Lizzo Reveals The “Special” Ingredients to her New Album
Three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning, RIAA multi-platinum certified artist Lizzo does not simply return to the spotlight with her latest album, Special, the singer/songwriter and rapper IS the spotlight and she has a laser focus on love and acceptance. During The Spout Podcast “Special” Special, host Tamara Dhia dives in deep with Lizzo to breakdown the creative intention behind each song on the album, plus the inside scoop on her first meeting with Harry Styles, how she hopes to make Beyoncé proud, and her reason for donating to Planned Parenthood. Listen to the full interview HERE.
Self-coined the “Stop, Drop, and Celebrate How Far You’ve Come Album of the Year,” Lizzo, told the Spout Podcast’s Tamara Dhia she’s “so excited for people to hear this music” as she has been working on it for the last three years.
“I was so aware of the time that I was going to be releasing music into a time where we had just gotten out of trauma and we were probably bracing ourselves for more trauma as a society, as a people. And I felt like if my music didn’t in some way help people express their trauma or escape their trauma or heal their trauma, then why am I an artist?”
Lizzo’s commitment to being aware has added her music to an A-list category of superstars she admires, such as Beyoncé and Drake, and it’s made the Houston-native very emotional.
“For some reason, I feel like, you know, I’m a huge target for hate, you know, with the resurgence of house music and in the mainstream, artists like Beyoncé and Drake popularizing it right now, it feels really good to be included in the conversation when it’s talking about ushering a new energy into music and making people feel good again.”
With the news of her recent hit “About Damn Time” surpassing Harry Styles’ “As It Was” to take the No.1 spot on the best-selling download in America, Lizzo tweeted the news to her fans referring to Styles as her “bestie.” During the Spout interview, Lizzo revealed she was always a fan of his music, but it wasn’t until they were both performing at the same show that their friendship blossomed.
“There was like a show that we were going to do together and it was like, ‘okay, we got to go to Miami to do this show, let’s split a jet,’” Lizzo tells the Spout Podcast. “So, I met Harry basically on a jet, and we flew to Miami together for our first time meeting and we were talking for a long time and got in like, you know, he’s a great person, a great listener, a really good listener and like, really cares about, you know, how you feel and very funny. So that’s an interesting way to meet somebody for the first time for people with social anxiety.”
When asked why there are no collaborations on the new album, including one with Styles, Lizzo stated, “Now that everyone knows who I am, I wanted to show off my songwriting skills and show the world, you know what I got? So, I wanted this album to be all about me.”
But she adds, “Features are coming. Don’t you worry about that!”
For now, Lizzo prepares for “The Special” Tour that is about to kick off at the end of September. Earlier this month, she announced plans to donate $500,000 to Planned Parenthood with Live Nation matching her donation for a total of $1 million towards reproductive health care after the Supreme Court reversal of Roe v. Wade, as she instinctively wanted to help and be a part of the solution.
“I think my position as somebody who has a platform now and has a privilege, a financial privilege, is to be just a place of action. How can I be a resource? How can I be a platform? How can I help people take action?
“Social media is everyone thinking out loud, and then everyone’s thoughts on that person’s thought. And I feel like it’s not helpful, at least for my position, to add to that if I can’t add a solution.”
Listen to the full interview with LIZZO on The Spout Podcast NOW. The Spout Podcast can be heard on Spotify, Google, iHeart, Apple Podcast, or any other major podcasting platform. Click HERE.About Spout:
The Spout Podcast is a weekly podcast where famous people spout about more than they are famous for. Each episode of the Spout Podcast gives artists a chance to have a meaningful conversation with one of Spout’s influencers/hosts about a topic that they personally feel passionate about beyond their music.
The Spout Podcast is distributed to every major podcast platform, including Spotify, Google, iHeart, and Apple Podcasts. To listen to the latest episode, visit http://www.spoutpodcast.com/
