Lizzo at Global Citizen Live on Sept. 25, 2021 in New York City.
NDZ/Star Max/GC ImagesLizzo is definitely not done. The 33-year-old hitmaker confirmed to Variety in an interview published Wednesday (Feb. 23) that her new album is due out sometime before the end of this year, and made it clear that her series of successes with “Truth Hurts” (the single that propelled her to celebrity status), Cuz I Love You (her 2019 album, which was on the Billboard 200 for 127 weeks, peaking at No. 4), and her three Grammy wins are only the beginning.
“I am not done,” Lizzo — who recently teased on social media that she’s back in the studio — told the magazine. “I’m still pushing out the hits, baby.”
Lizzo shared that the upcoming album has been in the works since 2018, with it now taking shape as something the “Rumors” singer is proud of. “It’s one of the most musically bada–, daring and sophisticated bodies of work I’ve done to date,” she told the magazine. “And I hope that it is some of the most useful pieces of music to ever exist. All I want to do is help people through my music.”
And though she isn’t ready right now to share the current status of her love life — “I ain’t talking about this” — she did reveal that the album’s central theme is love, which surprises even her. “I think that I will never be the kind of artist that’s like, ‘This album is about a story I wrote; it’s not real,'” she said of her unreleased music. “I’m always just a very personal, like I’m-talking-to-my-friend-on- the-phone-with-really-good-music-behind-me b—-h. It is a love album. I’m shocked.”
When Lizzo said she isn’t done, though, she didn’t just mean music. Currently promoting her new reality series with Amazon titled Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, which follows her on her inclusive search for tour backup dancers, the vocalist and flute extraordinaire said she’s also setting her sights on acting and producing. She opened up about her “terrible” audition for Disney’s upcoming live action The Little Mermaid, and touched on her first-look deal with Amazon, for which she’ll create and produce original content.
“I’ve been producing for a long time, and I didn’t even know that was what it was called,” she admitted. “I’m finally getting paid and credited doing this. I’m a very hands-on person. Anything that I’ve put out, I’ve touched so many f–king times.”
10cc drummer Paul Burgess has announced that he is leaving the band because the demands of touring have become too much for him.
The 75-year-old musician, who also spent time performing with Jethro Tull, Camel, Magna Carta, and The Icicle Works, has chosen to walk away from the legendary rock group after more than five decades.
He shared: “After so many wonderful years with 10cc, I must admit that the rigours of touring are no longer manageable for me as I get older, and I feel it’s time to let go of the long hours in airports and endless travel on buses.
“I’m not planning to stop playing altogether. I will still perform but at a pace that feels right, working alongside old friends and a new group of fellow musicians called The Guilty Men.”
Frontman Graham Gouldman confessed that it will feel unusual to perform without his “longest-running musical associate.”
He explained: “When Paul and I first joined forces in 10cc, we never could have imagined that we’d still be at it after 30 years, let alone 52.
“Paul has been my longest musical partner and it will feel different to turn around and see another drummer, but I completely understand why he no longer wants to sit on a plane for 14 hours or wake up in a new hotel every day for weeks at a time.”
Ben Stone, who has previously played with Mike and The Mechanics and Bonnie Tyler, will be taking over on drums.
Paul, who had several runs with 10cc after joining in 1973, performed his final show with the I’m Not In Love band in Alexandria, Virginia this past September.
The group is set to continue their And Another Bloody Greatest Hits Tour in the UK next year.
