Congratulations are in order for SZA! The “Kill Bill” singer has broken Aretha Franklin’s record on a Billboard chart.
According to Vibe, SZA’s SOS is now a woman’s longest reigning No. 1 album in the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. SOS charted the 58-year-old list for 18 weeks, dethroning Franklin’s Aretha Now, which was No. 1 for 17 weeks in 1968. Ending May 4, SOS garnered 56,000 equivalent album units.
Though SZA has taken over the No. 1 spot, Franklin still occupies the third and fourth: Aretha: Lady Soul and I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, respectively. Beyoncé’s self-titled album and 2016 smash hit Lemonade come in fifth and sixth.
SZA took the world by storm when she released her second album, SOS in December. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America just weeks after it dropped. Since then, the album has broken several records, including those set by industry legends like Janet Jackson, Usher and Whitney Houston.
The success of SOS wasn’t something the 33-year-old anticipated.
“I don’t expect anything,” she told The New York Times Magazine earlier this year. “I’m ready for the hate, or backlash, or disappointment. … I’m not expecting people to be like, Oh, my God, this album is so good. I’m expecting people to be like, Y’all hyped this b***h up too much.”
Blavity reported last month that the “Love Language” singer earned nearly $35 million on her first national arena tour.