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Getting to Know SZNS: The Fierce Girl Group That’s Putting A Fresh Take on Classic Pop

The members of SZNS not only bold and fierce, but ready to give us all the girl group greatness that we so desperately need during times like these.

The Los Angeles based pop-quartet is made up of four members: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. They each bring their own amazing vocals and styles, as well as distinctive personalities and backgrounds, which is what makes SZNS so unique and captivating. 

“We all came together about a year ago and knew there was something special we could do as a group,” said Summer. “All of us have such different styles and strengths but as a group, we really create a unique, powerful unit.”

Blending EDM, Latin-synth and house-inspired beats with relatable and empowering lyrics, SZNS’ songs are a fresh take on the classic girl group style of music we know and love. 

Credit: Daniel Aquino/Visionary Imaging

 After listening to their latest single “Behave,” the lyrics make us feel like we’re having a late-night conversation with some of our close friends. Why? Because they are four, badass women that have experienced it all, and they’re willing to get vulnerable and use those experiences as an inspiration for their lyrics. A lot of the time, writers look at songwriting as a form of therapy, and that’s exactly what it’s like for SZNS. 

“Our lyrics are conversational because that’s what our writing process is like. We are basically each other’s therapists. Every session, you can bet one of us went through something since our last writing day and that’s where it starts,” shared Winter. 

Credit: @michaelmorm

“Behave” is now available on streaming platforms and is the third track the band has released since its formation. It really illustrates the girl power, kick-a**, boss vibes SZNS exudes. 

With lyrics like “see it’s hard to find a man who’s competent, someone who can match my confidence” and “no you can’t tame me, don’t try to change me,” SZNS’ message in “Behave” is loud and clear: they don’t want to behave and neither should you. 

Messages like this are extremely important, especially when we live in a society where men still think they have the right to tell women what they can do with their own bodies, or where women feel the need to constantly tear each other down. 

That’s partially why SZNS sat down and wrote the song. They want to encourage girls, or anyone for that matter, to live their lives fearlessly and without the want of validation from anyone. It’s also a big “f-you” to anyone who has tried to force you into a box that they’ve deemed is the “proper” way to be. 

“In a world that’s conditioned me to be submissive and acquiescent, it’s easy to fall victim to the patriarchal, society norms,” said Autumn. “SZNS reminds me to take up space and to celebrate my defiance. I want SZNS to reassure other women and girls the same way, that we are powerful, important, and limitless.” 

Credit: @visionaryimaging @danielaquino

Celeb Secrets sits down (virtually) with SZNS to learn more about the group, their creative style, and their latest single “Behave.” You can take a read at the full Q&A below, and don’t forget to let us know if you’re digging the song by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets

You can also give the girls a follow on Instagram at @sznsofficial.

Celeb Secrets: For those that don’t know much about SZNS, can you share with us how the group came to be?

Summer: “We all came together about a year ago and knew there was something special we could do as a group. All of us have such different styles and strengths but as a group, we really create a unique, powerful unit.”

CS: Why did you pick the concept of the “four seasons?” How will you apply them to your music?

SZNS: “‘SZNS’ highlights our uniqueness and individuality while also being a cohesive balanced group. Each of us has her own style, music taste, drives, inspirations, but we all come together in a harmonious blend.”

CS: “Behave” is about empowering women to not feel the societal pressures of behaving. When do you feel the most empowered? Also, the music industry is very male-dominated, so it’s important to have artists like SZNS out there. What kind of message or impact do you want your music to make?

Autumn: “I definitely feel empowered when songwriting. It’s really the most personal and genuine experience, and especially with SZNS, I don’t feel any judgment or pressure–just support to keep expressing my most ‘me’ self. In a world that’s conditioned me to be submissive and acquiescent, it’s easy to fall victim to the patriarchal society norms. SZNS reminds me to take up space and to celebrate my defiance. I want SZNS to reassure other women and girls the same way, that we are powerful, important, and limitless.”

S: “I feel the most empowered when I walk into a room with all four of us. Something about it makes me feel powerful. I’ve been a trumpet player my whole life which has always been very male-dominated, but it’s so fun showing everyone that you can do whatever you want, and look cute doing it. I want our music to make girls feel confident and sexy in their own skin!”

CS: Who is a woman in your life — or in the industry– that inspires you to continue to “misbehave?”

Spring: “My mother inspires me to misbehave, kinda ironic but she’s taught me to not be polite when it comes to going after my dreams, to also be bold, and never apologize for who I am.”

Winter: “My little sister inspires me to ‘misbehave’ because I hear what goes on in her 6th-grade life. The pressure to be perfect, to be something someone else wants you to be, to fit in. But my sister, even at a young age, figured out that making your own mold is better than fitting into someone else’s. And that inspires me more than anything in the world.”

S: “I’m surrounded by women that inspire me to be confident and unapologetic. Shoutout Sydney Cary and Courtney! We breaking all the glass ceilings out here!”

A: “Lucy Liu inspires the hell out of me. Maggie Q too. Growing up, Asian women role models on screen were few and far between, especially in action, which was always my favorite genre. Seeing Lucy and Maggie up there fighting bad guys, breaking stereotypes- made me feel like I could too.”

Photo Credit: Pretend Pics

CS: The lyrics for “Behave” sound like you’re having a conversation. That same lyrical style is also noticeable in your other songs, “Tequila w Lime” and “Faster.” A lot of songwriters often say that songwriting is like therapy, so would you say the same applies to your songwriting?

W: “100%. Our lyrics are conversational because that’s what our writing process is like. We are basically each other’s therapists. Every session, you can bet one of us went through something since our last writing day and that’s where it starts. One of us telling the others why we are sad or angry etc. and then realizing we have a song out of it.”

A: “Behave was really fun to write. We all super related to the message and spent like an hour just listing all the sh*t people have told us to do or be throughout our lives, from funny stuff like “floss twice a day!” to “a lady shouldn’t talk back.” It’s incredibly therapeutic especially having three other women corroborate our common experience, reassuring each other that if all this is “behaving,” we never learned how to behave.”

CS: The music industry is so diverse, yet we don’t see many girl groups or girl bands in mainstream media. What do you hope SZNS will achieve to change that?

W: “I believe girl groups don’t usually last because the world we live in loves to pit women against women. But I would love for SZNS to show the world and the generations of women that we can break free from what society tells us we have to be. Because when women work together and build each other up, we are fixing what the system broke. The four of us have such differences but such respect for each other and I hope we can set an example for how we should treat our sisters and ourselves.”

S: “This is so true, and honestly I feel like the world has been scared of powerful women for a long time. But that’s not gonna stop us from making things happen and hopefully inspiring young women to be who they wanna be and take up as much space as they want.”

CS: There’s four of you, so you all have different stories and backgrounds. How has that influenced your creative and collaborative process when it comes to your music?

W: “To me, this is the coolest part of SZNS, that we are all so different in the way we work, sing, communicate and this to me gives us our SZNS sound. The fact that we all came from different backgrounds just allows us to explore more topics. And even though the surface of a song could be one thing, the underlying message means something different to each of us.”

A: “We balance each other out so well. I was raised on musical theater so I bring that storytelling vibe, Winter brings the realness with her rock-indie influence, and then Spring’s R&B coolness with Summer’s OG pop vocal inspo comes in and the end result just makes sense.”

CS: We’ve heard three songs from you so far and you’ve shared that you would like to release an EP for each season. Can we expect a winter EP soon?

SZNS: “An EP is definitely on its way. We have a few surprises before the EP that we can’t wait to share… Our next release is really like nothing we’ve done yet so keep an eye out.”

CS: Since we are Celeb Secrets, do you have any secrets or fun facts about the band that our readers wouldn’t know about you? 

SZNS: “Summer and Autumn’s celebrity crush is Nathan Fielder and each of us has separately and on completely unrelated occasions met Machine Gun Kelly.”

Author

  • Karen Alvarado

    Karen is a media intern for Celeb Secrets. When not reporting the latest pop culture news, you can find her planning her next travel destination, at a concert, attempting yet another baked goods recipe, or hoarding stationery. Karen is currently working on her Communications degree at Cal State Fullerton.

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Karen is a media intern for Celeb Secrets. When not reporting the latest pop culture news, you can find her planning her next travel destination, at a concert, attempting yet another baked goods recipe, or hoarding stationery. Karen is currently working…

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