For the first time since 2017, SZA dropped an album on December 9th with 23 songs that have taken the internet by storm. SZA became the first female R&B artist to reach #1 on Global Spotify history with a solo song and the first black female artist to reach the #1 spot as the most streamed artist daily on a global scale shortly after the album’s release. 

In light of this music, SZA has graciously given us, here are all 23 songs ranked. As my opinion on each song changes throughout the week, I’m basing my ranking solely on how relatable I find the songs–the factor that draws teens everywhere to love SZA’s music. As different clips from the new album, SOS, flood my ‘For You’ page on TikTok, this was the album we were all waiting for. Since SZA’s explanations behind her lyrics have not been public yet, the interpretations of her lyrics are my own.

Number 1 is “Kill Bill.” “Kill Bill” is SZA’s first song to be #1 on the Global Spotify chart, with over 150 million streams making a new daily high. “Kill Bill,” inspired by Quintin Tarantino’s classic film from 2003, gave us something new. Instead of your average song about jealousy toward an ex who has moved on, SZA expresses a new emotion, hilariously singing, “I might kill my ex, not the best idea, his new girlfriend’s next, how’d I get here?” The lyrics have gone completely viral on TikTok as people use the lyrics as a call out to someone from their past. Later in the song, SZA admits, “Rather be in jail than alone,” explaining how her ex’s ability to move on exacerbates her own loneliness, so much so that she’s rather do something extreme. This seems to be a frequent theme throughout the album: in several songs, the lyrics depict the need to get back something you once had or someone you wanted in your life. 

Number 2 is “Special,” one of the sadder songs on the album. As SZA sings, “I wish I was special, I gave all my special away to a loser, now I’m just a loser,” people everywhere online have shared videos of them sobbing to the lyrics as the lyrics hit close to home. The lyrics can feel personal, as many high school students know falling in love can be a heartbreaking experience. 

Number 3 is “Nobody Gets Me,” another song on the SOS album. The isolation in a relationship when you feel as though someone is the only person to understand you fully can be comforting in the moment, but what does that do to you when you lose them? As SZA sings about returning to this person even when knowing they are no longer in her life for a reason, she says, “It’s too late; I don’t wanna lose what’s left of you.” As people all over social media explain how the song made them feel less alone about reminiscing and wanting someone back in their life, the song has reached over 70 million streams on Spotify. 

Number 4 is “F2F,” co-written by musician Lizzo. SZA explores using someone else to distract yourself from the person you’re truly missing. Trying to fill that void with another person does not work, as she sings, “I been thinkin’ ’bout you, haven’t got much sleep, Worried that you already done replaced me,” and later, “I hate me enough for the two of us, Hate that I can’t let go of you enough.” “F2F” is another testament to the relatability of the emotions in her music, following the journey of getting over someone and the isolation of it. She later sings, “Knowin’ you gon’ block me tomorrow, can you still come and get me?” about the desperation and almost self-inflicted pain that comes with being unable to get over someone from your past.

Number 5 is “Ghost in the Machine,” featuring popular indie pop artist Phoebe Bridgers and over 30 million streams on Spotify. SZA‘s lyrics give the impression that she’s talking about the world’s loneliness and her habit of feeding into it. As she sings, “Can you distract me from all the disaster? Can you touch on me and not call me after,” she discusses the struggles of self-isolating and needing someone to numb the pain. Later in the song, she sings, “Everybody wanna be beautiful, scared of the unusual, Scared of givin’ mutual respect, all that you hate, You reflect all that godlike, you forget how to love somebody, I hate everybody, I hatе everyone, I need humanity, Y’all lack humanity, drowning in vanity.” These lyrics make me think about our society and how our values have become so misconstrued. Social media causes everyone to care about their looks, taking away from what’s inside. As SZA talks about how this obsession with looks makes people forget how to treat people when she sings, “Y’all lack humanity,” as people have lost the sense of what it means to be a human.

SZA’s album has impressed her fans and the music industry as a whole globally! Her relatability about difficult relationships and self-worth is being streamed by millions daily. Look below for the full ranking!

1. Kill Bill

2. Special 
3. Nobody Gets Me 
4. F2F
5. Ghost in the Machine
6. Seek & Destroy
7. Gone Girl 
8. Low
9. Love Language 
10. Snooze
11. Notice Me
12. Conceited
13. Blind
14. Far
15. Used
16. Too Late
17. Smoking on my Ex Pack
18. Shirt
19. Good Days
20. I Hate U
21. SOS
22. Open Arms
23. Forgiveness