Saturn (SZA song)

"Saturn" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA and reportedly the lead single of her upcoming third studio album, Lana (2024). It is a song about nihilism and escapism, discussing one's lamentations about why bad things happen to good people and wishes to leave Earth for another planet, Saturn, where they could possibly live a better life. "Saturn" features a twinkly instrumental, a result of a combination of arpeggios and beaming synthesizers. The song was surprise-released on February 22, 2024, after its official debut at the year's Grammy Awards ceremony over two weeks prior.

Background
American singer-songwriter SZA's second studio album, SOS (2022), was met with critical and commercial success upon its release. The album opened with a score of 94 on the review aggregate website Metacritic, debuted atop the Billboard 200, broke a string of chart records, and spawned several career milestones. SZA teased the imminent release of the deluxe version on Instagram upon SOS release in early December 2022, and she teased it again on a December 21 post, where she expressed gratitude for the album's number-one debut: "Imma take another swing at it for the deluxe then shut up for a while."

On September 8, 2023, SZA held an exclusive surprise concert at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in celebration of SOS, where she revealed that the previously announced deluxe edition grew into its own studio album called Lana (2024). On the set list were a few unreleased songs, namely "PSA", which was used in the official teaser for SOS; "DTM", which was teased during the music video for the SOS single "Snooze" (2023); "Boy from South Detroit"; and "Saturn". At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, held on February 4, 2024, SZA officially debuted "Saturn" in full as part of a Mastercard commercial break.

Music and lyrics
"Saturn" was written by SZA and its producers Carter Lang, Rob Bisel, Solomonophonic (Jared Solomon), and Monsune (Scott Zhang). A fusion of R&B, pop, alternative, and psychedelic styles, the production combines a slow, smooth-flowing boom bap rhythm with arpeggiation, beaming synthesizers, stacked harmonies, and vocal runs. The result is a twinkly instrumental that critics described as dreamy and glittery. Billboard critics deemed "Saturn" a continuation of SOS in terms of not only its atmospheric soundscape but also its various lyrical narratives, such as self-deprecation and reconciliation with difficult emotional struggles.

As some critics noted, the tranquil and mellifluous sound of the instruments and SZA's voice is a stark contrast to the song's themes of hopelessness. Others connected the song's title to a person's Saturn return, which happens 29.5 years after their birth and signals the beginning of new adult challenges and eye-opening epiphanies; SZA was 34 years old at the time of release. Publications noted "Saturn" was released just two weeks between two other songs about Saturn returns, "Deeper Well" by Kacey Musgraves and "Saturn Returns Interlude" by Ariana Grande, and thus analyzed the songs with assistance from astrologists. Scottish astrologist Garland, interviewed by BBC News, said that SZA and the two other musicians, all of whom were in their early- to mid-30s, were in a "perfect age for self-reflection".

In the lyrics, a nihilistic SZA sings of an existential crisis and expresses disillusionment with living on Earth, questioning if the world will get more just and wishing there was something more to life than suffering. She laments why the concept of nirvana, or freedom from suffering, was "not as advertised" to her, and she wonders why karma seems to always be unfair to good people, who all tend to "die young and poor": "If there's a point to being good/ Then where's my reward?" The pre-chorus features the lines "Stuck in this paradigm/ Don't believe in paradise/ This must be what hell is like."

SZA, in the chorus, entertains the idea of leaving Earth for a potentially better life on Saturn, a place where she could possibly break free from toxic habits and the pain of heartbreak; she signals for help from another universe earlier in the first verse. Later, the song takes a turn for the hopeful. In line with what SZA told People magazine after the Grammy Awards, "Saturn" says that while people long for escapism from the world's turmoil, they will eventually "find something worth saving" on Earth. With the line, SZA resists the pain of solitude and constant heartbreak, and with the next lyric "It's all for the taking, I always say," she reinforces she is in control of her life and has the power to make the world a better place.

Release
"Saturn" was surprise-released to streaming services on February 22, 2024, reportedly as the lead single from Lana, the reissue of SOS. The release came with a five-track bundle, which consists of the original version, a live version, a sped up version, an instrumental version, and an a cappella version. The versions were updated sometime later with their mixing changed.

"Saturn" debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 with 25 million US streams, 2,000 digital sales, and 960,000 radio audience, her 10th top 10 song in the country. It replaced her own single "Snooze" (2023) at number one on Hot R&B Songs; in doing so, she completed a one-year consecutive run atop the chart. "Saturn" scored more top 15 debuts in the UK, where it was her 13th top 40 appearance, and in Australia, where it debuted at number 8. "Saturn" returned to the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 on the chart dated April 27, 2024.

Live performances
SZA's Mastercard performance began with her hanging from a vine as it descended down the stage, which featured a forest-themed backdrop in line with the commercial's message. She wore a top made of real tree seeds, a costume that Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone compared to that of a "forest nymph". Backup dancers accompanied SZA as she explored the forest, where she found and swung on a swing, and during the outro, she recited the ad read: "We're a force of nature when we come together." The performance was part of an advertisement for Mastercard's Priceless Planet Coalition initiative, a campaign that seeks to plant 100 million trees across the world to fight climate change by restoring forests worldwide.

Starting on mid-March 2024, SZA included "Saturn" in some set lists of her SOS Tour, beginning with her Latin American Lollapalooza headlining concerts such as in Chile.

Track listing

 * Digital download and streaming
 * 1) "Saturn" – 3:06
 * 2) "Saturn" (live) – 3:01
 * 3) "Saturn" (sped up) – 2:39
 * 4) "Saturn" (acapella) – 3:06
 * 5) "Saturn" (instrumental) – 3:06

Personnel
Musicians
 * Solána Rowe – lead artist, vocals, songwriter, composer
 * Carter Lang – background vocals, production, composer, songwriter, keyboards, guitar
 * Rob Bisel – background vocals, production, composer, songwriter, keyboards, guitar
 * Jared Solomon – production, composer, songwriter, keyboards, drums
 * Scott Zhang – production, composer, songwriter, keyboards
 * Cian Ducrot – background vocals

Technical
 * Dale Becker – mastering
 * Rob Bisel – mixing, recording
 * Hector Castro – recording
 * Syd Tagle – recording assistant
 * Robert N. Johnson – recording assistant
 * Trey Pearce – recording assistant
 * Katie Harvey – recording assistant
 * Noah McCorkle – recording assistant