We were all quite excited when SZA finally announced via a Billboard interview that she'd be releasing her sophomore album this year. However, all that she revealed of the project thus far has its name — SOS — and that it would release sometime this month. Other than that, she's left us in the dark. She provided another tidbit, though, when she suddenly dropped the album's cover via Instagram today.
The stunning visual might be setting up what we can expect from the upcoming album. It finds SZA, decked out in a St. Louis Blues jersey with her name emblazoned across the back, white socks and Timberland boots, as she sits on the edge of what appears to be a diving board. The majority of the image, however, are the dark blue waves of the ocean. Their expanse makes the singer seem downright diminutive in the middle of the frame, but perhaps that might be the point.
As expected, the cover has garnered praise from her peers and fans alike, with artists like Chlöe, Lizzo, the City Girls' JT and Benny Blanco giving her virtual daps in the comments section. The best comment thus far, though, is from TDE label head Terrence "Punch" Henderson, who teasingly wrote, "What is this? Some sort of album?" The comment references the sometimes-public back-and-forth the two have had about the project's delayed release. SZA pinned the comment to the top and simply replied to him, "ur a menace."
With all this excitement, though, there's still no solid release date. While SZA mentioned December in her interview, she also said that she's "currently stressed" about meeting the album's deadline. We only have a few short weeks left to see if she'll make good on that promise. But with recent tastes like "Shirt" and the teaser for "PSA" (not to mention an appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend) we think she just might be on track.