Speculations are finally being met with confirmation, as SZA has officially announced the release date for Lana—her third studio album serving as the SOS Deluxe. The long-awaited project is set to drop this Friday (Dec. 20), as assumed in a trailer she shared last week.
To boost the anticipation even more, SZA has released another teaser for a single presumed to be titled “Drive.” The clip refreshingly stars Ben Stiller, who channels his inner SZA superfan by dramatically lip-syncing the song while driving on a rainy night.
It seems that the vibe of the teaser follows the “outdoorsy” theme of the album teaser, which showed SZA crouching by a stream in the woods to pee. The clip is soundtracked by a sampling of the Isley Brothers’ classic “Voyage to Atlantis,” with the caption, “Clock starts now. Happy anniversary.”
Her prior album, SOS, held the No. 1 spot for 10 weeks, making it the first R&B album by a woman to hit double digits since Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut in 1991. With Lana now confirmed, fans are ready to dive deeper into the masterpiece that already delivered “Kill Bill,” “Snooze” and others.
In a recent interview with British Vogue, SZA described Lana as a “welcome shift,” explaining 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,” she explained to the outlet. “I’m not identifying with my brokenness. It’s not my identity. It’s sh*t that happened to me. Yeah, I experienced cruelty. I have to put it down at some point. Piece by piece, my music is shifting because of that, the lighter I get.”
Fans have even more to look forward to, as SZA is also joining Kendrick Lamar for his upcoming Grand National tour. The co-headlining, 21-date trek kicks off in Minnesota on April 19 and will hit major cities including Houston, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Toronto before wrapping in D.C. on June 18.
See the teaser for what’s to come with Lana above.
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