Lizzo has spoken out after her new studio album faced a muted reception and underwhelming sales.
The singer, who just three years ago was “co-headlining” Glastonbury Festival, released her fifth album, Bitch, earlier this month, but the record failed to make it into the Top 100 chart.
Appearing on the Swiftologist podcast, the artist – real name Melissa Jefferson – was asked for her candid take on where her career is at.
“Dropping the album, I took it to heart really, really heavily,” she said. “I hurt my own feelings. And I was really stressed and I was really sad for a few days because I just was like, ‘Wait a minute. This is, like, some of my best stuff.’
“I had to come to terms with the fact that not only is the music industry different in the last three years, and we need to talk about that – we need to talk about the radio aspect – but also, my relationship and my connection musically with the world is different. And I think I had to kind of mourn that.”
Lizzo, whose previous studio album Special (2022) peaked at No 2 on the Billboard chart and No 6 in the UK, put some of the blame on changing social media algorithms, and wider shifts away from the influence of radio.
Writing after the album’s release, she argued: “The industry changed so much in the last three yrs. Streaming replaced radio & I was a radio darling. That’s how my fans discovered my music. Not to mention the very obvious & public attack on my career changed things.
“Music marketing relies heavily on social media, but now, ever since the algorithm has been showing us things out of order, there’s actually no way to successfully promote an album where everyone knows your album is coming.”
On the podcast, the musician explained that she had taken promotion into her own hands for the new release, and had “high hopes” for Bitch’s success.
“I went out and I was hanging up posters and I was talking to people and I was connecting, and it was really, really fun,” she said. “I had so much fun, y'all. Like, ‘oh, my God, I feel like 2019 Lizzo again. And then I had all of these high hopes for what we would do the first week, and it didn't match.
“I was so excited, 'cause I met my pre-saves goal, and then it dropped, and I was like, ‘Oh, okay, this isn't what I thought it would be. I didn't think it would be crazy, but I also didn't think it would be this. And I think that there was 24 hours of my life where I based my success and my worth on a number. And I think that was soul-crushing.”
During the podcast appearance, she said that she had received support from R&B star SZA following the new album’s disappointing launch.
“I had to remind myself, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, like, thank God for Solána. SZA called me. She was like, Hey, you're on my mind. She's so sweet.
“And I meditated, and I prayed on it, and I was like, ‘This is why I don't judge myself... my success or my impact on numbers. This is why I don't do that, because it's so crushing if you do.”
Many have speculated that Lizzo’s drop in popularity is also related to misconduct allegations made in 2023 by three of her former backup dancers.
A lawsuit was filed against Lizzo, her production company, and her dance captain Shirlene Quigley, with allegations that included sexual harassment, body shaming, and creating a hostile work environment. The trio’s accusations were supported by Lizzo’s ex-creative director, dancer and filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison, who claimed she witnessed “unkind and cruel” behaivour from the singer while collaborating on a documentary.
Lizzo has vehemently denied all the allegations against her, and several of the claims, including weight-shaming, have been dismissed by a judge. The case is ongoing, and the singer has stated that she intends to continue fighting in court. “I’m not afraid of the truth,” she told Gayle King on CBS Mornings. “The truth is less salacious than the headlines.”
