Lizzo announces ‘new era’ of music: ‘I truly am coming to gag’
The pop singer stepped back from the public eye as she faced legal troubles and built her shapewear company: "I took my time and I did it right"
By Tomás Mier
After Lizzo officially said “Bye, bitch” to her Special era in an Instagram video, the pop singer announced on Valentine’s Day that she is entering a “new era” of music, starting on Feb. 28.
“I want to introduce to you guys, the newest piece of content from the new era. I’ve been working on new music for the last two years,” Lizzo said during a Twitch stream Friday. “I took my time and I did it right. The new era has begun today, right now, with you, my chat.”
The trailer opens with a clip of Lizzo sobbing while looking at the camera over the eerie sound of a flute playing. The clip then flashes to tease a Feb. 28 release date. She said fans “would have to wait and see” if it’s a new single or a full album out that day.
“New music or new album? It’s one and the same, babes,” she said with a silly British accent, before explaining that she wants her fans to be able to decipher the meaning of her music. “I want to give it to you to interpret and make your own. It encapsulates the heart of all the music I’ve been writing, and I truly am coming to gag.”
Lizzo has taken somewhat of a pause from the public eye in the last year as she’s developed her shapewear brand, Yitty, and faced legal troubles. She was sued by some of her former dancers who accused her of harassment and a hostile working environment. In December, Lizzo claimed she was “blindsided” by the accusations. “The hardest part about all of this is that none of these things are true,” Lizzo said, calling the claims “ridiculous.” (In December, she was also dismissed from a separate legal battle with a wardrobe stylist who claimed she was subjected to a hostile work environment while working for the singer.)
Despite the legal roadblocks, Lizzo said in October she has been continuously working. “It ain’t a gap year, it’s a grind year,” Lizzo said at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. “As soon as I stepped down home from tour — I may not be as public-facing — but I went straight to Yitty headquarters. I’ve just been working, working, working. You may not see me, but I’ve been working.”
The comments were made after shared a post declaring “I QUIT” earlier last year, which she later clarified was about “giving any negative energy attention.” She said at the time: “What I’m not gonna quit is the joy of my life, which is making music, which is connecting to people… Cause I know I’m not alone. In no way, shape, or form am I the only person who is experiencing that negative voice that seems to be louder than the positive.”
Lizzo’s last album Special, released via Atlantic and Nice Life, dropped in 2022, featuring singles ‘About Damn Time’ and ‘2 Be Loved.’ She followed the album with a tour that concluded in July 2023 — and has not released music since.