Confidence (“SOS”) → Chaos (“Kill Bill”) → Deeper chaos (“Seek & Destroy”) → Self-awareness (“Saturn,” “BMF”) → Reckoning (“Nobody Gets Me”) → Healing (“Diamond Boy”) → Resolve (“Forgiveless”).
The RAR tracks solve this by introducing tonal variety late in the game. “Saturn” is ethereal and hopeful. “BMF” is confident and rhythmic. “Diamond Boy” is playful and glossy. These aren’t sad songs — they’re survivor songs. They give you permission to breathe after the suffocation of “Far” and “Too Late.”
Even the Grammy committee took notice. While the original SOS wasn’t re-submitted, “Saturn” earned a 2025 Best R&B Performance nomination — a direct validation that the RAR songs carry Grammy-level weight. Beyond the official LANA tracks, the RAR in fan circles also refers to SZA’s legendary vault of unreleased leaks — “Joni,” “Nightbird,” “Guard Down,” “Tread Carefully.” Some argue that the true SOS experience includes these bootlegs. And here’s the kicker: many of those leaks directly inspired the LANA sessions.
Let’s break down why SZA SOS RAR better isn’t just a typo or a niche Reddit take — it’s the correct critical assessment. First, let’s honor the original. SOS gave us “Kill Bill,” “Snooze,” “Nobody Gets Me,” and “Blind.” It was SZA at her most unhinged, vulnerable, and victorious. The album opened with the psyche-rap of “SOS” and closed with the devastating “Forgiveless” (featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard). It earned nine Grammy nominations and spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
