SZA continues to add to the list of her music achievements as her beloved SOS album reaches new heights nearly three years after its initial release.
On March 12, 2025, SZA’s SOS album tied with Michael Jackson‘s iconic Thriller album for charting in Billboard 200’s Top 10 list for 79 non-sequential weeks, according to Billboard.
Details on the history SZA has made
Being one of two Black musicians to have reached this landmark places SZA in yet another elite group of music artists. Now, just a few days later, she’s surpassed Jackson — becoming “the longest-running top 10 album by a Black artist in Billboard 200 history,” per a tweet from Chart Data.
“SMH. Man. This is crazy. @sza you’re the illest. The best. We’ve had this conversation and you didn’t believe me when I told you you were the one. You’re literally the one. Shout out to the King! 🙏🏽,” Top Dawg Entertainment president Terrence “Punch” Henderson, who signed SZA to the label back in 2013, tweeted. Henderson is also SZA’s longtime manager.
He later tweeted about the irony of SOS being recorded at Westlake Studios, a place where icons like Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Madonna, Donna Summer, Rihanna, Missy Elliott, and Britney Spears, have all recorded critically acclaimed songs and albums.
“What’s iLL is we recorded the majority of SOS at Westlake. 🤯,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet.
How did SZA react to initially tying the Michael Jackson record?
“My album tying MJ’s Thriller record … Got me speechless,” SZA shared with TMZ Hip-Hop on March 12.
In December 2024, Billboard noted that SOS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, notching up “10 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the list through the March 4, 2023-dated chart.” Over an impressive 107-week run, it never slipped out of the Top 20, a testament to its staying power. It closed out 2024 at No. 6 on the year-end Billboard 200 Albums chart.
In the meantime, SZA is gearing up to hit the road with Kendrick Lamar for their GNX Tour, which kicks off in Minneapolis on April 19. During K. Dot’s Super Bowl halftime show, they performed “All the Stars” and “Luther,” the latter of which currently sits atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
