Saturn (SZA song)

American singer-songwriter SZA first teased a deluxe edition of her second studio album, SOS (2022), shortly after its release.^[1] In an August 2023 interview with Variety, she revealed that this deluxe edition had evolved into an entirely different project, which she named Lana. It would consist of new songs created after SOS was released, alongside outtakes recorded during sessions for the original album.^[2]

One month later, on September 8, SZA told fans in an invite-only Brooklyn Navy Yard concert that Lana would be released soon.^[2] She performed four unreleased songs that would eventually appear on its tracklist, including one called "Saturn".^{[2][note 1]} SZA officially debuted the song in full at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, held on February 4, 2024, as part of a Mastercard commercial break.^[5][6]

Sample of "Saturn" (2024)

"Saturn" features a twinkly instrumental with arpeggios, a synth line, and a midtempo boom bap beat; it also contains vocal runs and layered vocal harmonies. The song's soundscape has been variously described as glittery, dreamy, and celestial.

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"Saturn" is an R&B song^[7] with elements of pop, alternative, and psychedelic music.^[8][9] It is characterized by a twinkly instrumental,^[10][8] incorporating arpeggios in the production,^[11] and has a slow to mid-tempo pace.^[12][13] The song was written by SZA, alongside its producers Carter Lang, Rob Bisel, Solomonophonic (Jared Solomon), and Monsune (Scott Zhang).^[14]

"Saturn" is built around a synth line and a boom bap beat.^[11][15] According to the credits, the song's instruments include guitars, keyboards, and drums.^[16] SZA's vocal performance incorporates runs or melisma, a technique commonly associated with R&B music;^[17] the song also features vocal harmonies stacked on top of each other.^[8] Critics wrote that SZA's voice, alongside the tranquil production, directly contrasts the lyrics' exploration of hopelessness.^[18][19]

Various critics have described the sound of "Saturn" as dreamy.^[18][19][20] Alex Hudson of Exclaim! compared the production to that of a music box,^[17] and Mary Siroky wrote in an article for Consequence, "'Saturn' is glittery and dreamy, transportive and meditative, all qualities that often coalesce to create a SZA track."^[19] Larisha Paul of Rolling Stone felt as though she was traveling across outer space while listening, attributing the effect to the song's mid-tempo rhythm.^[12]

On "Saturn", SZA reflects on life's struggles from a nihilistic perspective.^[19][22] She summarized the song's message as being about trying to "accept [...] where you are and also trying to escape to somewhere better".^[23] Several critics interpreted the lyrics and title of "Saturn" as a reference to Saturn returns, an astrological concept associated with adult challenges and self-discoveries.^{[24][25][26][note 2]}

Escapism is a central theme of the song.^[31][32] SZA fantasizes about leaving Earth for another life on Saturn, where she believes she can get away from worldly problems.^[31][32][33] She also sings about agency, expressing the need to take control of oneself and improve in the midst of overwhelming turmoil.^[20][34][21] When writing "Saturn", SZA was inspired by Stevie Wonder's song of the same name, in which he portrays the planet as a place free of pollution, destruction, and death.^[23]

"Saturn" begins with the lines, "[i]f there's another universe, please make some noise / Give me a sign / This can't be life."^[35] The lyrics depict an existential crisis – in the song, SZA sings that she wants more to living on Earth than constant pain and injustice.^[12][31][32] She reflects on two concepts from Hinduism and Buddhism: karma (cause and effect) and nirvana (freedom from suffering).^[22][36] SZA sings about how bad things often happen to good people and how so many of them "die young and poor", questioning how fair life really is.^[19][32] She laments that nirvana was "not as advertised" and challenges the concept behind good karma.^[13][22] Two lines say, "If there's a point to being good / Then where's my reward?"^[22] In the pre-chorus, SZA sings: "Stuck in this paradigm / Don't believe in paradise / This must be what hell is like / There's got to be more."^[12][37] Hopeless, she declares that nothing matters.^[19]

SZA characterizes the planet Saturn where she can let go of self-destructive habits, loneliness, and the pain of heartbreak.^[20][38] She sings in the chorus, "Life's better on Saturn / Got to break this pattern / Of floating away."^[20][34] She recognizes, however, that leaving Earth is not possible; she realizes that she must "find something worth saving" in the world.^[19][21] SZA continues, "it's all for the taking, I always say",^[35] telling herself to practice more self-discipline, take control of her own life, and make the world a better place.^[20][21]

"Saturn" is the lead single from Lana, the deluxe reissue of SOS.^[39][40] The song was surprise-released via streaming and download platforms on February 22, 2024, by Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records.^[9][41] The release was in the form of a five-track bundle, consisting of the original version alongside a sped up version, an instrumental version, a vocals-only version, and the audio from the Mastercard performance.^{[14][41][note 3]} In the US, "Saturn" impacted rhythmic and urban radio on March 5, 2024, then pop radio on March 12.^[42]

In the US, "Saturn" debuted and peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.^[40] Her 10th top-10 on the chart, it opened with first-week figures of 25 million US streams, 2,000 downloads, and 960,000 radio audience.^[43] The single peaked at number three on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.^[44] On its component chart Hot R&B Songs, "Saturn" replaced "Snooze" (2023), another SZA single, at number one. In doing so, she completed a one-year consecutive run atop the chart.^[45] "Saturn" topped the Pop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay radio charts, respectively her third and sixth song to do so.^[46] It also peaked at number 27 on Adult Pop Airplay.^[47]

Worldwide, "Saturn" accrued 43.3 million streams and 2,000 downloads during its first week. It debuted on the Billboard Global 200 at its peak of number five.^[48] The song achieved top-20 peaks outside the US in countries like the UK, where it was her 13th top-40 appearance,^[49] and in Australia, where it debuted at number 8.^[50] "Saturn" peaked within the top 10 of the Philippines (8),^[51] Canada (8),^[52] Malaysia (6),^[53] Indonesia (6),^[54] Singapore (5),^[55] and New Zealand (5).^[56]

"Saturn" has received multi-platinum certifications in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. It was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and three-times platinum by Recorded Music NZ and Music Canada.^[57][58][59] The song has also been certified platinum in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry, and gold in Denmark by IFPI Danmark.^[60][61]

SZA's Mastercard performance began with her hanging from a vine as she descended towards a forest-themed stage.^[76][77] Backup dancers accompanied her as she walked across the forest; at some point, she found a swing then swung from it.^[37] Upon its conclusion, SZA did an ad read for a forest restoration campaign aiming to fight climate change by planting 100 million trees worldwide.^[76][77]

Following the song's release, SZA performed "Saturn" across various music festivals worldwide. The song was part of her set lists for Lollapalooza Chile in March 2024,^[78] BST Hyde Park in June,^[79] Glastonbury in July,^[80] and Osheaga and the US Lollapalooza in August.^[81][82] SZA included "Saturn" in certain shows of the 2025 Grand National Tour, which she co-headlined in promotion of Lana.^{[83][84][note 4]} The song was performed during the concerts' seventh act,^[83][84] for which she was dressed in a long gown resembling a cocoon. A harness carried SZA off the stage midway through the performance, and the gown was slowly removed. This revealed a pair of butterfly wings on SZA's back, recalling a butterfly's growth from chrysalis to adulthood.^[86][87]

• Digital download and streaming^[16]

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

Adapted from Tidal^[16]

• List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2024
• Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2024
• List of Billboard Pop Airplay number-one songs of 2024
• List of Billboard Rhythmic number-one songs of the 2020s
• List of Billboard Global 200 top-ten singles in 2024
• List of top 10 singles for 2024 in Australia
• List of number-one urban singles of 2024 (Australia)
• New Zealand top 50 singles of 2024