SZA’s ‘SOS’ Becomes Longest-Running Female R&B Album At No. 1 Since 1999

SZA

The vocalist finds herself in the same company as TLC and Mariah Carey.

At this point, it is accurate to say SZA has cemented her name in the music history books with her SOS album. The Top Dawg Entertainment-backed project is the #1 album in America for a fifth straight week.

SOS collected another 125,000 equivalent album units in week five of its release. By topping the Billboard 200 chart five consecutive times, SZA achieved two feats that have not been accomplished since the 1990s.

According to Billboard, SZA’s SOS is the first R&B album by a female act to control the album chart for five weeks since TLC’s FanMail in 1999. SOS is also the first solo female album to remain at No. 1 for at least five weeks since Mariah Carey’s Daydream in 1995-1996.

FanMail sat at #1 for five weeks. That Grammy-winning effort by TLC became the trio’s first chart-topper on the Billboard 200. Daydream held onto No. 1 for six total weeks. Mariah Carey has six Number Ones in her discography.

SOS is presently SZA’s only album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It opened in the top spot with record-breaking streaming numbers. Her debut studio LP, Ctrl, peaked at #3 in 2017. Ctrl has charted on the Billboard 200 for over 290 weeks.

For SOS, SZA tapped Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott, and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard as guest features. The 33-year-old singer/songwriter scored Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Good Days,” “I Hate U,” and “Nobody Gets Me.”

SZA’s SOS era also includes the global success of her “Kill Bill” single. An official music video for “Kill Bill” includes a cameo from Kill Bill movie star Vivica A. Fox. The visuals have amassed nearly 9 million views since debuting on YouTube on January 10.