long. [30] Every show featured prominent nautical visual elements, [30] [31] and critics divided one show into four or five acts based on the stage scenery. [32] [33] The setup included footage of waters, projected onto video screens, alongside several large props like a boat or anchor, reinforcing the tour's visual theme. [34] Accompanying SZA was a three-person band that flanked the stage throughout the concerts. [30] [35] Four backup dancers were present [36] to perform interpretative dances; [37] at times they were dressed as sailors. [38]
Set lists had over 30 songs. [39] [40] Apart from the standard SOS tracks, SZA performed various songs from Ctrl, such as "Love Galore", "Broken Clocks", and "Garden (Say It like Dat)". [41] She also included covers of "Bag Lady" (2000) by Erykah Badu and her collaborations with other artists, which include "All the Stars" (2018) with Kendrick Lamar and "Kiss Me More" (2021) with Doja Cat. [42] Other song choices were "PSA" [43] and in some shows "DTM", [44] [note 3] both of which are unreleased songs set to appear on the reissue of SOS, Lana . [47] Select shows featured surprise guests; most were artists with whom she had worked on songs in the past. [48] [49]
A concert began with SZA's recreation of the album's cover art—which shows her atop a diving board in the middle of the ocean—backed by "PSA". The screen projected a pre-filmed scene in which, through visual effects, her silhouette throws her microphone at the ocean and dives into the water headfirst. [50] [51] Emerging for "Seek & Destroy", SZA and her backup dancers appeared behind the first stage setting, a pier into which a fishing trawler is docked. [52] [53]
When SZA performed "Shirt", visuals of puddled, gushing water followed her and her dancers across the stage. [22] [54] After a brief costume change backed by "Smoking on My Ex Pack", SZA appeared on top of a life-sized sailboat beside a pier. Following a performance of her rock song "F2F", in which she and her guitarist headbanged to channel a mosh pit, the screen and stage floor projected a scene of a turbulent sea, leading her to retreat to a floating life raft. It took SZA to the opposite end of the arena, on which stood a lighthouse 20 feet (6.1 m) tall. [22] [55]
SZA performed a medley of "Supermodel" (Ctrl), "Special", "Nobody Gets Me", and "Gone Girl", as the raft transported her across the venue. [56] The storm-themed backdrop ended once she reached the other side. There, she did another costume change. She wore red biker pants and a motor suit with a spiked ball and chain in hand, recreating her outfit in the music video for "Kill Bill". Her prop was a callback to a scene in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) where Gogo Yubari fought the protagonist, the Bride, at the House of Blue Leaves using a meteor hammer. [22] [56]
A bookending performance of "Good Days" marked the concert's encore. SZA concluded the show back on the diving board, as the screen projected a scene of the sun either rising or setting. [22] [56] In some shows, "20 Something" (Ctrl) was the final song. Home videos of her deceased grandmother, who died in 2019, played during the performance. [57] [58] After the concert, the screen projected an image of stars arranged to form the phrase "The End". Credits rolled, beginning with the acknowledgment of SZA as the creative director. Also included were the truck drivers, technical crew, dancers, choreographers, and backing musicians. [37] [55] After the credits appeared a teaser for a music video for the SOS track "Low", which depicts SZA as she uses a flamethrower. [41] [49]
SZA's approach with the tour was to "pop ass and cry and give theater", aiming for catharsis through cinematics and theatrics. She told Billboard: "I want it to be smart and exhilarating and exhausting and exciting like a party, but also like a therapy session." [59] Broadway performances were her primary basis for the tour's production. She fused these inspirations with the visual styles of circus shows from Cirque du Soleil. Another aesthetic influence SZA cited was the film Suspiria (1977), which is dominated by vibrant, saturated colors. [60]
The tour's cinematic and theatrical proclivities are apparent in several ways. Included are the use of credits alongside elaborate set designs and props. Bolstering the film influences are homages to Titanic (1997)—showed through the sunken-ship setting and SZA's open-arms pose at the trawler's bow—and the Kill Bill duology, showed through SZA's meteor hammer and Crazy 88 reference. [52] [55] [38]
Disney films also influenced the SOS Tour's production. SZA described it as a " Cinderella moment where there’s weird, ethereal, mystical, soft things" combined with a "hardcore edge", reflected through the sets and costumes. [61] [56] While performing the medley, SZA wore a yellow tulle gown for the shows' third outfit, reminiscent of the character Belle from Beauty and the Beast (1991). [22] [56] Apart from this and Cinderella (1950), the stage design and outfits took inspiration from other Disney films such as Aladdin (1992), Treasure Planet (2002) and The Little Mermaid (1989). [56]
There were six wardrobe changes throughout the concerts. [35] When SZA began with "PSA", she wore a variant of the St. Louis Blues hockey jersey, with its number substituted for an "S" to recall the SOS cover art. [49] Printed on the back was "Yemaya", the name of a water spiritess of the Yoruba peoples in West Africa. [22] [34]
Alejandra Hernandez styled SZA's garments, having collaborated since 2016 for the "Drew Barrymore" music video. Many designers contacted SZA before the tour and pitched ideas for her outfits, but she turned everyone down. Trusting Hernandez, she believed they had to "make [their] own thing". Comfort was the point behind curating SZA's looks, in two senses of the word. SZA wanted the outfits to feel comfortable, and she wanted to feel comfortable being herself. [62]
Part of SZA's fashion sense was an affinity for oversized varsity jackets, reflected on the first costume, so Hernandez knew to always have several in their wardrobe. SZA also favored baggy men's jeans, and vintage menswear from the 1990s and early 2000s. Her clothes for many live appearances preceding the tour were frequently varsity jackets and conventional men's apparel. [62]
It was Hernandez's first time being a stylist for arena tours. She constructed many of the garments by hand, and she ensured the designs were practical for the swift wardrobe changes. During the first dress rehearsal, however, the crew realized it was not the case. Now aware their collection was too extravagant, she and her tailor overhauled the entire wardrobe by upcycling the elaborate pieces into something simpler. They cut up many bottom wear to turn them into upper wear. She told Vogue about the third outfit: "The raft jacket she wears when she floats over the audience? That's a jacket I had to hand sew. That piece didn't exist in the wardrobe, it was gonna be worn under a skirt." [62]
Critics analyzed the nautical motif as metaphors for themes frequent to SZA's music. [63] Many of those critics wrote the tour's voyage premise, through props like the submarine and lighthouse, symbolized navigation of one's self to heal from a turbulent past. [22] [52] [64] One interpretation of SZA's diving into the ocean was it was a metaphorical diving, or contemplation, into the complex variety of emotions she channeled throughout the set list. [note 4] Another compared it to her willingness to take risks with romances filled with uncertainties. The ocean, according to the interpretation, represented the highs and lows of love: "SZA's voyage mirrors the turbulence and good times that can be had in any relationship. Throughout the storms and moments of confusion, love always finds its way home." [note 5]
Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times wrote an analysis of the "Special" performance, done by the lighthouse. To contextualize, he wrote the song discusses regrets about a man who failed to appreciate the best, special version of someone. In Wood's view, the lighthouse searchlight helps the concert attendee feel seen, reflecting the vulnerable, confessional qualities of "Special" and SZA's works as a whole. He said: "She puts all the detailed complexities of a messy personal life, with its betrayals and disappointments and compromises, into a highly focused beam that somehow makes her listeners feel uniquely [acknowledged]." [31]
According to all the available boxscore data provided to Billboard, the SOS Tour finished 2023 as the year's 38th best-selling tour, grossing $57 million and attracting about 420,000 attendees from 32 shows between November 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023. [65] Billboard wrote the "slow-burning success" of Ctrl on the US albums chart was a major contributor to the tour's commercial performance. To promote the album, SZA performed in places that could accommodate around 1,000 people, a relatively low capacity, such as Brooklyn Steel in New York City. Ctrl's five-year run on the chart [note 6] was a sign of anticipation for new music and thus, according to them, bolstered high demand for a tour that involved larger venues. This was the cause of the exponential rise in boxscore compared to the Ctrl Tour. [67]
The SOS Tour's first leg sold 238,000 tickets and grossed $34.5 million, based on figures reported by Billboard. On average, each show earned $1.9 million and drew 12,812 attendees. [68] Dispersion of tickets sold per night was low, ranging from 11,069 in Atlanta and 14,383 in Toronto. San Diego attendance was an outlier. Due to the arena's relatively small capacity, it attracted only 8,700 people. [67] The nights that had the most attendees and biggest revenue were the back-to-back dates. The New York City and Inglewood concerts, respectively, sold 27,000 and 25,000 tickets. Grossing $4.7 million were the New York City concerts, and grossing $3.9 million were the Inglewood concerts. [69]
At Emo's in Austin, SZA performed to an audience of 1,550, grossing $31,000. When she revisited the city and performed in the Moody Center, the show's attendance multiplied sevenfold, and she earned 55 times the 2017 show's revenue. Her back-to-back New York City shows saw 1,376% more concertgoers and at least 10,000% more gross compared to when she earned $45,000 from 1,800 attendees at the Brooklyn Steel concert. [67]
This set list is from the Columbus show. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour. [41]
This set list is from the Auckland show. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.
The following is a list of surprise special guests that accompanied SZA during the SOS Tour. A dagger indicates a collaboration between SZA and the guest.
Date (2024) | City | Country | Venue | Opening act | Attendance | Revenue | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 16 [note 11] | Buenos Aires | Argentina | Hipódromo de San Isidro | — | |||
March 17 [note 12] | Santiago | Chile | Parque Cerrillos | ||||
March 22 [note 13] | Bogota | Colombia | Parque Simón Bolívar | ||||
March 24 [note 14] | São Paulo | Brazil | Autódromo José Carlos Pace | ||||
April 6 [note 15] | Raleigh | United States | Dorothea Dix Park | ||||
April 13 | Auckland | New Zealand | Spark Arena | Sir [79] | — | — | |
April 15 | |||||||
April 16 | |||||||
April 19 | Brisbane | Australia | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | — | — | ||
April 20 | |||||||
April 23 | Sydney | Qudos Bank Arena | — | — | |||
April 24 | |||||||
April 26 | |||||||
April 29 | Melbourne | Rod Laver Arena | — | — | |||
April 30 | |||||||
May 2 | |||||||
May 5 [note 16] | Sacramento | United States | Discovery Park | — | |||
May 25 [note 17] | Louisville | Waterfront Park | |||||
June 1 [note 18] | Barcelona | Spain | Parc del Fòrum | ||||
June 2 [note 19] | Paris | France | Bois de Vincennes | ||||
June 6 [note 20] | Porto | Portugal | Parque da Cidade | ||||
June 9 [note 21] | New York City | United States | Flushing Meadows Corona Park | ||||
June 22 [note 22] | Milwaukee | Henry Maier Festival Park | |||||
June 26–30 [note 23] | Pilton | United Kingdom | Worthy Farm | ||||
June 29 [note 24] | London | Hyde Park | |||||
July 3 | Dublin | Ireland | Malahide Castle | TBA | — | — | |
July 6 [note 25] | Roskilde | Denmark | Dyrskuepladsen | — | |||
August 2 [note 26] | Chicago | United States | Grant Park | ||||
August 4 [note 27] | Montreal | Canada | Parc Jean Drapeau |
Date | City | Country | Venue | Reason |
---|---|---|---|---|
October 4, 2023 | Toronto | Canada | Scotiabank Arena | Illness |
Organization | Year | Award | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pollstar Awards | 2024 | Hip-Hop Tour of the Year | The SOS North American Tour | Pending | |
R&B Tour of the Year | Pending |
Solána Imani Rowe, known professionally as SZA, is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition through her self-released extended plays (EPs), See.SZA.Run (2012) and S (2013), which helped her become the first female artist to sign with Top Dawg Entertainment. Her third EP, Z (2014), was her first project to be released to digital retailers and reached the top-ten on the US Independent Albums chart.
Ctrl is the debut studio album by American singer SZA. It was released through Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records on June 9, 2017. The album features guest appearances from Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, James Fauntleroy, and Isaiah Rashad. Production was handled by Craig Balmoris, Frank Dukes, Carter Lang, Scum, and ThankGod4Cody, among others. The album was supported by five singles: "Drew Barrymore", "Love Galore", "The Weekend", "Broken Clocks", and "Garden ", all of which are certified Platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
American singer-songwriter SZA has released two studio albums, three extended plays (EPs), one live album, and 44 singles. SZA debuted with her self-released EP See.SZA.Run in 2012, followed by the 2013 EP S, gaining the attention of the independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment. She signed to Top Dawg as the label's first woman artist in 2013 and released her third EP, Z, a year later. After Z, she began work on her debut studio album, Ctrl (2017), which debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, peaked at number two on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and has charted for more than five subsequent years. The album, alongside its Billboard Hot 100 top-40 singles "Love Galore" and "The Weekend", earned her three of her first five Grammy nominations, in 2018. All singles from Ctrl have been certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The Sweetener World Tour was the fourth concert tour and third arena tour by American singer, songwriter and actress Ariana Grande in support of her fourth and fifth studio albums, Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019). Led by Live Nation Entertainment, the tour was officially announced on October 25, 2018. It began on March 18, 2019, at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York, and concluded on December 22, 2019, in Inglewood, California at The Forum, visiting cities in North America and Europe throughout 101 dates. Frequent collaborators and backup dancers of Grande, Brian and Scott Nicholson who were enlisted by her, served as creative directors and LeRoy Bennett was enlisted as production designer.
"Shirt" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA and the third single from her second studio album, SOS (2022). It was released through Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records on October 28, 2022, and teased two years beforehand; its previewed snippets spawned a viral dance challenge on TikTok, a video-sharing application. Originally untitled, the song was given two names by fans: the official title and the alternative "Bloodstain". "Shirt" is a song that combines R&B with elements of trap music, incorporating glitchy hi-hat drums and Roland TR-808 beats. In the lyrics, SZA sings of a former toxic relationship to which she is enticed to return.
"Blind" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA and the sixth track on her second studio album, SOS (2022). An R&B and folk-pop song. it was produced by Carter Lang, Rob Bisel, Will Miller and Margaux Alexis Rosalena Whitney and written by Solana Rowe and her producers. The song's lyrics discuss how the toxicity of her previous relationships has negatively affected her reputation and self-esteem and was even claimed to be part of the best lyrics from 2022. "Blind" charted on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Global 200.
"PSA" is a song by American singer-songwriter reported to be from her third studio album, Lana (2024). The song is backed by vocal harmonies, soft piano, and harps. On it, SZA raps with braggadocio, demanding people call her "number one", telling them to serve her, and angering someone to amuse herself.
SOS is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter SZA. It was released through Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records on December 9, 2022. The album features guest appearances from Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. SZA worked with a variety of record producers and songwriters such as Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Rob Bisel, Benny Blanco, Darkchild, DJ Dahi, Ant Clemons, and Lizzo. It serves as the follow-up to SZA's previous album Ctrl (2017).
Cody Jordan "ThankGod4Cody" Fayne is an American producer, songwriter, and musician, most known for his production work on SZA's acclaimed albums Ctrl and SOS, as well as his 2019 debut album Cody of Nazareth.
"Nobody Gets Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA and the fourth single from her second studio album, SOS (2022). It was sent to Italian radio on January 6, 2023, and US contemporary hit radio four days later. The song peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the Canadian Hot 100, and the Official New Zealand Music Chart.
"Kill Bill" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA and the fifth single from her second studio album, SOS (2022). It is a pop and R&B murder ballad, built around a midtempo, groovy rhythm and a detuned melody. Guitars, a bassline, and a flute that was sampled from a Prophet-6 synthesizer constitute the song's production, which is influenced by the boom bap subgenre of hip hop. Mirroring the plot of the Kill Bill film duology (2003–2004) after which the song is named, the lyrics discuss a fantasy to kill an ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend out of jealousy, and they employ humorous irony alongside violent imagery that contrasts with SZA's soft vocals. "Kill Bill" was sent to US radio on January 10, 2023, after achieving success on streaming services.
"Snooze" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from her second studio album, SOS (2022). It was sent to rhythmic contemporary and urban contemporary radio as the sixth single from the album on April 25, 2023. SZA wrote the song with producers Babyface, the Rascals, and BLK. The acoustic version features Canadian singer Justin Bieber, who stars in the official music video of the song's original version, and was released on September 15, 2023.
"Ghost in the Machine" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from her second studio album, SOS (2022), featuring guest vocals by singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. It won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 66th ceremony.
"Special" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from her second studio album, SOS (2022).
"Low" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from her second album, SOS (2022). The song features adlibs from American rapper Travis Scott. It charted in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, with a number 24 peak on the Billboard Global 200. The song received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 66th ceremony.
"F2F" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from her second studio album, SOS (2022). "F2F" is a rock song that draws influence from genres such as country, pop rock, and grunge. SZA wrote the song with Lizzo, who provides background vocals, and producers Rob Bisel and Carter Lang. The song was one of around five rock-inspired songs SZA created for SOS, out of a desire to experiment with various genres outside of her usual R&B music. The song begins with acoustic guitar strums before transitioning into a chorus backed by drums and power chords from electric guitars. The lyrics talk about having sex with someone to cope with breaking up with a former partner.
"Smoking on My Ex Pack" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from her second studio album, SOS (2022). The second of the album's three rap tracks, it is a boom bap song with a chipmunk soul production style, fusing hard-hitting drum beats with a sped-up sample of Webster Lewis's "Open Up Your Eyes" (1981). Before SOS, SZA had been known as an R&B artist who made "sad girl" music, a narrative she wanted to dispel because she viewed it as reductive. Particularly, she believed her being categorized strictly as R&B was racially insensitive. As such, she wanted to experiment with "aggressive" hip hop music for SOS, leading to the conception of "Smoking on My Ex Pack". Its producer was Jay Versace, to whom SZA credited her first attempts at rap music.
"Open Arms" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from her second studio album, SOS (2022), featuring American rapper Travis Scott. It is a ballad backed by an acoustic guitar, conceived as part of an effort to explore soundscapes outside of SZA's usual R&B-leaning music. The lyrics are addressed to a former lover, whom the narrator leaves for the sake of her self-esteem despite her persistent feelings of attachment to him. A tribute to SZA's deceased grandmother, Norma Rowe, begins the song, done in the form of a skit. Rowe's vocals featured prominently on SZA's debut album, Ctrl (2017); "Open Arms" is the only SOS track on which she appears.
Ctrl the Tour was the debut concert tour by the American singer-songwriter SZA. in support of her debut album, Ctrl. The tour consisted of 55 live performances across United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
"DTM" is an upcoming song by American singer-songwriter SZA, reported to appear on her third studio album, Lana.