But before we get into SZNS here is a brief history lesson.
For the last century, female pop groups have given us some of the most iconic moments of music history. Every decade saw a progression of female advancement that mirrored some of the countries biggest historical moments. The Andrew Sisters ruled the ’40s and may have been one of the first all-female music groups to see mainstream success. The Chordettes from the ’50s gave us classics like “Mr. Sandman” and “Lollipop.” The ’60s gave us Mowtown, and no one can argue that the first all-Black groups such as The Shirelles, The Supremes, The Marvelettes, and The Ronettes (just to name a few) inspired generations of fans and musicians alike. Their influence often goes uncredited but acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Amy Winehouse leveraged the genius of these girl groups and mimicked it within their own work. Labelle basically spawned disco with “Lady Marmalade” while The Pleasure Seekers and The Runaways were carving out their place in rock n roll history during the ’70s. With the foundation built there was nowhere to go but up for girl groups. The Spice Girls were born out of the UK’s Riot Girl movement and the rest was history. TLC and Destiny’s Child gave way to modern R&B and Pop influences and since then girl groups have had a lot to live up to.
The brief walkthrough of female pop groups was necessary because the year is 2021 and we have the pleasure of introducing SZNS. A stunning and diverse quartet made up of members each bearing the monikers; Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Their music is full of fresh, high-energy beats and with the pandemic end in sight, they are perfectly positioned to ride the wave of success. Pretty soon people free from the restrictions of social distancing will be flooding to clubs and venues around the world. Their tracks like “Tequila w Lime” “Faster” and their most recent drop “Behave” are fit to be the perfect soundtracks to an endless stream of partying and celebration. “Behave” is a mature and honest track that according to the group:
“[Behave] is for every girl who’s been told to act like a lady - to sit up straight, be polite, and let the grown-ups talk. Behave is about being your unapologetic self despite what anyone else might say.”
We took some time to chat with the lovely ladies to see where their heads have been during the last year, what they are most excited about when the pandemic finally comes to an end, plus so much more.
Hello SZNS. We here at BOP are obsessed and would love to get to know you all a little better. What is a typical day for the ladies of SZNS like?
Winter: We all have our little morning routines we stick to and then we come together and get to work! Whether that be singing all day, making social media content, writing in the studio, etc. Our days are always a little different but we like to play by ear. If we are feeling super musically creative on a day we were planning on making TikTok videos, we might just put down the phone and pick up a pen.
Summer: Who knows! I can’t even predict what tonight will bring. Every day is a rollercoaster and I love it. I thrive in the chaos.
At what point did you all know that the pop star lifestyle was for you?
Winter: I’ve always wanted to sing or act and anytime someone gave me the opportunity, I was performing.
Summer: I grew up in a super musical household with everyone in my family being trumpet players, so music has been a part of my life since as early as I can remember!
Spring: I knew by 3 years old that I was born to be a pop star, you literally couldn’t get me to stop singing or dancing even if you tried.
Who was the most important musical icon in your life growing up?
Winter: I’d have to say growing up, watching Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus made a huge impact on my life. I just remember seeing Miley performing, thinking, I want to do that, I want to make people feel something magical.
Autumn: Josh Groban. My first CD was Awake, (2006) and I remember singing my little heart out in my mom’s Honda every day. Sometimes in the studio, I’ll sound a little too formal for our songs and I have to put my internal Josh away for a bit but he’s such an inspiration to me.
Summer: The most important pop icon to me was Ariana Grande. I’d sit and listen to My Everything on repeat truly feeling like every word was something I related to as a young girl.
Spring: One of my biggest influences musically would have to be Amy Winehouse or Adele. By eight years old I was obsessed with their sounds and how rich and thick their voices were.
What song is at the top of your playlist at the moment?
Winter: My favorite song right now… changes weekly, but at the top sits, "Wasted on You" by Morgan Wallen.
Autumn: Sharp left from Josh Groban, my favorite song right now is “Weekend” by Louis the Child and IconaPop.
Summer: Right now I’m obsessed with the song "Good Days" by SZA because it just feels like a nice warm hug.
Spring: "Prom" by SZA has been my song lately. I just love her lyrics and style of writing. Also, her melodies are insane.
What inspired the formation of SZNS?
All: The world hasn’t had a girl group in a minute and needs one! Four powerful girls, from different backgrounds, coming together to talk about love, heartbreak, empowerment, friendship, and every topic all over the board just seemed important to us. We wanted to share with everyone that differences are something to celebrate.
Are you all cooking up some new music in the studio? Any details you can share?
Autumn: Yeah, we’re Gordon Ramsey up in here. That was not as funny as it was in my head. But yes, we are working on so much music. This upcoming year we are going to be showing a lot more range, getting a little more vulnerable. What’s so special about SZNS is since we are so different, we have a lot more versatility to explore in terms of our sound and vibe.
Summer: Our next single is one of my favorites because it is truly the reason I got through my first break up. Grab some tissues for this one. And then crank “Behave” back up and remember the bad bitch you are.
What unique musical perspectives do you all bring to the table?
Autumn: I’ve got more of a musical theater background so I bring a lot of the storytelling that’s really nicely balanced out by Winter's indie rock feels. Summer and Spring are always bringing the most real, ultra-genuine lines that keep our songs so conversational.
Summer: As a dancer, I feel like I really want to make sure every song is something that just makes you want to move. Even our ballads will make you want to break out your best interpretive dance. That’s super important to me!
How have the responses to your latest single “Behave” been so far?
Autumn: We’re thrilled about the responses to Behave so far- shoutout New Music Friday Denmark we see you BAYBEE! The feedback has been incredibly supportive and really reassuring since we decided to release it so spur of the moment.
Spring: The response to Behave has been incredible. I’ve been getting so many DM’s/messages about the song and how it makes people feel powerful and sexy. I’m overwhelmed with all the love we’re getting. It’s such an incredible feeling knowing that people connect with our music the way that we do. I also even have guys telling me that it’s a BOP lol.
Do you all ever feel the constraints of the genre? Any intentions to break the mold of classic “pop” one day?
Autumn: I actually don’t feel bound by pop at all; nowadays we’ve got artists like Lil Nas X, Miley, Rosalia - they’re really pushing the boundaries of what “traditional” pop used to be into country, rock, flamenco, etc. I feel like we’re in a new age for pop with no restrictions!
Summer: No way! We never go into the studio feeling like we have to sound a certain way, which is always fun. I love not having any pressure to create something specific, it’s just, how we’re feeling that day in the studio.
Spring: I think we will eventually break the pop mold and go rogue because we never learned how to behave…
Are any of you pet parents? If so can you please send pics?
Winter: I have a banana Mojave ball python snake named Honey. She’s the sweetest lil baby.
Summer: Oh my god I’m so glad you asked. I actually have a dog Rocky who is my entire world. You’ll see why once you see the pics.
Summer: Like oh my god c’mon protect him at all costs.
Spring: Here’s a pic of me and my pet, she’s incredible I love her so much, just found her wandering down the street one day and we’ve been besties ever since 😂💓.
The music video for “Tequila w Lime” looked like it was so fun to put together. Can you tell us a favorite moment from that day?
Autumn: TwL was hectic and intense but hands down one of the best days of my life. It was my first time wearing acrylic nails and I could not do ANYTHING. Winter and Spring had to put my pants on for me and Summer fed me little snacks. During one of the dance portions, my beaded top got stuck in Summer’s fishnets - Spring and Winter are dancing their hearts out while Summer and I are in the back trying to play it cool but fully stuck together.
Winter: My favorite moment from the day was seeing our creation in the flesh. The whole team put their soul into the TwL music video and it was the best day I’ve ever experienced. From writing the song in Summer’s old living room, to being in the studio, to now having lights, camera & action, it was surreal. We had so much support from friends and family, it was truly a day filled with so much love and I will never forget it.
Summer: My favorite part of filming that day was seeing all our friends and family come out and be club extras, it just genuinely brought me so much joy I couldn’t stop giggling the whole day watching my closest friends dance to our song.
Spring: My favorite moment was the last shot that we had filmed, which was the dancing scene with the boys. We were also dead from the 13 hour day. But the energy was still incredible.
What is one article of clothing that is on your dream list? Like, if you could buy it tomorrow no questions asked what would it be?
Winter: Honest, I’m gonna have to go with some thigh-high red bottom boots. I can’t lie, I think I’d feel like the most powerful gal in the town.
Summer: I love a good thigh-high boot too, Wint. But I’ve gotta say I’d love a good faux leather trench coat. I feel like that's some main character energy.
Autumn: Harry Potter Slytherin cloak. You said no questions asked so I’m not elaborating.
Spring: My dream look would be to recreate this iconic Rihanna in my own way.
How has it been for you all trying to make music during a pandemic?
Winter: At first, it was a little difficult learning how to navigate the virtual world, zooming with other writers and producers and such but we all got a good handle on it now. We were all experiencing so many emotions which we immediately just put to paper. I feel like when we’re forced to go inward, it’s kind of the best thing for a musician. I think we wrote a lot of music people will feel a connection with because we just laid out our hearts.
Summer: Honestly I’d have gone insane by now if we didn’t have each other and our music to dive into during this quarantine.
Do you feel like you need to put your work on hold because of COVID or are you all trusting the power of the internet?
Winter: At first, we did! No one knew what the future was going to hold so we wanted to be strategic. We pushed back our first single release for about 3 months just to get an idea of what we were dealing with. But when it felt right to start putting out music, Tequila w Lime was like a breath of fresh air. We got such a great response online and we wanted to keep up with the momentum.
Summer: Who am I to doubt the power of the internet. It is so powerful and I’m blown away by how much we’ve been able to do just by using platforms like TikTok and Instagram!
Now that there is a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, what are some goals that you all have once the world opens up again?
Winter: I don’t think I’m just speaking for myself when I say TOUR! We have so many beautiful fans from all over the world that we want to meet! Seeing people sing, dance, and create to our songs is one of the coolest feelings because even when we can’t speak the same language we are communicating. I just want to be able to stand on a stage and thank all the people in the crowd for being there with us through our journey, because without them, there would be no adventure. And I can’t wait for the huge party that the SZNS Tour would be!
Summer: I can’t wait for touring!! And also just to get back in the studio with our homies and each other and just get back to creating music the way it was meant to be created.
