SZA released her debut studio album,Ctrl, in 2017. Primarily anR&B album that deals with themes like heartbreak, it received widespread acclaim for SZA's vocal performance, the musical style, and the songwriting. The album brought SZA to mainstream fame, and critics credit it with establishing her as a major figure in contemporary pop and R&B music and pushing the boundaries of R&B.[note 1] Her next studio album was highly anticipated,[8][9] and she alluded to its completion as early as August 2019,[10][11] during an interview with DJKerwin Frost.[12]
Commenting on the creative process behind the album, SZA stated it would be just as candid and personal asCtrl: "This next album is even more of me being less afraid of who am I when I have no choice? When I'm not out trying to curate myself and contain."[13] When SZA collaborated withCosmopolitan for their February 2021 issue, she spoke about her creative process for the album: "this album is going to be the shit that made me feel something in my...here and in here", pointing to her heart and gut.[14]
From April to May 2022, SZA told media outlets that she had recently finished the album inHawaii and said it was her most relatable or "unisex" body of work as of then.[15] During an interview withComplex, she described the album's composition: "I have no idea what it sounds like to anybody else. I really don't know. It's so bizarre. It's weird that I can't put my finger on it. It's a little bit of everything", and she added that certain tracks on the album had a soft or balladic sound.[16] SZA, in aConsequence cover story, further commented on her plans to experiment with various genres. She asserted it was "lazy" to reduce her to an R&B artist: "Black music doesn't have to just be R&B[...] Why can't we just be expansive and not reductive?"[17]
During aBillboard cover story published in November, SZA revealed that the title of her second album wasSOS, and it was scheduled for release sometime the following month.[18] On December 3, 2022, she announced it would be released on December 9, and two days later, she posted the track list onTwitter. Out of 23 songs, "Nobody Gets Me" appears as the album's 14th track.[19][20] The same day, SZA posted a snippet of the song on herYouTube account.[21]
SZA andPunch, president of her record labelTop Dawg Entertainment, spoke in length aboutSOS's sound during an interview withRolling Stone. The album's composition is eclectic; SZA incorporated elements of "traditional" R&B into the album, but she also took inspiration from several artists injazz,hip hop,alternative rock, andcountry music. About the wide range of musical styles incorporated intoSOS, Punch commented: "It's a new chapter. She's not scared to try certain things now."[22] "Nobody Gets Me", aballad backed by anacoustic guitar,[23] combines two of these genres—alternative rock and country[24][25]—with acontemporary folk musical style.[26]Jon Caramanica ofThe New York Times wrote that the composition leaned towardsalternative country.[27]
In the lyrics, SZA recalls memories she made with her ex-fiancé, narrates all the events that strained their relationship and led to their break-up, and explains how she has felt in the aftermath. SZA spoke about the song's story in a radio interview prior to the album's release; she told the host that breaking up with him was like banishing herself to hell for the rest of her life because he was the only person who she thought could understand her feelings. She tried rekindling their relationship, but she turned out to regret her decision, and she also compared the experience to going to hell.[28]
The first verse recounts a drunken argument they had at theMGM Grand shortly after they had sex: "you were balls deep, now we beefin'".[29][30] She talks about how she screamed "fuck that" towards him, saying that even though she could barely remember it because she was drunk, she meant what she told him.[31] Writing forThe Quietus,CJ Thorpe-Tracey argued that the line was the lyric that best summarizedSOS, because to him it aptly captured a recurring theme in the album in which SZA gets into several arguments with her ex-partners and tries to get over them quickly using coping mechanisms like sex.[30] She returns to the present in the next few lines, urging him to "stick it in 'fore the memories get to kicking in" knowing that they both will regret it.[32]
Vulture andThe Sydney Morning Herald praised the song's vocals,[24][33] whereasVariety praised the melodic arrangement.[25] In a 2025 ranking of SZA's discography,The Guardian criticAlexis Petridis rated "Nobody Gets Me" as her fourth-best song. He wrote that the lyrics deftly blended sexuality with sadness and vulnerability, with further praise for the "spectacular vocal pyrotechnics".[34]
SZA debuted "Nobody Gets Me" live during theSOS Tour in 2023. She performed the song during amedley of theCtrl track "Supermodel" as a life raft transported her above the stage.[35] "Nobody Gets Me" was also included on the set lists of certain concerts in theGrand National Tour, which SZA is headlining with rapperKendrick Lamar.[36][37]
.jpg)
