Survive the Summer

In November 2014, a reissue of Azalea's first studio album The New Classic (2014), titled Reclassified, was released; it featured five new songs, including two singles — "Beg for It" and "Trouble". In December, she announced plans of a new tour through her Twitter account called the Great Escape Tour, stating that it went along with the title of her upcoming second studio album, which would also be promoted on it.[3] It was later announced the tour was being postponed to the fall,[4] before it was officially canceled in May 2015, as a new tour was planned around Azalea's new album to be released in the following year.[5]

In January 2015, Azalea announced that she had started working on her second studio album.[6] In October, she announced that it would be called Digital Distortion and that it was set for release in the following year.[7] On 8 January 2016, the buzz single "Azillion" was made available for free streaming on SoundCloud.[8] After leaving her main record label, UK-based Virgin EMI, Azalea decided to permanently switch to her US-based record label, Def Jam.[9] She then previewed the lenticular cover art for the album.[10]

On 18 March 2016, the intended lead single, "Team", was released for digital download.[11] In September, she explained she was delaying the album to 2017 after experiencing personal setbacks.[12] On 3 March 2017, the promotional single, "Can't Lose", was released.[13] On 24 March, the intended second single, "Mo Bounce", was released.[14] Following the release, Azalea confirmed the scrapping of the 2016 material and as well as recordings of 13 new songs which include collaborations with YG, Lil Uzi Vert, and Jeremih. She also said the album should still include the songs "Elephant" featuring YG, "Team", and "Mo Bounce".[15] On 19 May 2017, the third intended single, "Switch", featuring Brazilian singer Anitta, was released.[16]

After "Switch" failed to make a commercial impact in any worldwide music chart, as well as its music video being leaked,[17] Azalea stated Def Jam had abruptly stopped promotion for Digital Distortion. Later in 2017, Azalea announced Digital Distortion would be released on 30 July 2017,[18] until conflict between her and then-CEO of Def Jam, Steve Bartels, involving the promotion of further singles including the collaboration with Azealia Banks,[19] and the delay of the album,[20][21][22] which prompted Azalea to express her frustration and disappointment on social media.[20][23] Azalea later announced on Twitter the album would have no official release date. It was reported many tracks from Digital Distortion were leaked online, which was after Azalea expressed her frustrations towards label executives for "ignoring" her on Snapchat.[24] After Digital Distortion being delayed and later cancelled, Azalea departed from Def Jam and signed with Island Records.[25]

On 2 February 2018 Azalea released her single "Savior". The single was promoted during the Super Bowl on 4 February 2018. The single "Savior" did not make it to the tracklist of Survive the Summer, because it did not fit the theme of the EP, but "may have a home in my album", according to Azalea. In an interview with iHeartRadio, she emphasized the song's lyrics being written at a time during her breakup with NBA basketball player Nick Young, and her career she "was used to [...] had abruptly stopped".[26] On 6 July 2018, "Kream" was released as the first single, along with the promotional single, "Tokyo Snow Trip". On 3 August 2018, Survive the Summer was released for digital download and streaming worldwide.

Azalea shared on 24 December 2017, that the album cover will feature only three letters, "S.T.S", which is the album title's abbreviation.[27] She revealed the cover art via Instagram on 29 June 2018. Described by Rap-Up as "dark and provocative", it finds Azalea bathed under red lights while dressed in a netted bodysuit and lace mask, as two hands grab her breasts. A single white rose is placed between her hands.[28] When asked about its symbolism, she answered saying: "Mourning, death. Like throwing a flower into a casket and saying goodbye to something."[29]

On 2 September 2017, Azalea posted a snippet of a new song on Twitter with the hashtag "#STS".[30] On 7 November, she officially cancelled Digital Distortion and announced she would release a new project titled Surviving the Summer, after severe creative differences.[31] She also revealed that the album would be released by a new label and new management, following her departure from Def Jam.[32] On 10 December, Azalea posted two new snippets of a song from the album.[33][34] On 2 February 2018, "Savior" featuring American rapper Quavo was released as the lead single from the album,[35] but was later cut from the tracklist and turned into a buzz single. On 27 April, Azalea announced Surviving the Summer would be a visual extended play instead of an album, which means that every song of it will be accompanied by visuals.[36] Originally set to be released on 2 June before switching to 30 June and then to 6 July, Azalea announced on 8 June that the EP was pushed back again to 3 August. According to her, the release date was postponed because her "record label, Island Records, is changing presidents," and that she has "to allow time for everyone in the company to re-organise".[37] On 6 July, the album was made available for pre-order as Survive the Summer, along with the release of the lead single "Kream" featuring American rapper Tyga and the promotional single "Tokyo Snow Trip".[38]

In attempt to further promote the EP, Azalea planned a 21-city North American Bad Girls Tour at the end of 2018 with support from Cupcakke and Megan Thee Stallion.[39] Initially, CupcakKe announced in October 2018 via Twitter she would no longer be a part of the tour due to the management of the tour paying her $30,000 of the intended $330,000 she was originally promised. Cupcakke further explained the disorganization of the tour, and stated it did not have to do with Iggy Azalea, but her management.[40] Live Nation announced days after the tour was cancelled and Ticketmaster refunded tickets.[41]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[42]
Pitchfork	4.3/10[43]
Slant	[44]

Neil Yeung of AllMusic said the EP "presents Azalea as a hardcore rapper with little desire to court the mainstream, which was once her bread and butter," continuing that, "her flow is effective and the production pops, but it's just not as enjoyable with the fun sucked out of it." The tracks "Tokyo Snow Trip" and "Kawasaki" were noted as the editor picks.[42] Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork described Survive the Summer's influence of hip hop music, "she knows what a good rap song should sound like in the abstract, but she is incapable of making one".[43] Vulture praises the EP's concept as "an interesting choice aesthetically", though "S.T.S. aims for sparseness but sometimes comes out feeling palpably empty".[45] Mike Nied from Idolator named the EP as one of the rapper's most consistent offerings, stating, "There is none of the shimmering pop aesthetic that helped her top the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Fancy' in 2014. However, she is just as alluring without the supersized hooks and singalong choruses that defined some of her biggest hits."[46] Writing for Stereogum, Chris DeVille remarked, "The dark trap beats are sufficiently booming; Azalea's rhymes are confident and charismatic despite also ranging from uninspired," and declared that "it’s hard to imagine her returning to full bloom, but for better or worse Azalea seems poised to endure into autumn and beyond."[47] In a review for Slant Magazine, Alexa Camp characterized Survive the Summer as "consistent to a fault, laser-focused both sonically and thematically, abandoning the groove centricity of singles like the slept-on banger 'Mo Bounce' and the recent 'Savior'", adding that "all six songs are uniformly dark, weird, and minimalist, with stark verses filled almost exclusively with assertions about Azalea's figurative and literal assets."[48] Writing for HotNewHipHop, Mitch Findlay considered the track "OMG" a highlight which "finds Azalea at her most confident, spitting at a level that may garner secret appreciation not unlike a guilty pleasure."[49]

In Australia, Survive the Summer debuted at number 17 on the ARIA Top 50 Digital Albums Chart for the week commencing on 13 August 2018.[50] In the United States, the EP charted at number 144 on the Billboard 200 dated 18 August 2018 with 6,000 units, marking Azalea's third entry on the chart, and first new arrival on that list since 2014.[51] It peaked at number 13 on Billboard's Digital Albums chart in the same week, her second highest position on the chart and also third entry overall.[1]

As of January 2022, the project has generated over 305M views on YouTube, 212M streams on Spotify, and 11M on SoundCloud through Azalea's official accounts.

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer.

Sample credits

• "Kream" contains elements of "C.R.E.A.M.", written by Robert Diggs, Jason Hunter, Clifford Smith, and Corey Woods, as performed by Wu-Tang Clan.

Credits adapted from Tidal.[52]