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While Kendrick Lamar will be headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, he will be accompanied by musical guest SZA, a singer-songwriter who will be performing at the big game for the first time. While SZA has been active in the music industry for the last 15 years, this is one of — if not the — most prominent events she’s ever performed, necessitating a look at her body of work for those unfamiliar.
SZA (pronounced Siz-uh), was born Solana Imani Rowe in St. Louis but grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey. She has had 11 of her songs reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, that included “All the Stars,” the title track smash hit and collaboration with Lamar from the 2018 film Black Panther. SZA would receive Oscar, Golden Globe and multiple Grammy nominations for the song, but she’s had more recent success with a pair of No. 1 hits including “Kill Bill” in 2023. That same year, SZA was also featured on another No. 1 hit, “Slime You Out” alongside Drake — an interesting collaboration given that SZA will now be performing alongside Drake’s rival Lamar.
The popularity of SZA has grown greatly since the beginning of the 2020s, and she currently has four Grammy Awards, four VMAs and eight Billboard Music Awards to go with 26 Grammy nominations and 31 Billboard Music Award nominations. She has released two albums and three extended plays to go with 48 singles in her career thus far.
SZA’s most notable crossover into professional sports prior to the Super Bowl paid direct tribute to her St. Louis roots, as she wore a St. Louis Blues jersey on the cover of her “SOS” album in 2022 as well as in a 2024 music video.
