Solána Imani Rowe, professionally known as Sza is an R&B singer who has topped the charts. Her latest studio album ‘SOS’ made it ten weeks at N0.1 on Billboard 200. This month she was named Billboard magazine’s woman of the year. Her album ‘SOS’ was long awaited by fans as her last album ‘CTRL’ came out in 2017. With much anticipation, Sza opened up about how she struggled with the pressure of people expecting more from her after so much time. When ‘CTRL’ was released it debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart and gained more traction over time. Sza released a deluxe version of ‘CTRL’ in 2022 five years after the album was released. She is an artist who has continually defied the norms of contemporary R&B with raw and powerful tracks. Her album ‘SOS’ speaks to her emotional journey of self-discovery and growth as an artist since ‘CTRL’. There’s no particular genre for ‘SOS’ stretching the labels of indie rock, alternative, rap, and R&B. Sza illustrated herself differently across both albums and demonstrates maturity as an artist. In ‘CTRL’ she illustrated herself as a lovestruck artist experiencing heartbreak and struggles in figuring out who she is. In ‘SOS’ she demonstrates lyricism by dissecting her ego, romantic life, and trauma. Her track “Far” highlights her personal growth in dealing with rejection. She is an artist that expresses herself in a vulnerable and relatable way to audiences going through the same growing pains. This is what makes her moving as an artist unlocking hidden emotions from within.
When she announced her ‘SOS’ tour this past December fans freaked out immediately. The tour was five years in the making and long-awaited. The opportunity to see Sza perform after so many years is groundbreaking in itself. Her exclusive 17-city North American tour kicked off on February 21st in Columbus, OH. Fans were ecstatic about the tour but after looking at the prices were stunned. Tickets in the nosebleeds were going for $300 plus while the ground floor went for $500 plus. Fans buying multiple tickets were spending hundreds of dollars for just two tickets. This however did not stop them from purchasing tickets as her tour sold out nearly a day after they went on sale. The amount of attention that Sza has accommodated through the years likely led her team to believe she could raise her ticket prices. They know that fans have been waiting to see her perform for years and would be willing to pay whatever price it takes. There’s a common fear amongst fans that this may be Sza’s last tour and album as she has mentioned in multiple interviews that she is trying to get out of the industry. There have been claims made that she is retiring after ‘SOS’ due to the struggles she has faced. However, many have noticed that her attitude has changed toward releasing music upon the positive feedback received from ‘SOS’. There’s still hope as the artist hasn’t claimed that she is out of the game.
When I saw that Sza was going on tour I joined the thousands of fans racing to the presale to purchase tickets. I was willing to do whatever it took to get tickets despite being defeated by the price. I didn’t have a plan or anyone to go to the concert with when I purchased tickets but I knew it would work out. I found two seats in the lower nosebleeds that had a side view of the stage. I attended her concert in Detroit, MI this past Friday at Little Caesars Area and I will say it was well worth the money. The stage production was so well done and made the concert feel like you were part of a movie. Each song flowed into the other and she performed 33 songs within 90 minutes with songs from both ‘CTRL’ and ‘SOS’. She did remixes of some and incorporated a live guitarist in a few. During her song “Smoking on my Ex Pack” Sza played a recorded video of her singing while going through an outfit change and getting a touch-up before the next track. This was a great way for Sza to incorporate a song in a short amount of time. Her set design took the audience on an emotional seaside journey with a rustic boat being placed on the stage and ocean projections. At one point she was lifted in a rescue boat above the crowd singing two full songs as she floated above the audience. A small lighthouse was placed in the audience directly from the stage with a light spanning across the audience. The storyline displayed throughout the concert was breathtaking. She ended the concert with a preview of her “Low” music video coming soon. And came out at the very end to say how grateful she truly is for all her fans and the love they have shown her throughout the years. Further emphasizing that as an artist she has always remained humble. Out of the few concerts I have been to, this was the best and I would say without a doubt it was worth every penny.