Only 35 acts can boast ownership of at least 30 Gold awards for singles from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) over the organization’s 70-year history.

Before Friday (April 7), less than 15% of the members of that exclusive club were female.

However, thanks to SZA and the ongoing success of her blockbuster sophomore album, 2022’s ‘SOS,‘ the odds are rising in the ladies’ favor.

Details inside.

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Before this week only one album by a Black woman could boast a 300-week stay on the Billboard 200: Rihanna‘s 2016-released ‘Anti.’

However, thanks to the ongoing success of SZA‘s 2017 debut album, ‘CTRL,’ that exclusive club just gained a new member.

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Just two weeks after SZA made history at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) when hits found aboard her blockbuster sophomore album, ‘SOS,’ planted her beside Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey for a record number of Gold-certified songs, the 33-year-old finds herself sharing another headline with the mega-selling divas – this time thanks to Billboard.

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Fun fact: only 82 acts in the history of recorded music can boast the honor of having earned 20 or more Gold-certified records from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) over their careers.

A tally undoubtedly boosted by the inclusion of streaming in the certification criteria, it’s still one that’s eluded Black female performers on mass as they represent less than 10% of the hitmakers in the exclusive club.

Recently, R&B diva SZA – thanks to the ongoing success of hits found aboard her long-awaited sophomore album ‘SOS‘ – the score increased for the ladies.

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Sunday’s epic Super Bowl Halftime Show may be behind us (February 12), but Rihanna is still very much the topic on everyone’s lips.

From her brigade of hits to her eye-popping fashion and that boss-of-a-pregnancy announcement, Rih’s dedicated fans (affectionately called the #Navy) are leading the charge of cheerleading for the diva – fanfare that’s amplified by celebrities and top publications alike.

Hours before Rolling Stone took to press to reveal they’ve championed the 34-year-old’s showing as one of the top 10 greatest of all time (as we reported here), former U.S. president Donald Trump took to press to reveal it’s at the bottom of his list.

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The seven-week long chart championship of SZA‘s sophomore album, ‘SOS,’ has quite a few historic stats attached to it, but a standout is its surprising relationship to Whitney Houston‘s eponymous sophomore effort, 1987’s ‘Whitney.’

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SZA reigns for another week on the Billboard 200 with her second studio album ‘S.O.S.’

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SZA has unlocked the video for her killer new single ‘Kill Bill.’

Housed on the GRAMMY winner’s sophomore album ‘S.O.S,’ the track became an instant fan-favorite upon the December release of the LP – which has reigned at #1 on the Billboard 200 for 4 weeks.

Having climbed to a peak of #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, ‘Bill’ looks poised to soar to higher heights with the arrival of its cinematic visual.

Directed by Christian Breslauer, the video draws inspiration from the blockbuster film and, in an awesome nod to the classic, features a cameo from none other than Vivica A. Fox.

Watch after the jump…

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SZA‘s ‘SOS‘ has the competition calling out just that thanks to its domination of the Billboard 200.

Starved music lovers who needed a “new album fix” from the R&B diva were fed December 9 when she dropped the project (which comes as the long-awaited follow-up to her 2017 debut LP ‘Ctrl’).

In addition to opening at #1 on the Billboard 200 with one of the year’s best first-week sales, the effort’s streams helped 20 of its 23 tracks land on the Hot 100 – a feat that sees her join Taylor Swift as the only female acts to boast such feat.

Of those 20 entries, the album’s housed tracks ‘Nobody Gets Me‘ (#10) and ‘Kill Bill‘ (#3) premiered in the top 10, bringing the era’s Hot 100 top 10 count to four following the previous peaks of  ‘I Hate U’ (#7) and ‘Good Days’ (#9). It’s worth noting ‘Bill’ serves as the first solo top 5 hit of SZA’s career.

The four top 10 hits also come as a historic high note for the songbird.  See how inside.

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SZA sent out an ‘S.O.S’ and the masses have answered in earnest.

Because the songbird’s newly hatched sophomore album not only launched in pole position, it’s made history in the process.

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SZA‘s long-awaited sophomore album, ‘SOS,’ had barely been out 24 hours before it was already making R&B history.

But, while most artists would be celebrating the record-breaking run, the GRAMMY-winning diva finds conflict with the genre labeling – a “limitation” she waxed honest about in the latest issue of ‘Consequence.’

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For SZA fans, a five-year wait for a new album came to a close Friday (December 9) when the R&B diva finally dropped ‘SOS‘ – the follow-up to her 2017 debut album ‘Ctrl.’

Preceded by hit singles ‘Shirt,’ ‘I Hate U,’ and ‘Good Days,’ “good” comes a severe understatement when describing the critical and commercial acclaim the set’s already received.

And while ‘SOS’ has shown itself to be a monster on real-time sales tallies around the globe (as we reported here), it appears to be even more of one on streaming platforms.

Look inside to see how the 23-song effort is making history.

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