"Why is she a bug suddenly" — Netizens react to SZA's cover art to LANA (SOS Deluxe)

On Wednesday, December 18, SZA released the album artwork for LANA - an upcoming deluxe version of her sophomore studio album, SOS. On the cover, the 35-year-old had adopted the appearance of a bug-eyed creature in its natural habitat - a seemingly wild grassland in the dark of the night.

SZA's face and body were covered in shiny, metallic paint, with shimmering bug eyes and an antenna attached to her face, a golden camouflage jacket, and a pair of cargo trousers in the same but muted shade.

After the LANA cover art was shared on X by @PopBase on Thursday, December 19, the tweet went viral, amassing over 3 million views, 59K likes, and 6K reshares. Netizens have reacted to it, commenting on SZA's appearance in it. One netizen wrote:

"Not feeling it. Why is she a bug suddenly"

Some netizens compared the 20 Something singer to an alien, while others likened it to Chimera ant - fictional creatures from a famous Japanese anime, HunterXHunter.

"Why is it an alien? Come on." - commented an X user.

"sza confirmed chimera ant" - added another.

"That random bug on my ceiling at 3am" - posted a third user.

"this cover is gonna have to grow on me" - replied a fourth one.

Meanwhile, other netizens pointed out an obvious error in the background of the cover, blaming the designer for the same.

"she couldn't afford to hire a designer with 2 working eyes?" - commented a fifth user.

"Why this looks like a Fortnite skin" - added a sixth user.

"This weirddd demonicccc stuff ain’t it" - replied a seventh one.

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SZA's LANA drops on Friday

The cover art of SZA's upcoming deluxe album drops two days after the Open Arms singer announced the album's release scheduled for Friday, December 20. In an Instagram post uploaded on Tuesday, SZA shared a clip of actor Ben Stiller driving a car on a rainy night while singing along to what appears to be LANA's first single, titled Drive.

The announcement of LANA's release date comes two years after the 35-year-old dropped SOS in December 2022.

In a British Vogue interview last month,(published on November 14) the Babylon singer talked about recording for Lana being a "welcome shift" for her, adding:

"I think I am making music from a more beautiful place. From a more possible place versus a more angsty place."

SZA continued:

"I’m not identifying with my brokenness. It’s not my identity. It’s sh*t that happened to me. Yeah, I experienced cruelty. I have to put it down at some point. Piece by piece, my music is shifting because of that, the lighter I get."

Per the media outlet, it appears that the 35-year-old has a pattern of delayed releases. She took five years to release SOS, even announcing in between that she would quit music. The album not only peaked atop the Billboard 200 chart but also broke the record for the largest streaming week for an R&B album in the US.

The album included 23 songs, five of which ranked on the top 10 list of Billboard Hot 100 - Kill Bill debuting at number 1, alongside Snooze, Good Days, I Hate U, and Nobody Gets You.

Further in the past, SZA took almost the same amount of time to release her debut album, Ctrl, which secured the third position on Billboard 200, selling over 60,000 units in its first week. It also fetched the singer several Grammy nominations.

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The title of the Crack Dreams singer's latest album is inspired by her legal name - Solana Imani Rowe - much like her last album, SOS, was inspired by her nickname - Sosa.