“I Hate U” was released last month via TDE/RCA Records and earned SZA her first #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and debuted at #7 on Billboard’s Hot 100, marking SZA’s fifth top 10 record and second debut on the chart. Her first Hot 100 top 10 debut as the main artist was “Good Days,” which is currently Grammy nominated for Best R&B Song. “I Hate U” also broke the record for the most-streamed R&B song by a female artist on Apple Music in its first week.
About SZA:
Born in St. Louis and raised in Maplewood, NJ, genre-defying recording artist SZA released her major label debut album Ctrl (TDE/RCA) in 2017. Revered for its raw and honest lyrics, it landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart, No. 2 on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, according to Nielsen Music. The RIAA-certified 2x Platinum album received five Grammy nominations in 2018 and more than half the songs on Ctrl are now certified Platinum and Gold. Her hit song “All the Stars” with Kendrick Lamar from Black Panther: The Album, Music From and Inspired By, earned her Oscar (1) and Grammy (4) nominations in 2019. SZA has won various awards since the release of Ctrl including Billboard Music Awards’ Top R&B Female Artist, BET Awards’ Best New Artist, Soul Train Music Awards’ Best R&B/Soul Female Artist and Best New Artist, MTV Video Music Awards’ Best Visual Effects for the “All The Stars” with Kendrick Lamar and NAACP Image Awards’ Outstanding New Artist in 2018. In 2019, she won NAACP Image Awards’ Outstanding Duo or Group for “All The Stars” with Kendrick Lamar and Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation for the Black Panther Soundtrack. SZA also received Billboard’s 2019 Women in Music Rule Breaker award.
In 2020, SZA released the hypnotic track “Hit Different” featuring Ty Dolla $ign along with the stunning visual that took the internet by storm. To close out the trying year, SZA gifted fans on Christmas Day with the hopeful track “Good Days,” followed by a trippy visual released in March. Grammy-nominated for Best R&B Song, the single quickly became SZA’s greatest gainer solo single release, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and marking her first time in the chart’s top ten as the main artist. To this day, SZA continues to set the standard on creativity and break records with over 7.2 billion streams worldwide across all platforms. Ctrl remains on the Billboard 200 chart since its release in 2017 (238 weeks and counting) and holds the record for the longest run for any Black female artist’s debut album.