Most often, deluxe albums are supposed as a chart-focused second wind for his or her father or mother albums, and often have only a handful of additional tracks — remixes, leftovers, perhaps a scorching new single to provide an additional increase — whereas the artist is saving the more-promising new materials for his or her subsequent correct album.

Not SZA.

“Lana” — the title for the long-delayed deluxe version of her 2022 blockbuster “SOS,” which lastly dropped on Friday afternoon — has had an extended and convoluted historical past, morphing and altering each step of the way in which over the 2 years since she first started speaking about it, shortly after the discharge of the father or mother album. Why? As a result of SZA is that type of artist: a perfectionist whose work isn’t prepared till she feels it’s prepared. That’s a significant cause why she will get so indignant when her unfinished or unreleased materials leaks.

“When folks leak my songs, they wreck them,” she informed Selection in her Hitmaker of the Yr cowl interview final yr. “Then it’s not mine anymore; it’s really yours. It’s one thing unfinished that you determined was able to be shared. And it’s like, ‘Fuck you. Now I’m not releasing it.’ Play your leak, however you’re not gonna bully me into dropping music. I’m now embarrassed by this less-than-correct model that you just put out. You’ve despatched me right into a bizarre area creatively when you can have simply waited for me, however you’re egocentric.”

When somebody takes their artwork that significantly, it takes time. Following is a timeline of “Lana”’s lengthy, twisted highway to reaching the general public.

December 2022
Throughout interviews across the launch of “SOS” — which had its personal lengthy highway to launch, arriving almost 5 years after her official debut full-length, “Ctrl” — SZA mentions an expanded model of the 23-track, hour-plus-long album.

February 2023
SZA says a “deluxe version” of “SOS” that includes “10 extra tracks” is “coming quickly.” Selection speculates that primarily based on feedback she had made in latest months, songs may embrace a number of unreleased tracks circulating on the web, with titles guessed at by followers: “Boy From South Detroit” (which emerges on the ultimate “Lana” tracklist, titled “BMF”), “Joni” — her tribute to Joni Mitchell that has been floating round on the web for years — and “PSA.”

August 2023
In an interview with Selection, SZA says “Lana” is “outtakes [from ‘SOS’] and new stuff, too — I added a few songs. It’s like a complete new mission. It’s known as ‘Lana’ — my title however, it’s the primary tattoo that I ever bought, after I was 13. It was 10 bucks a letter and I solely had 40, in order that that grew to become my nickname for no cause. ‘Lana’ is absolutely simply the B-side of SOS.”

The fluctuating tracklist was evident when she was requested if “Joni” can be on it. “‘Joni’ is on it. Properly, they leaked it, so I wasn’t gonna put it on there. I assume I ought to nonetheless… however they leaked it already. They ruined it. [Fans] have already got it.”

September 2023
On Sept. 8, SZA performs a free live performance on the Brooklyn Navy Yard the place she introduced to the viewers: “The deluxe is a complete ’nother album. It’s known as ‘Lana.’ It’s seven to 10 songs and it’ll be out this fall.” Together with tracks from “SOS” and her debut full-length “Ctrl,” she carried out three unreleased songs on the live performance, together with a track interpolating the melody of “Lady From Ipanema” bearing the lyric “Boy From South Detroit,” “Saturn” and “DTM” (additionally known as “Diamond Boy,”).

November 2023
Throughout one other interview with Selection, she talks expansively, if no extra conclusively, about “Lana.”  “I by no means get this stuff carried out till just like the day earlier than the deadline,” she laughed. “It grew to become greater than I believed. It was gonna be one thing actually smooth as a result of I had made all my screaming factors [on ‘SOS’], and I simply needed to glide and never suppose [too much], and simply get out of my very own head. I used to be so pleased to say some shit that didn’t imply a fucking factor. However now it’s positively turning it into its personal album. I assume I may drop one other album randomly, as a result of nobody’s really anticipating that from me proper now.”

December 2023
The album appears poised for launch early within the month after SZA posted a collection of photographs that appeared to be cowl art work for the discharge, every one bearing the acquainted “Parental Advisory: Specific Content material” sticker.

February 2024
SZA performs the brand new track “Saturn” on the Grammy Awards, the place she takes house three trophies (out of 9 nominations for “SOS”). She releases the track as a single on Feb. 22, which appears to be the lead observe from the seemingly forthcoming album.

March 2024
In an indignant social-media put up, SZA publicizes that resulting from three songs leaking, “Lana” — which had begun as a deluxe version of size “SOS,” then grew to become its personal album — will launch them and different tracks as a deluxe version of “SOS” in spite of everything, and that she’s going to begin “Lana” over, “from scratch.”

In a since-deleted tweet, she wrote, “Y’all leaked three songs from the deluxe. At this level, y’all can maintain the throwaways and leaks. I’ll be beginning ‘Lana’ from scratch. Don’t ask me about it once more,” including a couple of minutes later, “I’ll spherical up the leaks y’all already bought and u can have these. Looks like a good deal. ENJOY.” That tweet was deleted shortly afterward.

The next day, she wrote a collection of tweets stating the identical plan in additional element, confirming the deluxe version of “SOS” would now characteristic “the leaks and outtakes” and Lana might be its personal album. “Lana deserves extra time and music nobody’s ever heard earlier than,” she wrote.

She known as out an individual named Janessa who leaked “unreleased pics and audio” and famous, “Being that that is materials from ‘Lana,’ this prompted me to decide. I made a decision w all of the leaks and me not figuring out what somebody has or doesn’t have it’s too difficult so I ought to jus consolidate the leaks and the outtakes and drop that as to not delay the method after which give attention to my subsequent mission as a win win for everyone.”

She continued, “And please be clear anyone defending a thief is bizarre as fuck. I don’t are available your job and take shit and fuck up your work. Why would that be okay? The place’s the house coaching? No one needs to prosecute a younger girl. We’ve all requested very properly for a while now.”

June 2024
For her live performance in London’s Hyde Park, SZA’s elaborately staged, nautical-themed “SOS” stage setup is instantly changed by equally elaborate staging that includes renderings of bugs and different bugs in a setting that regarded like a nature movie about life on a forest ground, full with an enormous fallen tree trunk. The change is hanging because the outdated set had been used on the final gig of the North American “SOS” tour simply a few weeks earlier. The set change marks the debut of the “Lana” art work themes.

“New album, you prepared?,” she asks the gang earlier than enjoying a snippet of a track apparently titled “Storytime.”

November 2024
SZA seems on two tracks on Kendrick Lamar’s album “GNX,” which is surprise-released on Nov. 22. Ten days later, the 2 artists announce a joint North American stadium tour, spanning April by June, growing hypothesis that the discharge of “Lana” may really be imminent.

December 2024
On Dec. 9, the two-year anniversary of “SOS”’s launch, SZA teases new music with a brief video trailer that included a snippet of one of many album’s tracks. The video depicts SZA in a nature setting, knocking down her saggy camo pants to pee by a creek. She seems to be straight into the digicam earlier than taking a tissue out of her pocket to wipe herself up because the phrases “Lana” seem throughout the display screen.

December 16
SZA publicizes on social media that the long-delayed “Lana” might be launched on Friday. The put up incorporates a snippet of actor Ben Stiller singing alongside passionately with a track that seems to be her new single, “Drive,” whereas driving on a wet evening.

December 19
Late Thursday evening, SZA posts the complete track and video for “Drive,” which options Stiller within the first half and SZA, dressed as one of many fantastical woodland bugs much like those featured within the stage setting, writhing in a area within the second half.

“FULL DELUXE DROPS FIRST THING TOMORROW AM,” she writes within the caption. “(Needed to get my mixes proper lol ! All songs are delivered and Ingesting into the system as we converse‍ pls be type .. we been up for days).”

December 20
Nevertheless, the definition of “AM” is unclear: The album doesn’t arrive at the usual launch time of midnight ET, nor at midday ET, as reps had stated appeared doubtless (or as doubtless as something after such an extended journey).

Lastly, on the stroke of midday PT, “Lana” arrives. It options some, however not all, of the tracks that had been mentioned or rumored for inclusion.

“SOS Deluxe: LANA” Tracklist:
01 No Extra Hiding
02 What Do I Do
03 30 for 30 (with Kendrick Lamar)
04 Diamond Boy (DTM)
05 BMF 
06 Scorsese Child Daddy
07 Love Me 4 Me
08 Chill Child
09 My Flip
10 Crybaby
11 Kitchen
12 Get Behind Me (Interlude)
13 Drive 
14 One other Life
15 Saturn