Sing it Saturday: SZA – Supermodel

SZA isn’t a Party gyal, as she Tweeted the night after the SOS album release event.

As much as we’ve learned about her since the release of her 2017 opus Ctrl, so much still hangs in ambiguity. I think she prefers that, and I don’t mind it either. I love filling the gaps with how I feel listening to her music and imagining who she is, what she meant, and how we live in the same, yet totally different worlds.

In Supermodel, SZA muses on about being hopelessly embroiled in a loveless, yet passion-driven situationship.

She uses plain, relatable terminology of our time and weaves in inextricably vulnerable admissions. Listening feels like peeking into an open diary fallen on the floor. It’s sad. It’s embarrassing. It’s so familiar.

I remember leaving this song on repeat as I drove to and from my new job in West LA as I adjusted to the city, feeling so isolated but understanding that I needed to acclimate quickly, despite still licking the wounds of what chased me out of my home town in the first place.

There was more ahead for me. I just needed to be brave enough to go get it. SZA was unsure here, and so was I. It became an anthem and a blanket for me. I can’t hear it without my mood shifting for the rest of the day. It’s reflective and poignant and frankly, I’ll never be able to adequately describe how mystifying it is for me. I love this track.