After months of anticipation and speculation, SZA has officially confirmed the release of Lana, the highly awaited deluxe edition of her chart-topping album SOS. The project is set to drop on Friday, Dec. 20, as revealed in a dramatic teaser video shared on social media.
In the clip, actor Ben Stiller delivers a surprising cameo, passionately lip-syncing to what fans believe is a new SZA track titled “Drive”. The scene features Stiller driving through a rainy night, evoking memories of his iconic lip-syncing moment in Jack Johnson’s “Taylor” music video from 2003.
A Deluxe Album Years in the Making
SZA has been teasing Lana for over two years, originally describing the deluxe edition as “a whole other album” filled with unreleased tracks and outtakes. In a recent interview with British Vogue, she reflected on how her creative process has evolved:
“I think I am making music from a more beautiful place. From a more possible place versus a more angsty place… I’m not identifying with my brokenness. It’s not my identity. It’s shit that happened to me.”
She added that the shift in her mindset has influenced her sound:
“Piece by piece, my music is shifting because of that, the lighter I get.”
The Legacy of SOS
The release of Lana adds yet another chapter to the record-breaking SOS era. Since its debut:
SOS opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart with 318,000 equivalent album units, marking the third-highest debut week of 2022.
The album set a record for the biggest streaming week for an R&B album by a woman, amassing 404.6 million official on-demand streams in its first week, according to Luminate.
SOS spent 10 weeks atop the chart, making it the first R&B album by a woman to hit double-digit weeks at No. 1 since Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut in 1991.
Grand National Stadium Tour
The release of Lana aligns perfectly with SZA’s upcoming Grand National Tour, a 2025 stadium tour co-headlined by Kendrick Lamar. Produced by Live Nation, pgLang, and Top Dawg Entertainment, the North American tour kicks off on April 19 in Minnesota and will hit major cities including:
Houston
Atlanta
Philadelphia
New York area
Seattle
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Las Vegas
Toronto
Chicago
The tour will conclude on June 18 in Washington, D.C.
With Lana on the way and a massive stadium tour alongside Kendrick Lamar, SZA is set to close out her SOS era on a high note, continuing to redefine modern R&B and connect with fans around the world.
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