The year is winding down, which means it is an appropriate time to start reflecting on what 2017 has meant for certain artists. And for a year that has brought a unique set of struggles to most people, the year has been unimaginably kind for SZA. Releasing her long-awaited debut album, Ctrl, the album was a massive success on all fronts, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, earning the most Grammy nominations for any female artist this year, and figuring highly on many year-end polls, including No. 2 on our own.
So, it’s particularly fitting that SZA will close out her year with her Saturday Night Live debut. Though she is still a new artist in many senses, in the show’s new promo, she effortlessly rubs shoulders with more established commodities like James Franco and Kate McKinnon. The lighthearted clip finds the three playing rock-paper-SZAs in a joke so dumb that it’s cute, and McKinnon dancing wildly as her typical scene-stealing self. The years SZA has spent hanging out with Kendrick Lamar and the other TDE crew members have paid off: she can now officially hold her own next to anyone.
Check out the clip of SZA promoting her SNL appearance above, and tune in to the show on, uh, Saturday night.
