Lizzo

At 35 years old, Lizzo has this physical status:

Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper and songwriter.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas where she began performing, before moving again to Minneapolis, where she began her career as a recording artist.

Before signing with Nice Life and Atlantic Records, Lizzo released two studio albums—Lizzobangers (2013), and Big Grrrl Small World (2015).

In 2014, Time named her one of fourteen music artists to watch.

Lizzo's first major-label EP, Coconut Oil, was released in 2016. In 2019, she attained mainstream success with the release of her third studio album, Cuz I Love You, which peaked inside the top five of the Billboard 200.

The album spawned two singles: "Juice" and "Tempo".

The deluxe version of the album included Lizzo's 2017 single "Truth Hurts", which became a viral sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 two years after its initial release.

Around this time, her 2016 single "Good as Hell" also climbed the charts, reaching the top ten of the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100.

Lizzo has been nominated for Best New Artist and received eight nominations at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for the deluxe version of Cuz I Love You and Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Truth Hurts". Aside from singing and rapping, Lizzo is also an actress; she served as a voice performer in the animated film UglyDolls (2019) and starred in the crime comedy-drama film Hustlers (2019).

Early life

Melissa Viviane Jefferson was born in Detroit, Michigan. When she was ten, her family relocated to Houston, Texas. She was classically trained as a flutist by renowned music teacher Claudia Momen from the age of 10 until she graduated Alief Elsik High School in Alief, Houston in 2006, where she also started rapping. At the age of 14, she formed a musical group called Cornrow Clique with her friends. At this time she acquired the nickname "Lizzo", a variant of "Lissa" inspired by Jay-Z's "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)". After high school, she studied classical music concentrating on flute at the University of Houston. At the age of 21, after the death of her father, she lived out of her car for a year as she tried to break into the music industry. She dropped out of college and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2011.

Personal life

When asked about her sexuality in a June 2018 interview, Lizzo stated, "I personally don't ascribe to just one thing ... That's why the colors for LGBTQ+ are a rainbow! Because there's a spectrum and right now we try to keep it black and white. That's just not working for me." She has a strong LGBTQ+ following and has dubbed her fans "Lizzbians". She later stated that she considers herself an ally and "leans heterosexual".

Throughout her career, Lizzo has been subject to body shaming. She is considered an image for body positivity and self-confidence. She partially credits social media, and the Internet in general, for changing the narrative around size and giving visibility to overweight women. In December 2019, Lizzo sparked controversy at a Los Angeles Lakers game, where on camera she danced and twerked to her song "Juice" while wearing a dress that revealed her thong. In an interview with CBS This Morning she said, "Anyone who knows me knows that this is how I've always been. This is how I've always liked to dress." On January 5, 2020, Lizzo stopped using Twitter; she cited "too many trolls" as the reason for her departure, and stated she would "be back when I feel like it". Her Twitter account has since been updated by her management, while she remains active on her Instagram. Lizzo often discusses her mental health and its impact on her career.

Lizzo grew up attending the Church of God in Christ. As of June 2020, Lizzo is a vegan. In 2022, Lizzo was romantically linked to comedian Myke Wright. She donated $500,000 to Planned Parenthood after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022).

In October 2021, she was criticized by some for calling Chris Brown her "favorite person in the whole fucking world".

Source

Career

Lizzo performed with acts including the electro soul-pop duo, Lizzo & the Larva Ink while living in Minneapolis. During this period, she was instrumental in the establishment of the Chalice, a three-piece all-female rap/R&B band. The Chalice band first album, We Are the Chalice, was released in 2012, and it was extremely popular in local markets.

Lizzobangers, Lazerbeak and Ryan Olson's first album, was released on October 15, 2013. "At times joyfully nonsensical, Lizzo's stream-of-consciousness rhymes can also be lethically pointed," Killian Fox of The Guardian praised the album out of 5. The album debuted on Star Tribune's "Twin Cities Critics Tally 2013" list. "Batches & Cookies," "Faded," "Bus Passes and Happy Meals," and "Paris" were among the songs featured in "British and English films.

Lizzo appeared in the United States and the United Kingdom in the fall of 2013 with Har Mar Superstar Nathan Carter, who also performed with his band. Lizzo received the "Picked to Click" award for the best new Twin Cities artist in October 2013. Time named her one of the top 14 musicians to watch in 2014 in the following month. The album was later re-released by Virgin Records. Lizzo appeared with St. Paul and the Broken Bones on "A Change Is Gonna Come" later this year.

Lizzo immediately began working on new music after the initial release of her first album. She took part in StyleLikeU's What's Underneath project in 2014, where she took off her clothes as she discussed her body's relationship with her body. She wrote "My Skin," which she described as "the thesis statement" of her forthcoming second album, inspired by the experience. She said in an interview with Vice on body image, that she says: 'In a body image interview with Vice, she said:

Lizzo appeared alongside her Chalice bandmates Sophia Eris and Claire de Lune on Prince's and 3rdElectrum's album Plectrumelectrum in September 2014. Lizzo's experience with Prince Albert was "surreal... almost like a fairy tale" and that it was "something I will never fully get over." Lizzo appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on October 7, 2014, as the musical guest.

Big Grrl Small World, Lizzo's second studio album, was announced on December 11, 2015. Spin's album ranked 17th on the "50 Best Hip Hop Albums of 2015" list. "Liberary Saunders of Paste applauded Lizzo's "ability to both rap and sing with equal tenacity." "Let 'Em Say" - Your Smith's collaboration with "Let 'Em Say" in Broad City's season three premiere was highlighted.

Lizzo was one of the hosts of MTV's short-lived 2016 live music performance series Wonderland. Lizzo's first big-label extended play, Coconut Oil, debuted on October 7, 2016. She had signed with Atlantic Records the previous year. As part of the soundtrack for the 2016 film Barbershop: The Next Cut, "Good as Hell" was released as the lead single from the Coconut Oil on March 8, 2016. Lizzo co-wrote each song on the album, while enlisting Ricky Reed, Christian Rich, Dubbel Dutch, and Jesse Shatkin for the album's production. The result was a departure from Lizzo's earlier alternative hip hop launches. The extended play, in particular, delves into body positivity, self-love, and the road to those ideals.

Coconut Oil has received glowing feedback from music critics. "Mike the product it's named after," Syra Aburto, a writer for Nylon, wrote, "is essential for healthy living." Rolling Stone placed it at No. 1 on the charts. On the list of the "20 Best Pop Albums of 2016," 14 artists appear on the list. Coconut Oil reached number 44 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, making it Lizzo's first appearance to the top charts. Lizzo embarked on the Good as Hell Tour in 2017 to promote the longer play. In May, she headlined The Infatuation's annual food festival, EEEEEATSCON, while also serving as a guest judge on RuPaul's tenth season of Drag Race. Lizzo and the Machine toured both Haim and Florence in early 2018 and the Machine.

Lizzo became a body positivity and self-love advocate as she gained more mainstream notice, while still making representation the center of her music, regarding one's body, sexuality, race, and other topics. The Big Grrrls, her back-up dancers, are made up of all plus-size dancers. Lizzo was featured in ModCloth's "Say It Louder" campaign, which launched on June 11, 2018. She sported the first plus-size outfit created by Grace Insogna for her appearance at the Pride Island event in NYC. Lizzo was profiled in the Teen Vogue Music Issue in June 2018.

Lizzo started acting in 2019, alongside her musical projects, with a voice appearance in the animated film UglyDolls and a supporting role in the crime drama "Hutlers."

Atlantic Records' "Juice," the lead single from her third studio album, was released on January 4, 2019. Next month, she revealed the album's name, Cuz I Love You, which was officially released on April 19, 2019. For the first time since the introduction of her album, she appeared at the Coachella Music Festival for the first time.

Cuz I Love You's debut on Lizzo's career marked a turning point in the singer's career, as she began to draw more mainstream interest; the album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and eventually peaked at number four on the charts, three months after its initial debut.

After sparking an internet meme on the TikTok video sharing app and being included in Netflix's 2019 film Someone Great, Lizzo's 2017 single "Reality Hurts," began to gain traction and was included in Cuz I Love You, a deluxe version. The single became a viral sleeper hit and, in turn, heightened anticipation for Cuz I Love You, which remained in the top ten of the Billboard 200 for several months.

Since becoming Lizzo's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Truth Hurts" has since become Lizzo's first top-one hit. Lizzo rose to the top of the Hot 100 without a featured artist. She also became the first Black solo female R&B artist to debut on the Hot 100 since Rihanna's 2012 hit "Diamonds." Cuz I Love You, a week later, was named gold by the Royal Institute of British Agricultural Association (RIAA) for over 500,000 equivalent units sold. "Reality Hurts" spent seven weeks on top of the Hot 100, tying for the most weeks at number one for a female artist's rap song. According to YouTube, the song's music video, in which Lizzo "marries herself," has more than 220 million views. In an interview, she revealed that the initial lack of success for "Unique Hurts"—what she had deemed to be her best song at the time—prompted her to reconsider leaving the music industry entirely.

Lizzo is also well-known for her ability to play the flute. She started playing as an infant and has continued to develop her flute playing skills into adulthood. In several of her performances, including when she performed "Reality Hurts" at the 2019 BET Awards, she has performed with her flute, which she has dubbed Sasha Flute. Rihanna was given a standing ovation from the crowd at her BET Awards for her appearance at the BET Awards.

Lizzo appeared onstage at the Glastonbury Festival and as a headliner at the Indianapolis and Sacramento pride festivals during the summer of 2019.

Lizzo was nominated for Push Artist of the Year and Best New Artist at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards on July 23, 2019. At the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, she appeared on a medley of "truth Hurts" and "Good as Hell"; her appearance attracted critical esteem. Around this time, her 2016 single "Good as Hell" soared to the top of the charts around the world, achieving the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 and the top ten of the UK Singles Chart. The song also ranked in Australia and Belgium at number one in the top ten.

On Sunday Night Live's December 21, 2019, Emma Murphy hosted Lizzo for her first appearance as a musical guest. Both the year and the decade were the last episodes of both the year and the decade. Lizzo headlined the FOMO Festival in January 2020, with four Australian cities and Auckland, New Zealand, New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand, where they appeared in four Australian cities and Auckland, New Zealand. She appeared at the Sydney Opera House, where she had previously appeared as a young flute player. She opened the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards with a medley of "Cuz I Love You" and "Truth Hurts" and "Understand Hurts" and "Withdraws," and received three prizes at the event. She was nominated for eleven nominations at the 2020 Billboard Music Award, with one of them named Top Song Sales Artist. She was the first artist to be nominated in both the R&B/pop and hip-hop artist categories in the same year at the 2020 BET Awards.

Lizzo and Amazon Studios have agreed to work together in August 2020 to create new projects with them. Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrls, her first project, was an unscripted reality competition series. On March 24, 2022, the program premiered.

Lizzo's album "Rumors" (1921), which was released on August 2, 2021, marks the start of a "new era" for the song "Rumors." Lizzo said at the time that her forthcoming album would be "one of the most technically weak, daring, and sophisticated bodies of work I've ever seen to date." The album was expected to be released in late 2022, but Lizzo had not finished it at the time of the interview.

Lizzo announced on March 23, 2022, the single "About Damn Time" would be released on April 14. Lizzo revealed the title for her fourth album, Special, after the song's release, and announced a release date of July 15.

For the April 16, 2022, episode, she returned to Saturday Night Live, as host and musical guest.

Lizzo's first promotional single from Special appeared on June 10, 2022, with the first commercial single from the company. The song's lyrics were marred by the inclusion of the word spaz. Following a statement from Lizzo, where she said, "I've used many hurtful words against me so I know what power words have (whether intentionally or inadvertently).

Lizzo's fourth studio album Special, which received acclaim from music critics on its debut, debuted on July 15, 2022. Lizzoverse, a accompanying immersive light show experience, was held on Twitch in New York City's Cipriani 25 Broadway and was livestreamed on Twitch. The Billboard Hot 100 charts have risen to the top of the charts following the introduction of Special "About Damn Time" in particular.

Source