Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper and songwriter who was born in Detroit, Michigan but she later moved to Houston, Texas, where she started performing before moving to Minneapolis where she began her recording career in hip hop music.
Four – About damn Time
Garnered 24M views on its official video on YouTube which is off her current studio Album; “Special”. The single was released in April 2022 and pairs groovy instrumentals and uplifting lyrics for the ultimate summer bop of 2022. Although it has not cracked the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, it has made its way to become a viral sensation in the popular app Tiktok.
FYI
She was classically trained as a flutist by renowned music teacher Claudia Momen from the age of 10 until she graduated from High School in Houston where she also started rapping. At the age of 14, she formed a musical group called Cornrow Clique with her friends. At the age of 21, after the death of her father, she lived in her car for a year as she tried to break into the music industry.
Three – Rumors feat. Cardi B
Garnered 49M views on its official music video on YouTube. The song was released on August 13, 2021, through Nice Life Recording and Atlantic Records marking it Lizzo’s first release in over two years, following her album “Cuz I Love You (2019)”. The song was written by the two artists alongside Nate Mercereau, Steven Cheung, Theron Thomas, Torae Carr and its producer Ricky Reed. It was certified Gold in Canada and United States for the RIAA.
Discography
◦ Lizzobangers (2013)
◦ Big Grrrl Small World (2015)
◦ Cuz I love you (2019)
◦ Special (2022)
Two – Juice
Garnered 109M views on its official video on YouTube. This song was off her album” Cuz I Love You “ which aimed at sending out messages of body positivity and self-acceptance. It was released on the January 4, 2019, by Atlantic Records. It was certified Gold in France, Italy and Platinum in the United States (RIAA) and United Kingdom (BPI). Billboard magazine ranked “Juice” 46th on their Best Songs of 2019 list, calling it “irresistibly immediate and durably relistenable” also winning Video of the Year for the Soul Train Music Awards and the For the Anthem in the Queetry Awards.
Awards
She has won a total of 18 Awards including 3 Grammy Awards. At the 2020 BET Awards, Lizzo became the first act to be nominated in both the R&B Pop and Hip Hop Categories in the same year.
Bonus Track
Good as Hell
Garnered 130M and 36M views on its official videos on YouTube which was first released on the 8th of March, 2016 and then re-released on the 29th of March,2019 of her EP; Coconut Oil & Cuz I Love You. This song after her hit single made Lizzo noticeable to more people in the music industry and after her 2019 MTV Music Video Awards, it entered the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was also used as the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for the movie The Barbershop: The Next Cut.
Controversies
⁃ Lizzo’s First controversy came on Dec. 8, when she wore a butt-baring shirt to the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Staples Center which she strongly defended her right to show off her behind at a public event on Instagram and later on CBS This Morning.
⁃ Back in October, 2019, Her song “Truth Hurts” was the subject of allegations of plagiarism concerning its opening line. Apparently, songwriting brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen claimed they attended a writing session with Lizzo where they wrote a song called “Healthy” The song included the line, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that b—“ which was used in her song and the Brothers called her out for plagiarizing the song without crediting them which she denied of course, instead she credited Mina Lioness credit for sharing a meme that included the now-famous line.
⁃ On October 18, 2019, singer CeCe Peniston accused Lizzo of plagiarizing the song’s “Yeah-yeah” ad-lib from her 1990s single “Finally”Lizzo’s lawyer rejected the claim, describing it as “opportunistic” and “specious”
⁃ Lizzo also accused a Postmates driver of stealing her food in a tweet. A company spokesperson later said the driver waited five minutes for Lizzo, but she had to move on when the singer did not appear to pick up her food which she later apologized for.
One – Truth Hurts
Garnered 285M views on its official video on YouTube became a Viral hit on the Tiktok app, and was used on the Netflix movie: Someone Great. It was also topping the US Billboard Hot 100 two years after its initial release, also marking the longest-leading solo song by a female rapper. The song was released on the 19th of September, 2017 then re-released as a radio single in Mid March of 2019 off her Album “Cuz I Love You ( Super Deluxe Edition)”It spent seven weeks at number one, becoming the longest-running number-one for a solo song by a female rapper, earning her a Guinness World Record in 2019. She also won Best Pop Solo performance for the Song at the Grammy Awards, it also won IHeart Radio Music Awards for Song of the Year, BMI Pop Awards & BMI R&B Hip Hop Awards for Award Winning Songs in 2020.
