Snooze (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]

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". 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.[18]

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.[19] 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.[20][21] "Snooze" originally debuted at numbers 46 in Australia,[22] number 36 in Canada,[23] and number 29 in the United States,[24] respectively. It peaked at number 8 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart by Billboard;[25] After a few months, the song became a hit and charted in more countries.[26] On April 7, 2023, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for surpassing 500,000 units sold. "Snooze" had its live performance debut during a 19-show North American tour in support of SOS.[27][28] On April 7, 2023, it was certified platinum by the RIAA for surpassing 1,000,000 units sold.