Billboard on Friday named singer SZA as 2023’s woman of the year.
Billboard attributed SZA’s win to the massive success of her sophomore album “S.O.S,” which topped the Billboard 200 for seven weeks.
The singer will be honoured with the title at this year’s ‘Billboard Women in Music Awards,’ that is set to take place on March 1 at the Hollywood Park in Los Angeles.
The magazine wrote, “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,” It further added, “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.”
SZA has been on rise for quite some time now. The singer released her first studio album in 2017, title “Ctrl.” The album was received well by both critiques and fans. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums, No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The three times platinum certified album hasn’t left the Billboard 200 since it’s release, becoming the longest charting debut album by a Black female artist. In later years, SZA won her first Grammy award for her collaboration with Doja Cat, ‘Kiss Me More’ in the best pop duo performance category. She also received the RuleBreaker award at the 2019 Billboard Women in Music Awards.
‘S.O.S’ huge success
The ‘Kill Bill’ singer dropped her second studio album, titled ‘S.O.S,’ last December. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking her first debut at the top. The album received over 400 million streams in the US in it’s first week, scoring the second largest streaming debut week of the year for a female artist and third overall.
The album stayed at No. 1 on Billboard 200 for seven weeks despite facing stiff competition from artists like Taylor Swift.
With this honor, SZA joins the elite club of Olivia Rodrigo (2022), Cardi B (2020), Billie Eilish (2019), Ariana Grande (2018), Selena Gomez (2017), Madonna (2016), Lady Gaga (2015) and Taylor Swift (2014).