SZA’s ‘SOS’ Is The First Album By A Black Female To Spend A Year In The Top 10 On The Billboard 200

SZA’s ‘SOS’ Is The First Album By A Black Female To Spend A Year In The Top 10 On The Billboard 200

SZA is making history!

Her critically acclaimed album, ‘SOS’ has officially been in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 list for a year, making her the first Black female to achieve the milestone.

She celebrated the moment on her InstaStory Monday night and wrote,

“THANK YOU AND HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH”

Released on Dec. 9, 2022, SZA’s anticipated sophomore album debuted at No. 1 on the coveted chart and spent 10 weeks there. The last time a woman had spent more than 10 weeks in the top spot was Mariah Carey in 1991. Her self-titled album was No. 1 for 11 weeks.

By the time ‘SOS’ reached its 18th week as No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, she surpassed the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin’s ‘Aretha Now’, which spent 17 weeks in the top spot. SZA was the first woman to break the record in 54 years.

SZA

With the undeniable success of the album, she became the most-nominated artist at the Grammy Awards this year, with nine nods. She ultimately won Best R&B Song for “Snooze,” Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Ghost in the Machine,” with Phoebe Bridgers, and Best Progressive R&B Album for “SOS.”

Still, many thought she’d take home Album of the Year, which would make her the first Black woman to win since Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999. Instead, Taylor Swift won for her album ‘Midnights.’

Speaking about the loss, SZA candidly said,

“I’m grateful I won three. I could have left with nothing and I didn’t, and I’m grateful. My parents got to see it and I didn’t bomb on live television, and that was so scary. And I faced some really big fears and I’m just happy that it all went well, genuinely. And I’m happy for everybody.”

[VIA: 1. Billboard, 2. The Hollywood Reporter]