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.”
Dave Mustaine has chosen to bring Megadeth to an end after completing one final tour due to ongoing health challenges.
The band plans to step away next year once they wrap up their farewell run and release their final album. Frontman Dave, 64, has now shared that he reached this decision because arthritis and issues with his back have left him “unable to give a hundred per cent every night”.
Speaking on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Dave said, “It had been building up for a long time, just physical things happening with my hands … My hands were starting to fail me.
“And there were other difficulties tied to everything going on with my neck and my trunk. That whole area has arthritis and some bulging discs.
“I have a fractured lumbar bone. And of course, my back has been fused near my shoulders and neck. There is just a lot going on …
“I always said that when the time came where I could no longer give a hundred per cent each night, that would be the moment I would start thinking about slowing down.”
He continued by sharing that the choice became clear after the band completed recording their final self-titled project.
Dave explained, “It was not that I couldn’t give a hundred per cent, because we finished the album and I feel we did well with it, but while we were working I had a moment where I told my manager … ‘I am not sure how much longer I can continue. My hands are really hurting.’
“I did not intend to set things in motion. I was just talking, but it led to conversations with the band, then taking time to reflect, speaking with my family, and praying about it.
“And the answer was obvious to me that by the time the album was finished, I would know how it would perform. If it does really well, I can still deliver one final strong tour.
“And the idea of a farewell feels connected to that. We have certain shows we want to play so we can say goodbye to the people who have supported us.”
Dave added, “We are an American band, but we perform all over the world. We are not weekend performers like some country acts in the States. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to say goodbye the right way.”
The band’s seventeenth studio album, Megadeth, will arrive in January, and their This Was Our Life tour begins in Canada in February.
