Image source : GETTY IMAGES / FRAZER HARRISON
Lizzo is the embodiment of self-love and confidence paired up perfectly with enormous talent. Her journey to fame is one of the most interesting ones in recent times. Even though she has always been talented, success came years later, after major struggles and hard work. Let’s dive into the details of her journey and see how she transformed from being an underground performer to one of the most famous and known names in the global music industry.
Early Life:
Lizzo, originally known as Melissa Viviane Jefferson, was born in the year of 1988 in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of ten, her family moved to Houston, Texas where her life as a musician started to take form. From the age of 10, she was classically trained as a flutist by a renowned music teacher Claudia Momen. Here she also started rapping and started to take rapping seriously. At only 14 years old, she and her friends formed a musical group called Cornrow Clique. Around this time, she got her nickname, Lizzo, which was inspired by Jay-Z’s “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”. In the year of 2011, at the age of 21 years, after her father passed away she moved back to Minnesota and started to break into the music industry.
2011–2015: Beginning of her music career and Lizzobangers
While living in Minnesota, she performed with groups and later in 2013 released her debut solo album, ‘Lizzobangers’ produced by Ryan Olson and Lazerbeak. The album became successful and the world got to know its talent of Lizzo. It topped Star Tribune’s “Twin Cities Critics Tally 2013” list and The Guardian gave it 4 stars out of 5, saying, “At times joyfully nonsensical, Lizzo’s stream-of-consciousness rhymes can also be lethally pointed.” The album was heavily hip-hop focused and the journey of becoming a world-famous musician for Lizzo started with that. Time magazine named the young artist “one of 14 music artists to watch in 2014”.
2014-2015: The time of ‘Big Grrrl Small World’
Right after the release of her debut album, she immediately began working on her second. While participating in StyleLikeU’s “What’s Underneath” project, Lizzo went through a personal experience where she removed her clothes as she talked about her relationship with her body. This experience later inspired her to write “My Skin“. She appeared on the “ Late Show with David Letterman” in 2014. The following year she released her second studio album, ‘Big Grrrl Small World‘.
2016–2018: Era of ‘Coconut Oil’
In 2016, she hosted MTV’s short-lived live music performance series Wonderland. In the same year, she also signed her record deal with Atlantic Records, and later, the same year she released her third studio album, ‘Coconut Oil‘. This was also her first major-label extended play which included the single, ‘Good As Hell‘. She was not only a performer of the songs but also co-wrote every track on the album. The track was her first international hit, getting her the position in breakthrough charts, and was also featured in the movie titled, ‘Barbershop: The Next Cut’.
2019–2020: Career breakthrough with ‘Cuz I Love You’
‘Juice‘ was the lead single off her third studio album which was announced one month after the single’s release. The album, ‘Cuz I Love You‘ was released on April 19th and this album was the one that put her name in the international music industry. The album’s extended version featured her 2017 single, ‘Truth Hurts‘ which became an instant viral hit on TikTok and gave Lizzo critical acclaim and international fame. She was also featured in films like ‘Someone Great’ and ‘Hustlers‘.
2020-present: Just like her, newest album, ‘Special’
In 2020, the singer signed a deal with Amazon Studios and released a competition series, ‘ Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls‘ in 2022. It won Lizzo her first-ever Emmy award. She also released her fourth studio album ‘Special‘ which featured popular singles like, ‘Rumors‘ and ‘About Damn Time‘ which established her name in the industry even more.
With her hard work and talent, Lizzo has proved that anyone can achieve their dreams. Sure, access to the internet has helped her along the way but it was her self-confidence that made her stick to the industry, struggling and waiting for better days. Her confidence is not stable all the time, so what does Lizzo do when she doesn’t feel beautiful or confident? She said, “I can’t wake up one day and not be black. I can’t wake up one day and not be a woman. I can’t wake up one day and not be fat”. Often these 3 things are held against her so she fights every intrusive thought, and with that fighter spirit, she is now internationally known, which is huge coming from the underground music scene.
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