"Shirt" is a song by American singer-songwriter
SZA and the third
single from her second studio album, SOS (2022). It was released through
Top Dawg Entertainment and
RCA Records on October 28, 2022, and teased two years beforehand; its previewed snippets spawned a
viral dance
challenge on
TikTok, a video-sharing application. Originally untitled, the song was given two names by fans: the official title and the alternative "Bloodstain". "Shirt" is a song that combines
R&B with elements of
trap music, incorporating
glitchyhi-hat drums and
Roland TR-808 beats. In the lyrics, SZA sings of a former toxic relationship to which she is enticed to return.
SZA wrote the
R&B song with producers
Darkchild and Freaky Rob.[1] It reached the top 20 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Background
SZA released her debut studio album, Ctrl, in 2017. Primarily an
R&B album that deals with themes like heartbreak, it received widespread acclaim for its vocals and eclectic musical style, as well as the emotional impact and confessional nature of its songwriting. The album brought SZA to mainstream fame, and critics credit it with establishing her status as a major figure in
contemporary pop and R&B music and pushing the boundaries of the R&B genre.[note 1] Her next studio album was therefore highly anticipated,[9][10] and she alluded to its completion as early as August 2019 during an interview with DJ
Kerwin Frost.[11][12]
In 2020, she released "
Hit Different" (September) and "
Good Days" (December), marking her first solo singles since Ctrl.[13] Between the releases, on October 7, SZA posted a brief preview of an untitled song to her
Instagram Story.[14] By December, the snippet spawned a viral dance challenge on video sharing application
TikTok, and within two months it appeared in over 1.3 million videos; SZA herself participated in the trend.[15] The teased song did not have a title, so fans started calling it by two names: "Bloodstain" and "Shirt".[16][17] In March 2021, the music video for "Good Days" premiered on
YouTube.[18] An extended snippet of the unreleased song, lasting for one minute, appears at the end, similar to how "Good Days" was teased at the outro of the one for "Hit Different". In the preview, SZA
pole dances in the middle of a gas station.[19]
SZA confirmed plans to begin working on her next album in January 2020.[20] In an interview with Rolling Stone, SZA mentioned that "Music is coming out for sure", but stated that it may not result in an album, as of yet. She also said that the rumor that she was planning to release a trilogy of albums and then retire from music, "is nonsense".[21][22] She informed her fans about the state of the song on January 28, 2021, saying that finishing it became her "only priority".[23] When SZA collaborated with
Cosmopolitan for their February 2021 issue, she talked about the emotions she expected to feel while making the album. She told the magazine, "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.[24]
Music and lyrics
"Shirt" was one of the first songs, out of seven, that SZA and producer
Darkchild created during the first day of their album recording sessions, when
COVID-19 was announced
as a pandemic in March 2020.[25] Its released version significantly differs from the initial
demo, which had a futuristic sound and the
working title "Narnia Dirt Bike".[26] Six months later, Darkchild reworked the demo with Freaky Rob, transferring the vocals on a more stripped-down track, and this version was the one SZA first posted on TikTok. Darkchild wanted "Shirt" to be released by 2020, but SZA insisted she wanted more time to finish it.[25] The two had around seven or eight versions of the song throughout the years,[25] and they played the final version to a Complex journalist for the magazine's cover story in October 2022.[26]
Following the fans' whims, SZA made "Shirt" the song's official title. During a performance at
Wireless UK on July 9, 2022, SZA revealed that American rapper and singer
Doja Cat is set to be featured on a remix of the song.[33] When performing at
Austin City Limits on October 16, she confirmed rumors that the song was supposed to come out on October 14. The release was postponed due to SZA's discontent with the video.[34] On October 21, the song was mistakenly put on streaming services and removed instantly.[35] The song and its music video was officially announced on October 26, and both were released two days later. A lyric video of the song made by FahMeedX (who also created the official lyric videos for "
Good Days" and "
I Hate U") was also released days later on November 1.
During a Billboard cover story published in November, SZA revealed the album title,
SOS, as well as the release date which was scheduled sometime next month.[36] On December 5, 2022, she posted the track list on
Twitter, and SOS was released four days later. Out of 23 songs, "Shirt" appears as the nineteenth track.[37][38] Originally, it was not planned to be included on the album, but when she saw fans' enthusiastic response to the song, she and her label's executives[note 2] changed her mind. Speaking to
People, she said: "It's always interesting to see what people gravitate toward and what they don't [...] Sometimes what I like doesn't line up with other people and that is tricky, always tricky."[41][42]
Critical reception
Some critics considered "Shirt" a highlight of SOS.[43] Former US president
Barack Obama included "Shirt" in his playlist of favorite songs of 2022.[44][45] Additionally, year-end lists from several publications have ranked it among the best 2022 songs.[note 3] In January 2023, American Songwriter named "Shirt" as the sixth best song in
SZA's discography.[16]
Accolades
List of awards and nominations received by "Shirt"
Upon its single release, "Shirt" debuted and peaked at number 11 on the US
Billboard Hot 100[51] and number four on the
Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart with first-week figures of 20.3 million streams, 3000 downloads, and 990,000 radio audiences; it marked her sixth top-10 entry on the latter and stayed for 24 weeks.[52][53] After the release of SOS, dated on December 24, 2022, the song rose to number 18 on the Hot 100; out of the 20 tracks from the album that debuted on the chart, "Shirt" was the fourth highest, behind
Kill Bill (number three),
Nobody Gets Me (number 10), and
Blind (number 12).[54] In August 2023, the song was
certified double platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[55]
In the United Kingdom, "Shirt" entered at its peak of number 17 on the
UK Singles Chart and marked her fifth top-20 entry on the chart.[56] Upon the release of SOS, it rebounded to number 36 on the chart alongside "Kill Bill" (number 15) and "Nobody Gets Me" (number 27).[57] On March 3, 2023, the song received a silver certification from the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[58]
Elsewhere, "Shirt" peaked on the charts of several countries, at number nine in South Africa,[59] number 15 in New Zealand,[60] number 19 in Ireland,[61] number 20 in Canada,[62] number 22 in the Philippines,[63] number 35 in Norway,[64] number 47 in Sweden,[65] number 64 in Portugal,[66] and number 76 in Switzerland.[67] In Australia, it peaked at number 20 on the
ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Assosiation (ARIA).[68][69] The song ultimately reached number 18 on the
Billboard Global 200.[70]
Music video
On October 14, SZA stated that she had just turned the video in after changing "one small thing".[71] She posted a preview on her social media on October 26. SZA is seen chatting with a man, played by
LaKeith Stanfield. The music video, directed by
Dave Meyers was released on October 28.[72] As with her previous singles, the ending features a snippet of another upcoming song. She revealed the song to be called "Blind" on her social media.[73]
Live performances
On July 2, 2021, SZA collaborated with vodka company
Grey Goose Essences for the "In Bloom" concert, in promotion of their newest line of vodka. The concert contained a snippet of "Shirt",[74][75] marking its first live performance.[76]
^Isabelia Herrera (October 28, 2020).
""Shirt" SZA 2022". Pitchfork (Review).
Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
^
abMcNeal, Bria; Hassan, Ammal; Miller, Matt (December 2, 2022).
"The 45 Best Songs of 2022". Esquire.
Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.