Lizzo is the name on everyone’s lips – and a pretty firm fixture on their playlists too.
The Houston native has come to embody the age old reality that most “overnight successes” are indeed years in the making.
A hustler on the indie circuit for almost a decade, her eventual signing to a major label didn’t yield immediate fruit.
And while the viral-ness of catchy jam ‘Juice’ was initially hoped to become her big break, it was a song from three-years prior that would not only become her breakthrough – it became a Billboard #1. That track being ‘Truth Hurts.’
With the song currently enjoying its third week atop of the tally, the 31-year-old covers the latest issue of Billboard Magazine – which dubs as the Grammy 2020 preview edition.
Her appearance is notable given that despite its age and availability in the marketplace, ‘Truth’ is eligible in major Grammy categories – given that it was added on the deluxe edition of her major label debut ‘Cuz I Love You.’
Head below for snaps from the stunning Heather Hazzan lensed spread, as well as word from Lizzo on everything from her rise to Pop prominence, her approach to performance, and much more.
On Finding Success As A Pop Star:
“I saw myself as a successful musician, and I visualized it like, ‘Man, I want to have a career like Björk, where I can put out albums and do exclusive shows and do a whole flute album like that bitch did. This sh*t is way different. I’m like, ‘VMAs, BET Awards?’ That is wild to me.”
“I can do anything, you know? You want a polished, choreographed performance? I can give you that. You want a wild rock’n’roll show? I can give you that. You want to feel like you’re in church? I can give you that.
I’ve always had to turn haters into congratulators. That’s the thing with my songs and my live shows: I’ve never lost that mentality of ‘I have to win you over,’ and I’m never going to, because I didn’t learn that way. I have muscle memory in this.”
On Her Inner-Circle:
“I felt like we had to prove ourselves, of course, because we were so young, and we’re young black women in the industry. But we believed in ourselves, and we believed in the projects, and fighting for creative integrity wasn’t difficult.”
On Striving To Be Irreplaceable:
“There’s that pop moment, when people can’t really replace you. They’re like, ‘What is this? I can only get this here,’ ” she says. “That’s that good sh*t. That’s that pure sh*t.”
More power to her!