Snooze (song)

Peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Snooze" was the only song to chart in the US for all of 2023. It broke the record for the most weeks atop the US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, with 30 weeks. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, "Snooze" was the seventeenth best-selling single of 2023. The song was positively reviewed by music critics and won Best R&B Song at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Music and lyrics[edit]

SZA had been working on her second studio album, SOS (2022), since 2019, but the song "Snooze" wasn't composed until late 2021.^[16] Leon Thomas III from the production duo the Rascals said that the song was not originally intended for the album, but it was originally a collaboration with Babyface's ninth studio album, Girls Night Out (2022), and Babyface recorded some vocals.^[16] He continued that "there was no ego; we were trying to make something cool that day. We did the beat that same day, and she recorded the song on the same day".^[16] In an interview with Wild949 FM's Angelina Narvaez in late January 2023, SZA reflected on the composition of the song saying: "So when I heard that [sample of song]... I just kinda, like, wandered into the room… he [Leon] was, like, building this beat from scratch, and I was like, this is crazy".^[17] She went on to explain that she loves vocal samples used in the instrumentals of songs, such as ones she used for "SOS" and Ctrl single "Broken Clocks", which is why she really liked the instrumental of "Snooze", especially when it came to Leon Thomas III's additional vocals, which can be heard towards the end of the song.^[17]


SOS has many themes such as love, hate, self-worth, revenge, and growth. The song "Snooze" has been described as a "dreamy ballad" where SZA reflects on a relationship that she wants to put her all into despite feeling like she is the only one trying to make the relationship work. Throughout the SOS album, SZA alludes to other media such as movies. In the number-one single "Kill Bill", SZA directly references the Quentin Tarantino-directed film of the same name not only with the title, but also throughout the song lyrics and music video (Hopper, 2023). In "Snooze", she references the movie Scarface with the lines: "In a droptop ride with you, I feel like Scarface / Like that white bitch with a bob, I'll be your main one".^[18] The song also gives the feeling of satire because throughout almost the entire song she sings of the passion she has towards her love interest, going as far as killing and hiding bodies for her said lover, yet at the ending bridge, the lyrics make a switch and start to give off a tone of regret and sadness. The language throughout the song is passionate with a hint of violence with words like "kill", as well as "mobbin', schemin', lootin', hide your bodies". This violent language directly conflicts with tone of the title that is supposed to give off a dreamy, sleep-like effect, which again plays into the satire tone of the song as a whole. Despite her use of the words "snooze" and "dreamin'" throughout the lyrics, she continuously throws in violent words to show her passion for the relationship and her anger toward the fact that she is willing to do anything to make the relationship work, but the effort is not being reciprocated.^[19]

Release[edit]

During a Billboard cover story published in November 2022, SZA revealed the album title, as well as the release date which was scheduled sometime next month.^[20] She posted the album's track list on Twitter on December 5, and SOS was released four days later. Out of 23 songs, "Snooze" appears as the eighth track.^[21][22] "Snooze" had its live performance debut during a 19-show North American tour in support of SOS.^[23][24]


"Snooze" debuted at number 46 in Australia,^[25] number 36 in Canada,^[26] and number 29 in the United States.^[27] Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records sent the song to rhythmic, R&B/hip-hop, and pop radio in April 2023.^[28] A four-track bundle of it, which includes a sped-up version of the song, was released to download and streaming platforms in August.^[29][30]


Mesfin Fekadu ranked "Snooze" as the best song of 2023 for The Hollywood Reporter, writing: "Babies and young children are cutely singing the melody (and in harmony!). Boys and men are proudly singing the lyrics written solely by a female artist. And the aunties approve of its R&B authenticity. [...] How can you snooze and miss the moment?"^[31] "Snooze" is certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for surpassing 2,000,000 units sold^[32] The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the only song that spent all of 2023 charting there.^[33] It peaked at number 3 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and spent 30 weeks at number one on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, breaking the record set by Chris Brown and Young Thug's "Go Crazy" (2020) for the longest time atop the chart.^[34]

Music video[edit]

To tease the music video for "Snooze", SZA posted two behind-the-scenes footage to Instagram on August 12, 2023.^[35][36] Each video was set to an unreleased song. The song appeared, again, at the end of the music video, continuing a habit in which SZA would conclude her videos with snippets of incoming music.^[37] The video premiered on August 25, 2023. Directed by SZA and Bradley J. Calder, it features cameos from actors Young Mazino and Woody McClain alongside music artists Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco, all of whom play SZA's love interests. With each character, she feeds a horse, lies on grass in a park, smokes a cigarette made of cannabis, embraces in a pool of water, engages in arguments, and watches as one of them plays a video game. In one scene, SZA dances for a robot.^[29][30][37] The video was ranked as the fourth best of 2023 by Dazed's Elliot Hoste.^[38]