SZA has always been of the beaten path. However, the “Saturn” singer’s love of nature and bug prosthetics might have unlocked another level of ungoverned freedom.

Today (December 9), SZA shared the official video teaser for her long-awaited Lana deluxe album. The clip posted to Instagram (viewable here) features a sultry snippet which fans hope makes the project’s final cut. Although the featured song is rather captivating, viewers found themselves distracted by something else on full display in the visual.

As SZA walks in the woodsy frame, she drops her pants to relieve herself. In the comment section, followers joked that SZA’s actions made perfect sense considering her deep desire to commune with nature. “She’s literally helping the plants grow,” wrote one user.

Others were simply grateful that the project seemed to have an official release date, as the upload’s captions read: “Clock starts now. Happy anniversary ‘SOS.'”

SZA’s journey to get the body of work onto streaming platforms has been met with a nightmare. From leaks to scraping it entirely, SZA fans don’t mind her humorous actions so long as the album is finally available to the public.

An official release date has not yet been shared. But last month during an appearance on Kai Cenat’s stream, SZA vowed to drop Lana “before the year is over,” which only leaves a few weeks.

Earlier in the month, SZA celebrated the second anniversary of her record-breaking sophomore album, SOS. Although fans of the “Saturn” singer continue to enjoy the project, they are clamoring for its deluxe edition Lana.

Last week, SZA teased the album yet again but this time with a rather interesting promotional visual. Today (December 16), SZA officially confirmed Lana’s release date with the help of her latest bestie, Ben Stiller.

“‘Drive’ starring Ben Stiller. Directed by Bradley J. Calder. Deluxe Friday,” wrote SZA on Instagram.

Although fans are apprehensive, according to SZA Lana will is schedule to hit streaming platforms this Friday, December 20. In the teaser clip (viewable here), Ben Stiller lip syncs to SZA’s seemingly forthcoming Lana single “Drive.”

“I been up ’til up midnight / Drivin’ to nowhere / Bumpin’ a slow song / Can’t get my head clear / I been up ’til sunrise / Headed to nowhere / Hopin’ that someone’s missin’ me somewhere,” mouths Stiller.

SZA has a knack for exciting crossover cameos. In the official video for “Kill Bill,” SZA tapped Kill Bill actor Vivica A. Fox for fun appearance. For SZA’s CTRL-era she secured Drew Barrymore as a special guest in the visual for the tracked inspired by the actor.

But for now, everything is all about Lana, which is sure to include a few more celebrity pop-ups.

Back in September, SZA appeared on Hot Ones rocking a facial prosthetic with bug eyes and antennae, joking, “I’m just tired of being not a bug… Wouldn’t you want to be a bug if you could be anything else?” While the bizarre aesthetic threw off some fans — but not host Sean Evans, who took it in stride, not even asking about it until over ten minutes into the interview — others deduced it could be a clue to SZA’s upcoming album, Lana, which she’s been teasing since releasing her smash album, SOS, in 2022.

https://twitter.com/sza/status/1839403177730515067

Now that the album is officially on the way — and seemingly upgraded from a deluxe edition of SOS to its own thing — the cheeky rollout is snowballing its way toward its December 20 release date. Today, SZA shared the cover art, on which her bug prosthetic makes its return — and expands to encompass her entire body, turning her into a shimmering (but extremely fashionable) alien insect. Perhaps hanging out with Doja Cat has rubbed off on her.

In any event, you can check out the cover art below or on SZA’s social media. Lana is out on 12/20 via Top Dawg Entertainment. You can find more info when the pre-save link goes live.

SZA’s long-awaited LP Lana hits streaming tonight/today, but ahead of its official release, the TDE singer shared the video for “Drive,” another freewheeling, introspective single that finds SZA letting her thoughts race. Fittingly, the video is road-themed, starring Ben Stiller. The comic actor sings along to the song on a night drive, trying to keep himself awake. He resorts to desperate measures to that end, even getting out and “ghostriding the whip,” as they say in The Bay, dancing and lip-syncing along as the car rolls along beside him.

SZA doesn’t actually appear in the video ’til the very end, as the bug-like alien from her album cover. The alien is hiding just off the side of the road, and preens among the long grass as a second song plays. You may want to cut the video off before then if you happen to be watching at work, as SZA is quite nude (save costume appropriate body paint and the requisite prosthetics).

SZA technically started the rollout for the record back in September on an episode of Hot Ones where she debuted her bug costume, which some fans astutely predicted had something to do with Lana. After the album — originally intended as a deluxe edition of SOS — was leaked, SZA went back to the drawing board, hence the wait. But that wait is finally over and you can check out Lana here.

Watch SZA’s “Drive” video above.

SZA fans have been waiting for Lana, an expanded version of SOS, for a good while now. Finally, though, it’s Lana season: The project was recently given a release date of today, December 20. However, as of this post, it’s not out yet.

Fortunately, SZA has an explanation, and the headline is that the project is still scheduled for release today.

In an Instagram Story shared last night (December 19), SZA explains, “FULL DELUXE OUT TOMORROW AM. On the 20th! Just needed a few more hours for new mixes to ingest evenly across all platforms.. (mixes are important) love you camp.”

She shared a similar message in an Instagram post, writing, “FULL DELUXE DROPS FIRST THING TOMORROW AM (Had to get my mixes right lol ! All songs are delivered and Ingesting into the system as we speak pls be kind .. we been up for days ).”

Earlier this week, SZA announced the Lana release date with some help from Ben Stiller. Still stars in SZA’s “Drive” video, which actually is out now.

In other Lana news, when SZA unveiled the cover art earlier this week, it made her recent Hot Ones appearance make a lot more sense. On the show, she did the whole episode with some freaky, bug-like facial prosthetics, and she sports the same look on the Lana artwork.

Lana is out 12/20 via Top Dawg Entertainment. Find more information here.

You’ll have to wait a little longer for SZA‘s new album. But not too much longer.

Lana, an expanded version of 2022’s massively popular SOS, was given a release date of today, December 20, but when fans of the “Saturn” singer woke up this morning, there was no album to be found. “FULL DELUXE OUT TOMORROW AM. On the 20th!” SZA wrote in an Instagram Story on Thursday. “Just needed a few more hours for new mixes to ingest evenly across all platforms.. (mixes are important) love you camp.”

So, when is it coming out? SZA’s manager Punch answered that on X: “12pm. It’s my fault.” That’s 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET.

Stay tuned.

Previously, Punch talked about SZA’s creative process with Variety. “I don’t think she’ll ever feel 100 percent confident in the songs,” he said. “She’s her own toughest critic. So my job is to come in and reaffirm that this record is amazing and this is why.” When the topic of SZA’s fans getting mad at him about the long wait for new music came up, Punch explained, “I understand that people need a fall guy, a bad guy. So I prefer that to be me than the artist. I don’t need her focusing on that while she’s making these records. I’ll take that.”

At midnight today (or 9 PM Thursday on the West Coast), SZA fans were disappointed when her long-awaited album, Lana, did not hit DSPs as expected. While she offered up the video for “Drive” as a consolation, she also declared the project wouldn’t be available ’til later in the day due to some last-second tweaks. TDE President Punch Henderson chimed in this morning to promise that it’d be up by noon Pacific. And hey, what do you know: They kept their promise. SOS Deluxe: Lana is finally available to stream on Apple, Spotify, Tidal, or whatever other streamer you choose.

The new version of the album features 15 new tracks, including “Drive” and one feature: SZA’s long-awaited reunion with former TDE Golden Boy, Kendrick Lamar, who has been in the midst of one helluva hot streak of his own in 2024. They were unofficially reunited earlier this month when they both took the stage at TDE’s annual holiday concert in Nickerson Gardens in Watts, where Top Dawg Tiffith, the label’s founder, grew up. They’ll also be on a joint tour together next year to promote their new albums. The fans who were disappointed last night are definitely feeling much differently now.

SOS Deluxe: Lana is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. You can listen to it here.

It appears SZA is grateful she abandoned her intergalactic trip to Saturn. Yesterday (December 20), after a slight hiccup SOS Deluxe: Lana was finally uploaded to streaming platforms. Among the 15 new tracks, SZA couldn’t help but make yet another movie reference. On the first installment of the musical series, Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 hit Kill Bill was her film fix.

But now SZA is all about coveted filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and he is all for it. Over on Instagram, Scorsese’s daughter Francesca shared a subtle stamp of approval from her and her dad. With a photo of her father (viewable here), Francesca used SZA’s track “Scorsese Baby Daddy” that name-drops Martin along with the caption: “SZA, Queen sh*t”

Well, shortly after SZA shared her geeked about reaction to the show of love. “The fact that this isn’t AI, and it is actually Martin Scorsese ,” SZA wrote in her repost.

Although the song doesn’t reference any of Scorsese’s award-winning films, it does something even better—hail Scorsese has the king of dramas.

“I rolled up all my problems / And then I smoked about it / I could’ve called my mom up / I’d rather f*ck about it / Addicted to the drama / Scorsese baby daddy / Right there, just a little further down / Got a brand new reason to spiral out / Bad mood, baby, come work me out / Oh, I’ma crash out, baby, don’t slow me do,” she sings.

Given that SZA’s recent interaction with Ben Stiller online led to him starring in the music video for “Drive,” this could be the start of an epic visual saga.

Listen to SZA’s song “Scorsese Baby Daddy” above. SOS Deluxe: Lana is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. Find more information here.

Frank Ocean fans are yearning for new music. The “Novacane” singer’s base is so desperate for some original work that one fan page kicked off a rumor of his return.

Over on X (formerly Twitter), a fan page Frank Ocean claimed that the musician was supposed to make a surprise appearance on SZA’s long-awaited SOS Deluxe: Lana album. But after the body of work was available on streaming, no vocals from Frank were to be found. Then the page alleged that SZA removed Frank Ocean’s verse “at the last minute.”

Well, in a now-deleted post, SZA chimed in to shut down the viral rumor. “LMAO now why would you even make this up,” she wrote. “Ur insane… it never existed… and don’t ever play on Frank’s name like that EVAAAA.”

Prior to SZA’s denial, users online were gathering their pitchforks and flood her comment section demanding answers. But with SZA clearing the air, the potential online firestorm was averted.

Back in July, Frank Ocean teased that he returned to the studio with an endearing selfie. However, the fruit of that creative session has yet to be put out into the world. So, Frank Ocean fans are going to need to hold out a little longer.

SOS Deluxe: Lana is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. You can listen to it here.

Over the weekend, SZA released her long-awaited project SOS Deluxe: Lana after overshooting its expected midnight release to finish some last-second tweaks. It looks like she wasn’t quite done tweaking either; on Twitter today (never “X,” let’s be serious), the New Jersey singer promised some changes to the project on streaming arriving on Christmas day.

“After listening w a clear mind I’m Switching some mixes out when I add stuff on Christmas,” she wrote. “This means nothing to you but had to say it for me lol . Who knows u might notice.”

Throughout her career, SZA has been notoriously perfectionist, to the point that her manager/Top Dawg Entertainment President Punch Henderson has joked that he had to swipe her hard drive to ensure that she would actually release her music instead of endlessly fiddling with it. This has led to an antagonistic relationship between Punch and SZA’s fans, but the results can’t be argued with; SOS was one of the most successful releases of the decade so far — in a decade including two Beyoncé releases, a bunch of new Taylor Swift, and several big breakouts. We’ll see where Lana ends up on the charts next week, but with SZA making some ex post facto changes, there should be a surge in streams on Boxing Day as curious fans check out just what gets updated.

SOS Deluxe: Lana is out via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records.

December tends to be a quiet month in terms of new album releases, but SZA came through with one of the end-of-year highlights by dropping Lana (technically titled SOS Deluxe: Lana), the long-awaited deluxe edition of SOS. That ended up working out for SZA, as SOS has returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

This is the album’s 11th week at No. 1, and its first on top in nearly two years, since March 4, 2023. Since the new chart is dated January 4, SZA has the first chart-topping album of the new year.

Even if the 15 new songs introduced with Lana had been released as a standalone album instead of as an SOS deluxe, it would have still been No. 1: The new songs generated 105,000 in track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA), while this week’s No. 2 album, Michael Bublé’s Christmas, earned 100,000 units.

It was rumored that Frank Ocean was set to make an appearance on Lana, but SZA shut that idea down, writing, “LMAO now why would you even make this up. Ur insane… it never existed… and don’t ever play on Frank’s name like that EVAAAA.”

SOS Deluxe: Lana is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. Find more information here.

Just ahead of the holiday, SZA told fans she planned to “add stuff” to the deluxe version of her fan-favorite album, SOS Deluxe: Lana, but unfortunately for those fans, delivery of her Christmas gift was delayed. SZA issued an update on the expected changes to the album, writing on Twitter that the new songs and mixes should be available on January 6, “when the label comes back from holiday.” She also thanked fans for their patience.

She has plenty more to thank them for, though; the deluxe version of SOS, subtitled Lana, was streamed and purchased right to the top of the Billboard 200 chart dated January 4, so she’s got the first No. 1 album of 2025. According to Billboard, even if Lana‘s 15 tracks had been released as a standalone album, it still would have gone to the top of the chart, but as it stands, this adds a whopping 11th week to SOS‘ chart-topping run, albeit for non-consecutive weeks.

Despite Lana only just arriving, SZA’s insatiable fans are already clamoring for more — namely, a full project of collaborations with former labelmate Kendrick Lamar. The ever-cheeky singer saw the requests and reposted them to her socials, suggesting that even if a full project isn’t necessarily in the works, fans might be able to expect more music from the dynamic duo.

Previously, SZA promised that updates to her album SOS Deluxe: Lana (known informally as just Lana) would arrive on January 6. Well, that didn’t come to pass, and now SZA is dealing with some fan backlash.

Today (January 17), she tweeted, “Punch was right .” Punch responded with the eyes emoji and SZA added, “U been told me stop sharing snippets and tea .. thought I was on to something . I’m clear now .”

Then, a fan called SZA “unprofessional” and wrote, “Wow it’s almost like you announced something and ignored it for 11 days.” SZA responded, “Cause sample clearances always happen within the preferred time frame lmao? I shoulda NEVER tried to give yall what u asked for . It wasn’t professional . It was KINDNESS AND A WILLINGNESS TO APPEASE u lunatics . .”

The same person replied, “You announced a date pls be serious for a second,” and SZA said, “Yea atp you gotta just go to hell . I don’t work for you baby . All I can do is my best . Take care .”

Somebody else worried, “Yall finna have SZA delete her twitter acc,” but SZA replied, “NEVER THAT . N****s not bullying me . I don’t work for anyone but myself and God . I give so much to my fans energetically in person and online . If n****s wanna act DISGUSTING that’s on them .”

Another fan said, “u should’ve never teased or said anything knowing nothing got cleared or is ready to be dropped ma u can’t blame them,” and SZA wrapped up by responding, “Apologies I’ve reached my maximum entertainment of complaints for the day . Pls try again during business hours tomorrow .”

For at least a couple months now, SZA has been promising updates to Lana: SOS Deluxe. Well, this weekend, SZA is going to have much of the world’s attention when she joins Kendrick Lamar during his Super Bowl Halftime Show, and she’s capitalizing: Those Lana updates are finally coming.

The Lana website says new songs are coming on February 9 at 7 p.m. ET, which is shortly after the game’s kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Last month, SZA went back and forth with fans who were upset about the delay for the new songs. She wrote, “I shoulda NEVER tried to give yall what u asked for . It wasn’t professional . It was KINDNESS AND A WILLINGNESS TO APPEASE u lunatics,” writing in another tweet, “N****s not bullying me . I don’t work for anyone but myself and God . I give so much to my fans energetically in person and online . If n****s wanna act DISGUSTING that’s on them .”

Meawhile, before SZA was announced for the halftime show, she spoke about Lamar, saying, “He’s such a genius, and part of his genius is him being so elusive, and so mysterious, and I love it. […] I’m just trusting all of his expertise and being thrust into these moments and spotlight and saying yes, and he’s so good at saying yes but staying grounded, so I’m just like, ‘Teach me, sensei, what you know.’

Back in December 2024, SZA promised to make a few adjustments to her latest album, Lana (SOS Deluxe).

Well, those changes did not happen quick enough for some fans. After being swamped with messages, the “Saturn” singer threatened to forgo all updates. But ultimately SZA gave in, and now she has shared four new tracks to the extended version of Lana (SOS Deluxe).

The latest additions include songs “Joni” featuring Don Toliver, “Take You Down,” “Open Arms,” and “PSA.” Online there appears to be some confusion surrounding “Open Arms.” Initial reports stated SZA was the only credited vocalist on “Open Arms.” However, on Apple Music, Travis Scott is listed as a guest feature. Either way SZA supporters are grateful for the new records.

Continue below to view the tracklist for SZA’s extended version of Lana (SOS Deluxe).

Tracklist

1. “No More Hiding”
2. “What Do I Do”
3. “30 For 30” with Kendrick Lamar
4. “Diamond Boy (DTM)”
5. “BMF”
6. “Scorsese Baby Daddy”
7. “Love Me 4 Me”
8. “Chill Baby”
9. “My Turn”
10. Crybaby”
11. “Kitchen”
12. “Get Behind Me (Interlude)”
13. “Drive”
14. “Another Life”
15. “Saturn”
16. “SOS”
17. “Kill Bill”
18. “Seek & Destroy”
19. “Low”
20. “Love Language”
21. “Blind”
22. “Used” featuring Don Toliver
23. “Snooze”
24. “Notice Me”
25. “Gone Girl”
26. “Smoking On My Ex Pack”
27. “Ghost In The Machine” featuring Phoebe Bridgers
28. “F2F”
29. “Nobody Gets Me”
30. “Conceited”
31. “Special”
32. “Too Late”
33. “Far”
34. “Shirt”
35. “Open Arms” featuring Travis Scott
36. “I Hate U”
37. “Good Days”
38. “Forgiveless” featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard

Lana (SOS Deluxe) is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. Find more information here.