"Saturn" by SZA // Song Review

- February 10, 2025

"Saturn" is an anthem of self-discovery and escapism, which is a recurring theme throughout so much of SZA's music. It features beautiful and lush instrumentation with an absolutely ethereal vocal performance from her. It has such a dreamy and celestial quality to it, although the lyricism is quite dark and somber at the same time. This song is a testament to SZA's ability to express these very complicated emotions into a song as gorgeous as "Saturn" is. It's existential and possesses an almost otherworldly quality to it.

In a backstage press interview at the 2025 Grammy's, SZA talked about the process of creating this song with her collaborators. "It was such a casually written song, inspired by Stevie Wonder, and his reference to Saturn and how he talks about in that place there is less destruction and death and pollution and all these things, and part of me realizing there's nowhere else to go. There is no Saturn. It's one of the planets no one's ever talked about visiting," she said. This is a song about wanting to escape it all and find something more out of life.

In late 2022, SZA released her incredible sophomore album SOS and "Saturn" was released about a year later as the lead single off of the forthcoming deluxe edition of the album. This song served as such a beautiful continuation for the sounds and aesthetics she presented throughout so much of SOS, with many similarities to songs like "Open Arms" and "Snooze", among others. "Good Days", released in 2020, especially shares a very similar sentiment to "Saturn". She also drew that comparison herself at backstage at the Grammy's, "I think similarly to 'Good Days,' I'm constantly living with the escape. I’m the escape personified, so I think I'm just craving escape in all my songs. And that’s what 'Saturn' is about—acceptance of where you are and also trying to escape to somewhere better." In the pre-chorus she implores, "There's got to be more, got to be more".

Although the feelings presented on this song are very personal, so much of this song is also very universal at the same time. This song is an embodiment of the feelings of being trapped in a cycle you can't get out of and constantly consumed by anxiety, intrusive thoughts and the terrible news every day. She sings about wanting to leave it all behind and just start a new life on another planet. "Life's better on Saturn, got to break this pattern of floating away," she sings in the chorus, "Find something worth saving, it's all for the taking, I always say, I'll be better on Saturn, none of this matters, dreaming of Saturn".

The rest of the SOS deluxe album called LANA was eventually released in late 2024, which is just as incredible as the standard edition is. I absolutely fell in love with SZA's music around the time "Saturn" was first released and have been listening to her music on repeat ever since (yes, I know I was very late to the party, but I'm here now! lol) She has such a beautiful voice and an artistic vision that no one else compares to. She isn't bound by any one particular style or genre as an artist, she is so singular in that regard.

"Saturn" premiered as a surprise at the 2024 Grammy's when she performed it during a commercial break in collaboration with Mastercard. The following year, this song ended up winning the Grammy for Best R&B Song - which is a very full circle moment! It also marked SZA's second year in a row winning that award, following "Snooze" the year prior.