On December 19, students at Hamburg were excitedly waiting for midnight because SZA had promised to release the deluxe edition of her hit album SOS. When midnight came on December 20, the album was not released, leaving fans refreshing their phones all day. Finally, at 3:00 PM, SZA released the album, titled SOS Deluxe: LANA. She had first told fans back in August 2023 that the deluxe version, called LANA, would come out in the fall, but nothing happened until December 2024. The album includes 14 new songs and one previously released track, Saturn, which was released in February after SZA performed it live at the Grammy Awards.
LANA starts with a mellow intro titled No More Hiding, where SZA opens up about finding her true self and not apologizing for it. She sings, “No more hiding, I want to be the real me, ugly,” showing she is ready to embrace who she really is, even if others view it as ugly. The calm vibe of the intro continues throughout the album, including the song Crybaby. In Crybaby, SZA takes accountability and talks about how things can go wrong, referencing Murphy’s Law which is the idea that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. After Crybaby comes Kitchen, which is what I believe is a standout track on the album where SZA reflects on the struggle of doing what is right for herself while trying to please others. I think it is a stand out track on the album because it is a song that could deeply resonate with listeners. The album wraps up with the final track, Saturn. In Saturn, SZA expresses how she feels Earth is not where she belongs. She describes feeling trapped and wanting to escape reality, singing, “Life’s better on Saturn. Got to break this pattern of floating away. Find something worth saving, I always say, I’ll be better on Saturn.” After finishing the album, I realized it is almost the opposite of the original SOS. In SOS, SZA seems like she is searching for her true self and feeling stuck in a false narrative. But in LANA, she has found herself and fully embraces who she is without shame.
Freshman Brooklyn Scheffler also gave LANA a listen and shared her thoughts on the album. Brooklyn said that she definitely enjoyed it and would listen to it again in the future. When asked about her favorite song, she said Kitchen stood out the most, which also happens to be one of my favorites. She explained, “I really like the lyrics, and I really like the instrumental. It is very smooth and calming.” Brooklyn appreciated how the song’s message and tone felt relatable and relaxing, making it a standout track for her. However, she did point out one critique about the album, many of the songs have a similar sound. She felt that while the overall vibe of the album was enjoyable, a bit more different sounds in the tracks would have made it even better. Despite this, Brooklyn agreed that the album is worth listening to and commented on SZA’s ability to create a calming and emotional experience for listeners, almost as if the listener is experiencing what SZA is experiencing.