SZA Passes The Storm At Her Incredible SOS Tour Stop In San Diego

Grammy-winning artist SZA gave one of the best performances of the year with her completely sold-out show at San Diego’s Viejas Arena as part of her SOS tour. Omar Apollo served as the opening act and started right at 8 pm. While waiting to purchase merchandise, Apollo was heard through the hallways, where he opened his set with “Useless” from his 2020 album Apolonio. He then performed his hits “Killing Me,” Endlessly,” his new song “3 Boys” and “Evergreen.” The 11-song set concluded with the bop “Go Away.”

After nearly waiting an hour and a half to get merchandise, which they also luckily had good sizes left, SZA was set to hit the stage shortly. The pre-playlist SZA had curated was a definite crowd-pleaser as the whole audience was hyped and ready for the show before Solana hit the stage. With the arena being on a college campus and the crowd being diverse, it made the concert feel reminiscent to a party at an apartment during those college years.

At promptly 9:15, the lights were out and SZA began her set with “PSA,” a song that she released as a teaser to what would be the critically acclaimed album that is SOS. She sits at the end of the ocean as she does on her album cover and continues the story of what would happen after her sitting on the diving board. She was then seen with her dancers on a boat singing “Seek And Destroy.”

The “Kiss Me More” singer powered through hits “Love Galore,” “Broken Clocks “Blind “ and “Shirt” with choreography and fans singing to every word. She performed a total of 28 songs, including songs from her debut masterpiece CNTRL like “Broken Clocks,” Garden (Say It Like Dat)” with an incredible guitar solo from her guitarist, and “The Weekend” with a snippet of the funk wav Calvin Harris remix. Shortly after doing the Tik-Tok favorite “Kill Bill,” she ends the set with a glowing performance of “Good Days,” with a backdrop of a sunset.

The boat that SZA is on for the majority of the show was like a metaphor for the relationship she speaks about in her songs. At first, it is somewhat steady but as the show progresses, it goes through a thunderstorm, which symbolizes the “low” point of the relationship with not just her partner, but herself. As the boat breaks in half and goes underwater, she is immersed in a rescue boat in the air that hovers over fans. In a way, it reflects on what had happened. As she is on the rescue boat, she heads towards a lighthouse which goes with the saying of “seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It then leads to her seeing the better days and looking forward to the next chapter of her life.

SZA is one hell of a performer. She not only showcased her soothing vocals, but an out-of-this-world production and choreography to go with it. The SOS tour is a must-see and if fans can afford to go to the show, it is well worth every penny.