SZA is one of the most celebrated artists of 2023, thanks to the success of her sophomore album, SOS, which earned her more Grammy nominations than anyone else. And yet that doesn't mean people have yet learned how to pronounce her name.
The R&B star's consonant-heavy moniker (her real name is Solána Imani Rowe) has been declared one of 2023's most mispronounced words. For the record, her name is pronounced "SIZ-uh," so feel free to start correcting everyone you hear say it wrong.
Back in 2018, SZA explained to InStyle that it is an acronym "derived from the Supreme Alphabet [of the Nation of Gods and Earths, an alphanumeric code developed by Clarence 13X,] if you’re familiar with Wu-Tang and RZA [who also chose his name based on the Supreme Alphabet]. So each letter stands for a different ideology and theme. The S stands for Sovereign or Self, Savior; the Z stands for Zig-Zag-Zig, which is enlightenment and acknowledgement of one’s self; and the A stands for the most high of all [Allah]."
Back then, she added, almost no one got her name right. "Like anything 'Zah,' she said. "Anything, like 'Zzzz,' stopping at the 'zzz' or going over it."
Other mispronounced words of 2023 includes the title of Kylie Minogue's hit “Padam Padam,” which is pronounced "PAD-dahm," and Oppenheimer actor Cillian Murphy, whose name recognition rose to new heights thanks to the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon - it's pronounced "KI-lee-uhn."