For all those who find themselves glued to TikTok, unless you happen to be able to resist the temptation to download the app, you know that SZA’s album, SOS, has taken the internet and the google search “Kill Bill” by storm over the last month.
SZA is an american singer and songwriter who released her first album, Z, in 2014. Coming out with CTRL three years later, fans were anticipating her next album for five years. Along with built up anticipation and SZA dropping a few singles since CTRL that would be included in her next album, fans were on the edge of their seats waiting impatiently for the allusive singer to drop her new set of songs. SZA’s appearance on an SNL skit six days before the debut of SOS speaks to TikTok’s use as a marketing tool for musicians – an application that can help draw more attention to singles and bring albums into the airpods, headphones and speakers of many.
Upon thinking about music trending on TIkTok, one might be reminded of Nicki Minaj’s Super Freaky Girl trend in the summer. Nicki dropped the first riff and chorus of the song, which had TikTok users obsessed for weeks before the real single was released…at which point listeners already knew the words and had dubbed it as the song of the summer. A genius marketing ploy, Super Freaky Girl, is still Nicki’s number one song on Spotify (Spotify, 2023). Kill Bill by SZA is experiencing a similar effect on TikTok. The song’s story line of projecting anger onto your ex is being related to by many and thus created a video trend on TikTok. To no one’s surprise, Kill Bill is also SZA’s number one song on Spotify (Spotify, 2022). Although SZA did not preview Kill Bill on TikTok like Nicki did, the two songs are an example of music serving two purposes. Not only are many relating to the lyrics of these two songs and enjoy listening to them, they are experiencing the lyrics and sounds by making videos and putting the song over user generated content. Seeing as TikTok users are constantly reminded of these songs while scrolling on their For You Pages, they are bound to go viral with this much exposure.
Unlike Nicki, SZA appeared on an SNL skit on December 3, 2022, right before SOS dropped. Along with performing Blind and Shirt, two of the songs on SOS, SZA took part in a skit that listeners are calling the “Big Boy Trend.” SZA’s lyrics are as follows: “It’s cuffing season, and now we got a reason, to get a big boy, I need a big boy, gimme a big boy” (SNL, 2022). This song, the skit and SZA immediately went viral on TikTok as her album was being released to the public. Users were obsessed with using the sound to create a trend where girlfriends showed their “big boy” boyfriends. Users in comments would ask “Is this a real song?” or “SZA needs to drop this on Spotify” (TikTok, 2022). Not only were they marketing the SNL skit for SZA through the creation of videos, consumers were also becoming even more entranced with SZA’s music.
SZA, Nicki Minaj and Saturday Night Live are examples of the potential that TikTok holds in accelerating the success of any artist’s work. Nicki and SZA both recognized the inherent ability that their songs had to create a trend to which users were hooked. If artists are sitting with their songwriters, managers or bands and are not discussing how their music can inspire a new trend, they are turning a blind eye to the power of social media in 2023. Simply put, SZA’s SOS has dominated the music industry for the last month due to an app. Marketers and musicians around the world should be taking notes and should consider brainstorming about their next Saturday Night Live appearance.