Open Arms (SZA song)

SZA released her debut studio album, Ctrl, in 2017. Primarily an R&B album that deals with themes like heartbreak, it received widespread acclaim for SZA's vocals and the eclectic musical style, as well as the emotional impact and confessional nature of its songwriting. The album brought SZA to mainstream fame, and critics credit it with establishing her status as a major figure in contemporary pop and R&B music and pushing the boundaries of the R&B genre.[note 1] Her next studio album was therefore highly anticipated,[8][9] and she alluded to its completion as early as August 2019[10][11] during an interview with DJ Kerwin Frost.[12]

From April to May 2022, SZA told media outlets that she had recently finished the album in Hawaii and said that it was coming soon.[13] Wanting to experiment with genres she had not yet incorporated in her discography, she envisioned it to be an amalgamation of various disparate musical styles, or in her words, "a little bit of everything". Apart from the "traditional" R&B that had been a staple of SZA's past works, many tracks had a balladic, soft, or heartfelt sound.[14][15]

During the build-up to the album's release, SZA created a list of possible collaborators and reached out to them through private messages. The roster ranged from Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and Olivia Rodrigo; to Doja Cat, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar.[16] Of the several artists she contacted for the album, only three people sent their verses: Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, and Travis Scott.[17] Toliver and Bridgers appear in the tracks "Used" and "Ghost in the Machine" respectively, while Scott appears in "Low" as a background vocalist and "Open Arms" as a featured artist.[18][19]

SZA and Scott had collaborated a few times beforehand. The two worked on SZA's Ctrl single "Love Galore" (2017),[20] Scott's song "Ok Alright" (2015),[21] and the Game of Thrones soundtrack song "Power Is Power" (2019).[22] Of the two Scott collaborations, "Open Arms" was created first; "Low" was the last song made for the album.[23]

SZA (left) collaborated with Travis Scott (right) for "Open Arms".

While work on the second studio album, SOS (2022), had begun by 2019, "Open Arms" was written and recorded in 2022 alongside a number of other songs due to bursts of productivity from time pressure. Carter Lang, one of SOS's producers, commented, "that's when [we] started feeling like, hey, 'We gotta do this shit like, it's been some years.' We bottled up that energy and everything was just sort of a preparation for that moment."[23] What resulted was an album with prominent elements of acoustic music, present in tracks like "Open Arms".[24]

The media had the tendency to categorize SZA as an R&B artist. She refused to be restricted to such a label, and she felt this narrative had developed because she was a Black woman. She said: "I love making Black music, period. Something that is just full of energy. Black music doesn't have to just be R&B [...] Why can't we just be expansive and not reductive?"[25] "Open Arms", produced by Teo Halm, Michael Uzowuru, and Rob Bisel, is an acoustic ballad backed by a finger-picked guitar[4][26] that puts emphasis on SZA's soft vocal performance.[27] In a departure from his usual sharp, energetic trap sound, Scott performs with a gentle rap cadence.[note 2] His vocals are in the lower register[27] and digitally manipulated using AutoTune.[30]

The song begins with a voice clip of Norma Rowe[31]—SZA's grandmother who died from Alzheimer's disease during recording sessions for SOS,[32][33] which caused her to go through frequent depressive episodes.[34] Like Scott, Rowe's vocals prominently featured in Ctrl; "Open Arms" is the only song on SOS in which she appears, serving as a tribute to her. Describing Rowe's appearance in the song, Nylon wrote that she helps provide "Open Arms" a heartwarming tone to contrast much of the album's other tracks which are "roiling at the brim with anger, sadness, insecurity, and loneliness."[34]

Many SOS tracks explore the conflict between SZA's desire for a new life on her own and a longing for a fulfilling romantic connection, to the detriment of her self-image. "Open Arms" is one song that features such a conflict, depicting the point of view character's continued devotion to a relationship even though it has become unhealthy for her. In the lyrics, she admits she is willing to still be with her ex-boyfriend no matter how much they are actually incompatible and no matter how much it takes a toll on her mental health, to the point where she sings in one line, "Who needs self-esteem, anyway?"[35][36] According to music journalist Danyel Smith, "Open Arms" mirrors SZA's personal life in that it recalls her history with rejection from people with whom she wanted to form close friendships. In the song, the character hopes that staying with her ex-boyfriend will sate her desire of finally being liked by someone, admitting "I hate myself to make you stay / Push me away, I'll be right here."[37]

Scott appears in the third verse[26] as her romantic foil.[18] He calls her his "ride-or-die"[34][26] and his "favorite color",[4] reassuring her that he will treat her as best as he can "no matter what comes between" them.[38] A solo version of "Open Arms" replaces Scott with SZA's take on the third verse. In it, her character sings about a time she cried for one whole night, forlorn about her past relationships. Instead of feeling alone, she says, she would rather "fuck on [her] ex" again, because she believes he still loves her for who she is.[39] Throughout the song, the two people try to welcome the other person back into their life, reluctant to leave the relationship. By the end however, SZA's character realizes that she must, in the words of XXL, "accept isolation with open arms" so that no person will break her heart again.[34][26]

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.[40] She posted the album's track list on Twitter on December 5, and SOS was released four days later. Out of 23 songs, "Open Arms" appears as the 20th track.[41][42] Upon its release, the song charted in Canada, the United States, and Australia, with peaks at numbers 51,[43] 54,[44] and 81,[45] respectively. It peaked at number 24 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart[46] and number 67 on the Billboard Global 200.[47] "Open Arms" had its live performance debut during a North American and European tour in support of SOS.[48][49]

Much of critical commentary around "Open Arms" focused on Scott's guest feature. Some critics considered him a fitting addition on the song, welcoming his uncharacteristically gentle tone on the third verse and praising him and SZA for expanding into a more gentle, acoustic sound.[note 3] As Kitty Empire wrote for The Observer, "Versatility largely wins out [in SOS]. Only SZA could find room for Travis Scott on a slow jam ballad".[50] Variety's A. D. Amorosi and the Los Angeles Times's Mikael Wood found the composition of "grand and gorgeous" quality;[27][36] Amorosi in particular deemed Scott the song's centerpiece.[27] Other praise was directed towards his chemistry with SZA in comparison to "Love Galore"[note 4] and Rowe's voice as (in tandem with Scott's feature) a "nice nod" to Ctrl.[31] Meanwhile, writing for Time, Andrew Chow and Moises Mendez II thought Scott's contributions were tolerable at best, and Mendez was more impressed with his background vocals for "Low".[18] XXL reported some people believed his verse was unnecessary: "'Sza is pouring her heart out in a song & here come Travis Scott talking about backshots... men will never be serious people,' typed one disappointed listener."[26]

The tracking week ending January 6, 2023, marked SOS's fourth week atop the Billboard 200 albums chart. There was a possibility that Taylor Swift's Midnights (2022) might overtake the album and gain the number 1 spot.[51] On January 5, when tracking was about to end, SZA and Swift released digital versions of their albums that contained bonus material to boost both albums on the charts.[52] In SZA's case, she released a digital-exclusive edition of SOS that can be bought only on Top Dawg Entertainment's website. It consisted of all 23 songs from the standard edition alongside 2 previously unreleased songs—the solo version of "Open Arms" was one of them.[39][53]

Note