SZA has been on quite an impressive roll as of late and her coveted new title as Billboard‘s Woman of the Year has further cemented her dominance.
On Friday (February 10), the publication announced that the chart-topping R&B singer-songwriter had officially been crowned their 2023 Woman of the Year.
Since she burst onto the scene in 2017, SZA has defied genres and continually released raw, powerful songs which have landed her music on the Billboard charts,” said Hannah Karp, Billboard‘s editorial director, in a press statement. “The release of her latest album, SOS, has solidified her as a distinct force in contemporary R&B, and catapulted her into superstardom. We can’t wait to honor her as Woman of the Year.”
The news comes as no surprise to fans following the monumental success of her sophomore album SOS, which to date has racked up a series of accolades and dominated the charts.
On Tuesday (February 7), SOS went platinum, and several singles from it received that or gold certifications, including “Supermodel,” “20 Something,” “Good Day,” “Kill Bill,” “I Hate U,” “Blind,” “Shirt,” “Nobody Gets Me,” “Go Gina” and “Low.”
SZA released SOS last December and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with 318,000 equivalent album units sold in its first week. It also grabbed 404.5 million on-demand streams, which broke the record for the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album, and the second-largest streaming week for an album by a female artist.
SOS spent a total of seven straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making her the third female artist to have an album spend at least seven weeks at the No. 1 position, alongside Adele and Taylor Swift. SOS has also become the first album in history to keep 10 songs on the Hot 100 singles chart for seven consecutive weeks.
Last year, SZA earned a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Kiss Me More,” her collaboration with Doja Cat. She also scored the Rulebreaker Award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards in 2019.
On Monday (February 6), SZA took to Instagram to announce she’d received a bunch of new certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for songs off her second studio album.
In her post, the Top Dawg Entertainment singer shared photos of herself at the 65th annual Grammy Awards and her receiving the plaque of certifications from Anthony Top Dawg Tiffith and Punch.
Last night was the first time I had a great time at an award show ! (Prolly cause I ain’t have to do shit but cheer my friends on + announce ppl I Stan lmao ),” SZA captioned her post. “My team also surprised me w a GANG OF PLATINUM and gold plaques for SOS can’t believe the album is already eligible for double platinum. LOVE TO EVERYBODY THAT GOT ME HERE AND CONTINUES TO LIFT ME UP. I love you.”
