Lizzo Claimed ‘Attack’ on Her Career Shortly Before Her Album Failed to Chart
On June 5, Lizzo released her fifth studio album, Bitch. The artist has put out a number of massive hits and won Grammy awards. Her fifth album isn’t achieving nearly as much success. Despite Lizzo’s one-time popularity, Bitch failed to chart. Shortly before this, Lizzo explained difficulties she was facing in the music industry, including an alleged attack on her career.
The ‘Truth Hurts’ artist said her career was under attack
In the early 2020s, Lizzo put out a string of hits that were near impossible to escape. After a scandal involving her backup dancers, though, Lizzo fell from grace. Her latest album received an incredibly muted reception.
“Lizzo not having a fanbase is so weird to me when this woman was literally selling out arenas not even 2 years ago. like, where did those people go?” asked one person on X (formerly Twitter).
Lizzo responded with the difficulties she is facing in the music industry these days.
“I actually can answer this: the industry changed so much in the last 3 yrs,” Lizzo responded. “Streaming replaced radio & I was a radio darling. That’s how my fans discovered my music. Not to mention the very obvious & public attack on my career changed things. But I’m out here doing my absolute best and u can’t knock a b**** for that.”
The “obvious and public attack” Lizzo is referring to involves her backup dancers. In 2023, they accused her of sexual harassment, fostering a hostile work environment, and fat-shaming. The lawsuit still has not been settled. After their accusations arose, Lizzo fell from public grace. She hasn’t had a song on the Hot 100 since 2023.
Lizzo’s latest album did not chart despite her former popularity
Lizzo’s album Bitch sold 2,649 copies and received just under 2.7 million on-demand streams in its first week. It dropped to 650 units and just under 900,000 in its second week. Because of this, it failed to chart. This is a major difference from her last studio album, Special, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Industry insiders speculated about why Lizzo’s latest album made such a limited impact.
“I think the biggest reason is that she never had a core fanbase,” a former senior label executive told Rolling Stone. “She was a very song-driven, radio-hits-driven artist who lacked a core fanbase, and that’s what you need today for career longevity.”
Pundit Ray Davis said that Lizzo should not have blamed streaming for her limited success.
“I speak like a manager, that’s all BS to me,” he said. “If you know that the industry is changing, you should be warning your fans ahead of time. Why are you not telling your fans to request your song on radio? They’re your fans, they’ll do what you ask them to do.”
People reacted to Lizzo’s album failing to chart
For many people, the problem they had with Lizzo’s latest release was the allegations against her.
“Doesn’t help the lawsuits and things that came out – whether real or fake – damaged her credibility,” wrote one Reddit user.
“The allegations and she had fair weather fans,” added another person. “Her music was also kinda corny idk.”
Others noted that they had no knowledge that Lizzo was releasing a new album.
“This is the first I heard of the album,” one person wrote. “Looks like they neglected to advertise it.”
