WHY lizzo Rules
2019 has been her year – here’s how she took over the world
If you Google the name Lizzo, one of the first suggested questions to come up is, “Why is Lizzo so famous?” Google then helpfully offers the suggestion that, “Lizzo is well known for her ability to play the flute. She began playing as a child, and has continued to improve her flute playing skills into adulthood.”
While that may well be true, Melissa Jefferson – who goes by Lizzo professionally – is a singer and rapper probably better known for her unrelenting positivity, unashamed boldness, and making absolute bangers in the tunes department.
Lizzo is an overnight sensation that was ten years in the making. She’s simultaneously a cult figure and a global phenomenon. Even if you don’t recognise her, you’ve undoubtedly heard one of her catchy songs – and there is no doubt that 2019 has been the most successful year of Lizzo’s life. She wowed the crowds at Coachella and Glastonbury this summer, starred alongside J-LO in Hustlers, and her song Truth Hurts has the record for the longest spell at No1 for a solo female rap in US history.
The 31-year-old Michigan native is not short of celebrity fans, either. Shania Twain called her a “phenomenal woman”, Cardi B called her a “talented beast”, and when Rihanna saw Lizzo’s 2019 VMAS performance, she messaged the rapper with her own special brand of critique. “Rihanna said I f**ked the stage like it was my side bitch,” Lizzo has revealed. So, where did she pop up from?
BLAME IT ON her JUICE
While she started off her musical life as a self-confessed band geek, Lizzo has been trying to make it in the music industry since she was 21. She performed with various groups and released two albums to little success. But in 2016, she signed with Atlantic Records and released the single Good As Hell . The song is a total bop about body positivity, self-love and having a damn good time. The Lizzo we know and love was born.
“Twenty-some-odd years of me believing that one day I can wake up and be some other girl,” Lizzo speaks of her “epiphany” in her twenties. “It’s like, you’re not gonna wake up and be bigger or smaller or lighter or darker, your hair’s not gonna suddenly grow down past your knees. You’re going to look this way for the rest of your life. And you have to be OK with that.”
Appearing as a guest judge on Rupaul’s Drag Race and touring with both Haim and Florence + The Machine in 2018 helped to catapult Lizzo into the mainstream.
FEELING GOOD AS HELL
Her third album – Cuz I Love You – neatly sandwiched empowering
messages into soulful ballads and pumping bangers, solidifying Lizzo as a bona fide star. The album is crammed with uplifting lyrics such as, “If I’m shining everybody gonna shine…”,
“Only exes that I care about are in my f**king chromosomes…” and “I know I’m a queen, but I don’t need no crown…”
Along with her songs rising up the charts, Lizzo inadvertently became a meme for selfconfidence. You’ve likely seen quotes such as, “I don’t have a therapist, I listen to Lizzo.”
Or, “I’m so done with being insecure, I cannot be letting Lizzo down like this any more.”
At her show-stopping VMAS performance this year, she told the crowd, “I’m tired of the bullshit. And I don’t have to know your story to know that you’re tired of the bullshit, too. It’s so hard trying to love yourself in a world that doesn’t love you back, am I right? So, I want to take this opportunity right now to just feel good as hell. Because you deserve to feel good as hell.”
DAMN SHE’S THE ONE
With fans predicting an upcoming collaboration between Lizzo and Rihanna, and snaps of the singer in the studio with Justin Timberlake, this year is clearly just the beginning for our new
favourite star. And Lizzo’s keen to make it clear she and her empowerment aren’t going anywhere. “The body positive movement is the body positive movement, and we’re parallel. But my movement is my movement,” she’s said. “When all the dust has settled on the groundbreaking-ness, I’m going to still be doing this. I’m not going to suddenly change. I’m going to still be telling my life story through music. And if that’s body positive to you, amen. That’s feminist to you, amen. If that’s pro-black to you, amen. Because ma’am, I’m all of those things.”
So, if you haven’t caught a ride on the infectiously feel-good, flute-playing Lizzo train yet, what are you waiting for? ■
‘I’m tired of the bulls**t. And I know you’re tired of it, too’