14 'Good As Hell' facts about Lizzo 🎶
It's 'About Damn Time' you got to know her better!
Lizzo's song 'About Damn Time' climbed the charts all over the world, she's won numerous awards, had multiple hits in the charts AND given us some INCREDIBLE performances over the past couple of years... Even Beyoncé is a fan. Can you get a higher recommendation than that?!
Following her UK 'The Special Tour' concerts and her epic Glastonbury performance, we've gathered up some pretty interesting and hilarious facts about the 'Good As Hell' star...
1) Lizzo isn't her real name
Well, not really. Lizzo is the singer's nickname, as her real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson. She was nicknamed Lissa early on in life, and became Lizzo at the age of 14 after being inspired by Jay-Z's song 'Izzo (H.O.V.A.)'.
2) She studied classical music at university
Lizzo is a classically trained musician, having studied at the University of Houston and specialising in playing the flute. Lizzo's flute has taken on its own identity - naming it Sasha Flute, inspired by Beyoncé's alter ego Sasha Fierce. It even has its own Instagram account!
3) She worked with Prince
Yep! Lizzo got together with the legendary Prince back in 2014 for his album 'Plectrumelectrum', featuring on his song 'Boytrouble'. She called the experience "surreal... almost like a fairytale" and that it was "something I will never actually get over."
4) She dressed as an actual chocolate bar
Lizzo took to the red carpet at the BRIT Awards 2020 dressed as a Hershey's chocolate bar. It's brilliant and we have no words. Just see it for yourself.
5) Beyoncé is a huge fan
Lizzo dropped by KISS HQ in November 2019 to discuss THAT moment Lizzo realised that Jay-Z and Beyoncé were fans of hers.
She told us, "Yes! Side stage, they watched the whole thing," she gushed. "What's wrong with me! I mean, that was cool. I'll tell you what, two years prior, I played the same festival - it's Jay-Z's festival, it's Made In America, and I remember I was on right before Cardi B.
"She was right after me, and I remember I performed and I was like, 'What if Beyoncé's there?' and I finished and then I was turning to walk off stage and literally as I was walking off, Beyoncé was coming to watch Cardi B, and it was such a moment."
6) She's a movie star
She's not only a talented singer, songwriter, flautist, dancer and performer - Lizzo also has acting chops! She voiced Lydia in 2019 film UglyDolls, and also had a role in Jennifer Lopez flick Hustlers.
7) Lizzo was once on Made In Chelsea
Lizzo appeared on the Channel 4 reality TV show back in 2014, when the cast took a trip to New York City. She sang a cover of Blondie’s 'Rapture' at the performance.
8) ...AND RuPaul's Drag Race
She was a guest judge on the show back in 2018, with the bottom two queens lip syncing to 'Good As Hell'.
9) She took home three Grammy Awards in 2020
2020 was a seriously good awards season for Lizzo, winning Best Urban Contemporary Album for 'Cuz I Love You', Best Pop Solo Performance for 'Truth Hurts' and Best Traditional R&B Performance for 'Jerome'. She was also nominated in four categories at the 2020 BET Awards, winning one of the categories.
10)... And another one in 2023
Lizzo's song 'About Damn Time' won Record of the Year at the 2023 Grammys, beating the likes of Adele and Beyoncé who she referenced in her acceptance speech: "You changed my life ... The way you made me feel, I was like, 'I want to make people feel this way with my music'. So thank you so much. You clearly are the artist of our lives!"
11) Her first UK Top 10 hit was 'Good As Hell'
After releasing 'Good As Hell' in August 2019, the song peaked at Number 7 in the UK! She later released a second version of the song featuring Ariana Grande.
12) She's best pals with Harry Styles
After the former One Direction star covered 'Juice', Harry Styles performed the song alongside Lizzo two months later. Lizzo then returned the favour, covering 'Adore You', and the pair shared some beautiful moments together at the BRIT Awards.
After 'About Damn Time' reached Number 1 in the US, Harry celebrated Lizzo's achievement by sending her a beautiful bouquet of flowers. N'aww!
13) Lizzo created her own TV show AND won an Emmy Award
When Lizzo was searching for dancers and models to go on tour with her in 2022, she created a series on Prime Video where contestants could compete to join her crew. Called Watch Out For The Big Grrrls, the show was such a success that it even earned an Emmy Award in 2022.
14) Her song features in the Barbie movie!
Lizzo's track 'Pink' features at the start of the Barbie movie, which hit cinemas in July 2023. The song features on 'Barbie The Album'. You can take a listen to the official audio below!
Scroll through to see Lizzo's career timeline so far:
Early life and studying
After studying classical music at the University of Houston, Lizzo lived out of her car for a year following her father's death to break into the music industry. She moved to Minneapolis in 2011, performing with various indie bands including Lizzo & the Larva Ink.
2012: Chalice
Lizzo also performed as part of a three-piece band the Chalice, releasing an album in 2012. She released her solo debut album, 'Lizzobangers', in 2013, and it was re-released on Virgin Records a year later.
2013: Supporting Har Mar Superstar
She toured as a support act for Har Mar Superstar in 2013, and also sang with his band. Lizzo worked on a body positivity campaign What's Underneath for StyleLikeU in 2014, writing the song 'My Skin' after being inspired by the project.
2014: Working with Prince
Collaborating with pop icon Prince in 2014 on his album Plectrumelectrum, Lizzo called it "surreal... almost like a fairytale" and that it was "something I will never actually get over." Her second studio album 'Big Grrrl Small World' was released in 2015, and she briefly became a host for MTV.
2016: Signing with Atlantic Records
Lizzo signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, and put out EP 'Coconut Oil' that same year, which featured 'Good As Hell', and received huge critical acclaim - with many praising Lizzo for her inspirational lyrics about self-love and self-acceptance.
2017: 'Good As Hell Tour'
She went on the 'Good As Hell Tour' in 2017, and also appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race. The following year, she toured with the likes of Haim and Florence and The Machine.
2018: Body positivity campaigns
2018 was a big year for Lizzo in different ways - she became a hugely influential figure regarding body positivity, featuring in campaigns and on the covers of magazines. She released her third album 'Cuz I Love You' in January 2019, spawning singles 'Juice' and Tempo featuring Missy Elliott. She then performed at Coachella Festival.
2019: Acting in Hustlers
Lizzo starred in Hustlers alongside the likes of JLo, Cardi B, Julia Stiles and Keke Palmer in 2019, which was based on a 2015 article in New York magazine by Jessica Pressler called 'The Hustlers at Scores'. She also lent her voice to animated film UglyDolls with Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas and Pitbull among others.
2019: Glastonbury slot
In 2019, she performed at Glastonbury Festival, and released a remix of 'Good As Hell' featuring Ariana Grande.
2020: BET Awards
Lizzo was nominated in a whopping four categories at the 2020 BET Awards! She was in the running for Best Female Hip Hop Artist, Album of the Year for 'Cuz I Love You', the BET HER Award for her song 'Tempo' featuring Missy Elliott and Best Female R&B/Pop Artist - which she won at the ceremony on 28th June 2020.
2020: BRIT Awards
Lizzo gave an incredible medley performance at the BRIT Awards 2020, singing three of her biggest hits so far - 'Truth Hurts', before sliding into a wonderful rendition of 'Good As Hell' and finishing off with the fan-favourite 'Juice'.
2021: 'Rumors'
Lizzo took to Instagram in August 2021 to announce that she was set to release a brand new single 'Rumors' on 13th August! Obviously, fans went wild for the new pic, commenting with excitement in their droves.
2022: Lizzo releases a series on Amazon Prime
Lizzo's new TV series on Amazon Prime was released in 2022. The series called Lizzo's Watch Out For The Big Grrrls follows the singer in a search for the next Big Grrrl dancers as she heads on her 2022 tour.
2022: Lizzo releases 'Special'
Lizzo released her album 'Special' in July 2022. Lizzo told James Corden the album took "three freaking years" to finish, but "I feel amazing."
2022: Lizzo releases 'Special'
Lizzo released her album 'Special' in July 2022. Lizzo told James Corden the album took "three freaking years" to finish, but "I feel amazing." The record contains huge hits like 'About Damn Time', 'Grrrls' and '2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)'.
2022: Lizzo wins her first Emmy Award
In September, Lizzo picked up her first Emmy Award for her Prime Video show Watch Out For The Big Grrrls. In her acceptance speech she touched on the representation in her show and said: "When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media."
2022: Lizzo announces UK tour dates for 'The Special Tour'
Lizzo announced in October 2022 that she would be bringing her 'The Special Tour' over to the UK, performing in cities Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and London.
2022: Lizzo wins the People's Champion award
Lizzo gave an empowering speech as she collected a People's Choice Award for the People's Champion. The singer brought out 17 activists with her on stage saying: "To be an icon isn't about how long you've had your platform, being an icon is about what you DO with that platform."
2023: Record of the Year at the Grammys 2023
It really was 'About Damn Time'! Lizzo took home Record of the Year at the 2023 Grammys for the track which has no doubt been on pretty much everyone's party playlist all year. Winning over her icons Adele and Beyoncé, Lizzo mentioned them both in her acceptance speech, gushing over how Bey had actually inspired her to become a performer. N'aww!
2023: BRIT Awards 2023 performance
Although Lizzo didn't win either of the two categories she was nominated for at the BRIT Awards 2023 - missing out to Beyoncé both times - she gave a powerhouse performance! Doing a medley of 'Special', '2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)' and 'About Damn Time', she absolutely SLAYED the stage! Watch it on YouTube.
2023: Lizzo announced to appear in The Simpsons
Lizzo will appear in the season 34 finale of The Simpsons. The singer, and her infamous flute will appear in the episode called Homer's Adventure Through the Windshield Glass.
2023: Lizzo performs at Glastonbury
In June 2023, Lizzo performed on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, wowing the crowd with a set packed with her biggest hits.
2024: Lizzo clears up confusion after 'I quit' statement
At the end of March 2024, Lizzo shared a statement on Instagram telling her fans that she 'quits', however it wasn't clear at the time if she meant quitting the music industry, or social media.
Just a few days later, Lizzo shared a video of herself on social media, confirming she is NOT quitting music, but 'negative energy'.
You can hear Lizzo's biggest hits on the KISS playlist.
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