"Saturn" is a song by American singer-songwriterSZA. It is the lead single fromLana (2024), the reissue of her second studio albumSOS (2022). It is a song aboutnihilism 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 ofarpeggios and beamingsynthesizers. The song wassurprise-released on February 23, 2024, after its official debut atthe year's Grammy Awards ceremony over two weeks prior. "Saturn" wonBest R&B Song at the67th Annual Grammy Awards, and was nominated forBest R&B Performance.[1] The cover is a self-reference to the cover of her song "Love Galore" (2017).
American singer-songwriterSZA's second studio album,SOS (2022), was met with critical and commercial success upon its release.[2][3] The album opened with a score of 94 on the review aggregate websiteMetacritic,[4] debuted atop theBillboard 200, broke a string of chart records, and spawned several career milestones.[5] SZA teased the imminent release of the deluxe version onInstagram uponSOS's release in early December 2022,[6] 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."[7]
On September 8, 2023, SZA held an exclusive surprise concert at theBrooklyn Navy Yard in celebration ofSOS, where she revealed that the previously announced deluxe edition grew into its own studio album calledLana (2024).[8] On the set list were a few unreleased songs, namely "PSA",[8] which was used in the official teaser forSOS;[9] "Diamond Boy (DTM)",[10] which was teased during the music video for theSOS single "Snooze" (2023);[11] "BMF"; and "Saturn".[8] At the66th Annual Grammy Awards, held on February 4, 2024, SZA officially debuted "Saturn" in full as part of aMastercard commercial break.[12][13]
"Saturn" was written by SZA, alongside its producersCarter Lang,Rob Bisel,Solomonophonic (Jared Solomon), andMonsune (Scott Zhang).[14] A fusion ofR&B,pop,alternative,[15] andpsychedelic styles,[16] the production combines a slow,[17] smooth-flowingboom bap rhythm witharpeggiation, beamingsynthesizers,[18] stacked harmonies,[16] andvocal runs.[19] The result is a twinkly instrumental that critics described as dreamy and glittery.[note 1]Billboard critics deemed "Saturn" a continuation ofSOS in terms of not only its atmospheric soundscape but also its various lyrical narratives, such as self-deprecation and reconciliation with difficult emotional struggles.[16]
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.[23][21] Others connected the song's title to a person'sSaturn return, which happens 29.5 years after their birth and signals the beginning of new adult challenges and eye-opening epiphanies;[21][24] SZA was 34 years old at the time of release.[25] Publications noted "Saturn" was released just two weeks between two other songs about Saturn returns, "Deeper Well" byKacey Musgraves and "Saturn Returns Interlude" byAriana Grande, and thus analyzed the songs with assistance fromastrologists.[note 2] Scottish astrologist Garland, interviewed byBBC 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".[32]
In the lyrics, anihilistic SZA sings of anexistential crisis[21] and expresses disillusionment with living on Earth, questioning if the world will get more just[33] and wishing there was something more to life than suffering.[16][24] She laments why the concept ofnirvana, or freedom from suffering, was "not as advertised" to her,[34] and she wonders whykarma seems to always be unfair to good people, who all tend to "die young and poor":[21] "If there's a point to being good/ Then where's my reward?"[17] The pre-chorus features the lines "Stuck in this paradigm/ Don't believe in paradise/ This must be what hell is like."[35]
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;[36][22] she signals for help from another universe earlier in the first verse.[37] Later, the song takes a turn for the hopeful. In line with what SZA toldPeople magazine after the Grammy Awards, "Saturn" says that while people long forescapism from the world's turmoil, they will eventually "find something worth saving" on Earth.[37][38] With the line, SZA resists the pain of solitude and constant heartbreak,[21] 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.[22]
"Saturn" wassurprise-released tostreaming services on February 22, 2024, reportedly as the lead single fromLana, the reissue ofSOS. The release came with a five-track bundle, which consists of the original version, a live version, asped up version, an instrumental version, and ana cappella version.[14][39] The versions were updated sometime later with theirmixing changed.[16]
"Saturn" debuted at number six on the USBillboard Hot 100 with 25 million US streams, 2,000 digital sales, and 960,000 radio audience, her 10th top 10 song in the country.[40] It replaced her own single "Snooze" (2023) at number one onHot R&B Songs; in doing so, she completed a one-year consecutive run atop the chart.[41] "Saturn" scored more top 15 debuts in the UK, where it was her 13th top 40 appearance,[42] and in Australia, where it debuted at number 8.[43] "Saturn" returned to theBillboard Hot 100 top 10 on the chart dated April 27, 2024.[44]
In a 2025 ranking of SZA's discography,The Guardian criticAlexis Petridis rated "Saturn" as her 10th-best song. He praised it as being on par with the tracks onSOS's standard edition in terms of quality.[45]
SZA's Mastercard performance began with her hanging from a vine as it descended down the stage,[46] which featured a forest-themed backdrop in line with the commercial's message.[47] She wore a top made of real tree seeds,[38] a costume that Brittany Spanos ofRolling Stone compared to that of a "forestnymph".[47] Backup dancers accompanied SZA as she explored the forest,[35] where she found and swung on a swing,[47] 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 fightclimate change byrestoring forests worldwide.[46][47]
Starting in mid-March 2024, SZA included "Saturn" in some set lists of herSOS Tour, beginning with her Latin AmericanLollapalooza headlining concerts such asin Chile.[48] She performed the song as part of theGrand National Tour, co-headlined by rapperKendrick Lamar, starting in April 2025. Concerts were divided into nine acts; SZA performed the song during the seventh.[49] She began dressed in a very long cocoon costume, after which she removed it to reveal a pair of butterfly wings and float above the stage.[50]
^Tom Skinner ofNME provided the "twinkly" description,[20] while Mary Siroky ofConsequence called the song "glittery".[21] The two, alongside Steven J. Horowitz ofVariety and Tallie Spencer ofHotNewHipHop, all called "Saturn" dreamy.[20][21][22][23]
^Cited to multiple sources.[26][27][28][29] "Deeper Well" was released on February 8,[30] while "Saturn Returns Interlude" was released on March 8, 2024,[31]
