Lizzo is admitting that her latest album, B*tch, did not land the way she hoped.
The singer spoke about the release of her fifth studio album on the Swiftologist podcast after the record failed to enter the Top 100. Just three years after Special became a major commercial success, Lizzo is rethinking everything as her latest offering failed to move 3,000 copies.
“Dropping the album, I took it to heart really, really heavily,” she said. “I hurt my own feelings.”
Lizzo said she was proud of the music and expected it to perform better in its first week, as before the release, she took a hands-on approach, meeting people, hanging posters, and trying to build excitement in a more personal way. Many people compared her campaign to Cardi B’s Am I The Drama? rollout.
“I had all of these high hopes for what we would do the first week, and it didn’t match,” she continued. “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.”
She also blamed major changes in music promotion, saying streaming has replaced radio, and social media algorithms have made it harder to reach fans.
Lizzo said SZA helped her through the emotional dip by calling to check on her.
The release also arrives as Lizzo remains in a legal battle with three former backup dancers. She has denied their allegations and said, “The truth is less salacious than the headlines.” Lizzo said the negative headlines also contributed to the poor sales.