While Lizzo has been an active musician for a decade, it wasn’t until 2019 before she took the world by storm. Since her mainstream breakthrough, Lizzo’s songs waste no time becoming certified hits! Her third studio album, Cuz I Love You, won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album and was also nominated for Album of the Year. Lizzo is now a household name, also known for her energetic live performances, as well as her inspiring lyrics and flute-playing abilities.
Lizzo’s songs cover a plethora of genres but lie within the scope of Hip Hop and R&B. Her lyrics are usually uplifting in nature, as she is very outspoken on topics surrounding self-love and self-esteem. After her commercial breakthrough in 2019, Lizzo has become a megastar, and these hits prove her continuous success.
“Tempo” became a club banger from the moment it was released. The R&B and trap-infused single is about Lizzo rapping about needing a faster-paced beat worth dancing to. “Tempo” also featured a sleek, cheeky rap verse from Missy Elliot. Now a body-positive anthem, “Tempo” is played whenever there’s some twerking going on. However, perhaps the most interesting part of the track is Lizzo’s classical flute playing, which she uses to close out the song.
“Cuz I Love You” might have failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100, but the opener to her breakthrough album of the same name is now one of Lizzo’s most revered songs. The single showed Lizzo’s strengths as both a vocalist and a rapper. “Cuz I Love You” is a big and bold, yet soulful number packed with tons of emotion. Lizzo famously performed the song at the 2020 Grammy Awards, where she was also the most nominated artist of the night.
Lizzo is one of few artists who has multiple sleeper hits. “Good as Hell” was initially released as a part of her first EP, Coconut Oil, in 2016. The motivational track, a feminist anthem, gained heavy attention in 2019. “Good as Hell” encourages women to fall in love with themselves and know their worth. After Lizzo performed the song at the 2019 MTV VMAs, it steadily rose on multiple charts.
“Good as Hell” eventually reached the third spot on the Billboard Hot 100 eight months after its 2019 re-release. Two music videos were shared, with the second blowing up on social media. That video featured Lizzo performing and having fun with the marching band at Southern University for homecoming week. A “Good as Hell” remix featuring Ariana Grande also became a hit, especially in Europe.
“Juice” is widely heralded as the best track off Lizzo’s third album, Cuz I Love You. The song, like many of her others, is all about self-love. “Juice” features fun and carefree one-liners like, “I’m like chardonnay, get better over time,” and “No, I’m not a snack at all. Look, baby, I’m the whole damn meal.” The song features many disco elements reminiscent of the 80s, and Lizzo paid homage to the sound with the music video. “Juice” also borrows elements from funk-pop, Hip Hop, and R&B.
Starting this song with the lyrics “It’s bad b*tch o’clock, yeah it’s thick thirty” marked the first of many witty lines on “About Damn Time.” The lead single off Special, “About Damn Time” became a global hit, eventually hitting the peak spot of the Billboard Hot 100. The song also went viral on TikTok and spurred numerous dance, rap, and singing challenges. However, the track’s major feat is snagging the Record of the Year Award at the 2023 Grammys.
This historic accomplishment made Lizzo the first rapper to win in that category and the first Black woman to take home the award since Whitney Houston in 1994. Lizzo wrote the song to have another uplifting anthem similar to “Good as Hell.” She wanted to create a song that reminded her fans to celebrate their survival in the wake of a post-pandemic world.
Many things contributed to the widespread success of Lizzo’s hit song, “Truth Hurts.” Although originally released in 2017, it was re-released two years later after it went viral on TikTok. “Truth Hurts” would eventually rise to the top of the charts, spending seven weeks as the No. 1 song in the country. Regarded as her breakthrough single, the song is a story about Lizzo falling in love with herself after a breakup.
Lizzo famously married herself in the popular music video, which was viewed over 300 million times. She also shared that she considered quitting music after “Truth Hurts,” her “best song ever,” failed to make waves back in 2017. Thankfully, she stuck through the rut, and her career has significantly blossomed since then.
Tom Morello has called off two scheduled performances as he focuses on supporting his mother following her recent hospital stay.
In a message shared on Instagram on Thursday, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist revealed that he was flying back to the United States to be with his 102 year old mother, Mary Morello, and help care for her.
"Dear friends, fans and comrades, my dear mom, Mary Morello is back in the hospital and I'm headed home to help look after her," he wrote. "Rocking the UK & Europe with you all this summer has been incredible, and I can't wait to be back with you and continue this movement that we started. With much love, unity and power."
The guitarist had been scheduled to perform at the Tons Of Rock Festival in Oslo, Norway, along with the BBK Music Legends Festival in Bilbao, Spain this weekend.
Earlier this month, Morello also cancelled planned appearances in London and Paris, with ticket holders offered refunds through their original point of purchase. However, he still made it to the Pinkpop festival in the Netherlands.
"I am sorry I had to miss a few shows due to my mom's health," the 62 year old noted. "The incredibly resilient, indefatigable Mary Morello at 102 is now feeling somewhat better and has ordered me back into the fray, charging me with rocking you and fighting fascism six strings at a time."
At this point, Morello has not announced when he expects to return to the stage.
Mary Morello, the musician's mother, built a career as a teacher and activist. She also helped establish the anti censorship organization Parents for Rock and Rap during the late 1980s.
