Lizzo, b*tch?

There is such a thing as infectious pop. The best possible example I know is Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”: it takes but a second to get into that groove. Pharrell’s “Happy”, on a wonderfully positive note, is exactly the same. Doja Cat’s “Say So”, more recently, is that as well: that perfect 70’s-inspired beat that makes the song a hit… Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” is the same: a so-called “perfect” song insofar as you get into it in a matter of seconds and can’t stop listening. And it doesn’t really get old.

That’s what Lizzo was capable of, on par with the best pop (as in “popular music”) artists of her time, or any era for that matter. Now, and for a number of reasons, it seems she’s having a hard time replicating the formula…

A couple of weeks ago, she went on And The Writer Is (a podcast about songwriters) and said that she tended to be right before everyone else realized she was. Perhaps that is the case here and we will all stand corrected eventually, but for now, and just this once, it doesn’t seem like she is: her fifth and latest album, Bitch, was released last month and failed to even make it into the Billboard 200. For an artist of Lizzo’s stature, that is somewhat shocking: not making it to number 1 or the top 10 is one thing; not making the top 200 is another entirely.

A couple of reasons for that. First off, the elephant in the room: in the past few years, the artist has been dogged by various accusations of sexual misconduct that were numerous and serious enough for her to feel the heat. Her answer to them was somewhat underwhelming too, which obviously didn’t help. The fact that she would be impacted by stories like this when male artists have done far worse without being worried — she has yet to be convicted of anything by the way — is clearly a factor here. In any event, the accusations did contradict her nice and easy-going persona, and that confusion clearly lingers to this day.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the album is a little surprising. In a world where things pop or not without me always being able to understand why (we will talk about Taylor Swift soon), I really did have a hard time getting what Lizzo tried to do with this album. You get a rather incoherent mix of soul and rnb tracks blended in with pop and rock-infused songs… In this day and age, where dance (Madonna), rock (Olivia Rodrigo), pop (Sabrina Carpenter) and rnb (Drake) coexist, anything can happen. But it is arguably harder when you try and fit all of it onto one album.

Finally, the messaging: the title track, “Bitch”, is perhaps the best illustration of the issue here. This post-scandal Lizzo posing as a tough girl somehow sounds weird. It even feels like she is implicitly confirming the accusations against her: now that the cat is out of the cat, the female empowerment vibe is out and a new aggressive persona shows up? Whether or not this was the intent, it is part of the perception. To cap it all off, interpolating Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch”, as YouTuber Fantano points out, feels a little tired…

So there you have it. I am convinced Lizzo can do better than this, as evidenced by her vocals that stand out on this album, no matter the underlying tracks. Also, I hope she does get out of this personal funk she apparently still finds herself in. Next time?