Open Arms (SZA song)

It is a ballad backed by an acoustic guitar, conceived as part of an effort to explore soundscapes outside of SZA's usual R&B-leaning music.

"Open Arms" marks his fourth collaboration with SZA; a solo version appears on the website-exclusive digital edition of SOS, released in January 2023.

Primarily an R&B album that deals with themes like heartbreak, it received widespread acclaim for SZA's vocals and the eclectic musical style, as well as the emotional impact and confessional nature of the songwriting.

The album brought SZA to mainstream fame, and critics credit it with establishing her status as a major figure in contemporary pop and R&B music and pushing the boundaries of the R&B genre.

[16] "Open Arms" is among the album's songs that have an acoustic sound,[16] backed by a finger-picked guitar[4][28] that puts emphasis on SZA's soft vocal performance.

[29] In a departure from his usual sharp, energetic trap sound, Scott performs with a gentle rap cadence;[note 2] he uses his lower register,[31] with his vocals digitally manipulated using Auto-Tune.

Nylon wrote that she helped provide "Open Arms" a heartwarming tone to contrast much of the album's other tracks which are "roiling at the brim with anger, sadness, insecurity, and loneliness".

The choice to have Scott depart from the more uptempo, trap sound of "Love Galore" was an idea from fellow SOS producer Rob Bisel, who wanted him to do something unexpected for the album: "it just seems like there's no need to repeat the same play from that playbook, like what's something you wouldn't expect from Travis?"

Upon hearing the suggestion, SZA sent Scott the beat and received his verse one or two weeks later, during the final stages of the album recording process.

[26] Bisel and Scott's mixer, Derek "206derek" Anderson, mixed "Open Arms" at Ponzu, and Dale Becker mastered it at his studio in Pasadena, California.

According to music journalist Danyel Smith, the line mirrors SZA's personal life in that it recalls her history with rejection from people with whom she wanted to form close friendships.

[53] On January 5, when tracking was about to end, SZA and Swift released digital versions of their albums that contained bonus material to boost them on the chart.

[31] Other praise was directed towards his chemistry with SZA in comparison to "Love Galore"[41] and Rowe's voice as (in tandem with Scott's feature) a "nice nod" to Ctrl.

[20] An alternate version of the song featuring just SZA's verses was released on February 9, 2025, the day of her Super Bowl LIX halftime show performance.