Happy 30th SZA: Her Career Highlights To Date

By JC Villamere. 7 Nov 2020 7:47 PM

Will 30 hit different for the R&B singer-songwriter or is “Hit Different” just the name of her September single featuring Ty Dolla $ign? Only time will tell for this star, who was born Solána Imani Rowe on Nov. 8, 1990. In the meantime, here are some of the many highlights from her career so far.

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‘Hit Different’
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In February, SZA turned heads at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones in Beverly Hills. In September, she released the acclaimed single “Hit Different” featuring Ty Dolla $ign. It was produced by The Neptunes and was her first release since “The Other Side”, her collab with Justin Timberlake for the “Trolls World Tour” soundtrack.
‘Child's Play’
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Between 2012 and 2014, the up-and-coming star released a series of buzzy indie EPs. Her 2013 song "Teen Spirit" was followed up with a remix featuring 50 Cent. In 2014, she was featured on Schoolboy Q’s debut studio album Oxymoron , and she dropped the single "Child's Play", featuring Chance the Rapper. The pair performed it at the 2015 Bonnaroo Arts And Music Festival.
Top Dawg
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Here’s SZA in 2013 with her Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates Schoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay Rock. She was Top Dawg’s first R&B signee and the first woman on the label. Her 2014 EP,
Z , peaked at #9 on the hip-hop/R&B charts.
For Your Consideration
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By 2016, SZA was writing songs for other artists like Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. She co-wrote "Consideration" with Rihanna and Tyran Donaldson for Riri’s 2016 record, Anti . She’s also featured on the track and performed it live with Rihanna at the 2016 Brit Awards.
The Breakout
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In January 2017, SZA released "Drew Barrymore". It was the lead single from her debut studio album, Ctrl, which she unleashed on June 9. Music critics unanimously praised the record, which included singles like “Love Galore” and “The Weekend”. Time Magazine named it the album of the year and SZA earned five Grammy nominations.
Time Is At A Standstill
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Want to know how long 2020 has lasted? This pic was taken at the Met Gala just over two years ago. Yes, that’s Cassie, Christian Combs, his dad, Diddy, and Lewis Hamilton. Then there’s SZA, who absolutely smashed the gala’s costume theme of ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination’ with a celestial princess angel look. And beside her, that’s Hailey Baldwin and her date, Shawn Mendes. Four months later, she’d be married to Justin Bieber.
Gramma At The Grammys
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For her first foray into the Grammys, SZA brought her mom and gramma. SZA was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her dad was an exec at CNN and her mom was an exec at AT&T. She was raised as an orthodox Muslim and when she was a high school sophomore, she was one of the best gymnasts in the U.S. Geeze, SZA, leave some talent for the rest of us, eh?
‘I Do’
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SZA invaded Cardi B’s smash hit breakout record Invasion of Privacy by collaborating on the track “I Do”. She joined Cardi onstage at the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival in California in 2018. No wonder why — they do whatever they like!
'What Lovers Do’
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SZA earned her first Top 10 hit with the Maroon 5 collab "What Lovers Do”. The song appeared on the pop rock band’s sixth record, Red Pill Blues in 2017. Here’s the gang performing their hit on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”.
Lucky #7
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SZA returned to the Top 10 in 2018 with “All the Stars”. The collab with Kendrick Lamar was the lead single from the “Black Panther” soundtrack. It peaked at #7 and was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. It also scored four Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Aretha!
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Tyler Perry hosted “Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul”, a 2019 TV special featuring Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Alessia Cara, Kelly Clarkson, Common, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Patti LaBelle and more. SZA (in that rad jacket) performed with Alicia Keys (at the piano) for the event.
Still Standing

She’s been nominated for nine Grammys and won zero. Even when she brought her grandma, they didn’t give her a Grammy! There should be a rule against that. But it doesn’t seem to phase SZA. Here, she shares the stage with Miley Cyrus, Kesha, Miranda Lambert, Hailee Steinfeld, Little Big Town, Alessia Cara, Neil Patrick Harris, Sam Smith and Shawn Mendes during a salute to Elton John at the Grammys in 2018. As rumours of new music swirl, we can't wait to hear what SZA creates next.

Happy 30th SZA: Her Career Highlights To Date

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