SZA on SOS, the story behind her SNL bop 'Big Boys,' and her favorite Kill Bill character

SZA has been having a surreal week. Her sophomore full-length, SOS — a stunningly accomplished tapestry of hip-hop, indie rock, and soul-baring R&B — just became her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, debuting at the top spot and becoming one of 2022's biggest releases.

"I'm shocked, for sure," she says over the phone just days after the record dropped. "I definitely didn't see that happening."

The New Jersey–born singer-songwriter's debut, 2017's Ctrl, announced the flourishing of a uniquely modern voice — an artist who was unafraid to chronicle her hopes, fears, and f---ups. SOS is deeper, wilder, and mesmerizingly weirder, full of audacious hopscotches between genres and bracingly new perspectives. On one song, she's a chrome-plated superhero plotting vengeance on an ex; in the next, she's self-destructive, spiraling, and all too real.

But the surreality of it all doesn't just entail her incumbent chart dominance and impending 2023 U.S. tour. SZA is everywhere, with partnerships in fashion and eco-friendly tech that expand her reach as a cultural force. This winter, for example, she partners with Sony LinkBuds S, the world's smallest and lightest noise-canceling wireless headphones, which are made with recycled plastics. As part of the campaign, SOS has been released in Sony's 360 Reality Audio on Amazon Music, so fans can hear every last nuance in it. She calls the earbuds a perfect fit for her vibe. "I love noise-canceling, even with nothing playing," she says. "I like to be lost in a world of my own thoughts, and the less outside I can hear, the better."

EW caught up with SZA to chat about SOS, its Lizzo cameo, the story behind her viral SNL "Big Boys" skit, and her love of Kill Bill (including even Bill).

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Your new song "F2F" is one of the most striking tracks on SOS. It draws from folk and mall punk and is co-credited to Lizzo. How did that collaboration come about?

SZA: We were doing a whole bunch of random things in the studio. She was there vibing with me, and it was just one of the songs I was already working on. We didn't write it together, but she [initially] had a verse on the song, which she doesn't anymore. But I left a part of the melody [in the post-chorus], where she's like, ooh-ooh-hoo.

I'm a huge Björk fan, so I loved hearing "Hidden Place" interpolated in "Forgiveless." What inspired you to use that song?

I've always loved Björk. She's the GOAT to me. From the way she was beating up reporters to the way she emotes in her music, she's just the realest bitch alive.

There's a story about you finding an iPod in college with her music on it. Is that how you discovered her?

The iPod I found had a bunch of music, and her music was on there. But I had already been listening to it because we did dances to it in high school. I was part of a company called Special Dance, and we did a dance to "Jóga." For me, Bjork was the go-to for any kind of emotive dance.

Homogenic is an all-time classic.

It's perfect. Everything she does is so perfect.

On SNL recently, you were featured in the skit song "Big Boys" — and now it has blown up on TikTok. That must have been so fun to make.

That was [made in] 15 minutes at the end of a rehearsal. I just went in there and they were like, "This is our 'Big Boys' song. Would you be down to do this hook?" And I was like, "Yes." I did it with my engineer, and he helped out with the song. It was cool.

Was it your idea to cover up the six-pack poster with that picture of Chris Pratt from Parks and Recreation?

No, no! I love all versions of Chris Pratt [laughs]. I appreciate him in any form.

Your "Shirt" video with LaKeith Stanfield is like a movie. Could you ever see yourself doing a feature film?

I would love to act more. I'd love to learn another craft and get to lose myself in another way creatively. I'm in an Eddie Huang movie that is coming out, with Chloe Cherry from Euphoria and a couple of other people. I don't know if the whole cast is announced, so Imma keep quiet. It's an action comedy: An assassin is trying to kill me, but we fall in love instead. It should be pretty silly.

You reference the movie Kill Bill on SOS. Who's your favorite character from it?

I love Vivica A. Fox's character. I love Lucy Liu's character. I even love Bill because he's super complex. I feel like he doesn't understand why he did what he did. He's void of emotion, but he loved The Bride so much that he couldn't stand her to be with anyone else. That was really complex and cool to me. It's a love story. I just watched it again for inspiration for the music video that we're gonna shoot for "Kill Bill."

So the "Kill Bill" music video will reference the Quentin Tarantino film?

It's partially inspired by the movie. But that's all I can say.

So, do you have a personal favorite track on SOS?

"Seek & Destroy" really grew on me. I always liked "Kill Bill." I didn't know people would like it this much. I've always liked "Snooze" and "Love Language" for their chill vibe. I'm excited to expand underneath those on tour.

Tour preparations must be well underway.

Yeah. We had one of our final meetings yesterday, where we talked about set design and all that. We have the best staging team ever, so I'm really excited to be getting ready for more.

SOS is available now.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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