Lizzo is reacting to some truth that hurts: Her new album is a flop.
During an interview with “Swiftologist” released June 28, the “About Damn Time” singer, 38, reflected on the poor sales for her latest album “Bitch,” which dropped on June 5. She said that in the weeks before the album’s release, she ramped up her efforts to promote it, but the record’s reception still fell short of expectations.
“It dropped, and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, this isn’t what I thought it would be,'” she said. “I didn’t think it would be crazy, but I also didn’t think it would be this. There was, like, 24 hours of my life where I based my success and my worth on a number, and I think that was soul-crushing.”
Lizzo attends the Salute to Industry Icons pre-Grammy gala in Beverly Hills on Jan. 31, 2026.
“Bitch,” Lizzo’s follow-up to her award-winning 2022 album “Special,” only sold 2,649 copies in its first week, a huge decline from the 39,000 copies that “Special” debuted to, according to Rolling Stone.
“Bitch” also failed to chart on the Billboard 200, whereas “Special” hit No. 2. The lead single from “Special,” “About Damn Time,” reached No. 1 and also won a Grammy for record of the year.
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Speaking with “Swiftologist,” Lizzo said she “meditated” and “prayed” on the album launch and realized she should not judge “my success or my impact on numbers” because “it’s soul-crushing” if you do.
“I had to reframe and be like, ‘But aren’t you proud of yourself?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I actually am proud of myself.’ Aren’t you excited to sing these songs? Aren’t you glad they’re out?’ Yeah.”
The “Truth Hurts” singer also said she took the poor sales “to heart really, really, heavily” because she is happy with the new music.
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“I was really stressed and I was really sad for a few days, because I just was like, ‘Wait a minute. This is some of my best stuff. I want people to find it,'” she said, adding that she had to “come to terms with the fact” that her “connection, musically, with the world is different” now than it once was.
“Bitch” marked the fifth studio album for Lizzo, who has been a radio staple since she reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019 with song “Truth Hurts.”
The LP was Lizzo’s first studio album to be released since she faced a workplace misconduct lawsuit from her former dancers in 2023 that accused her of assault, false imprisonment and sexual harassment. Lizzo has strongly and repeatedly denied the allegations, and the civil case is ongoing.
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On X earlier this month, Lizzo reacted to a post saying that she did not have “a fanbase” anymore. The singer blamed this on the fact that “streaming replaced radio & I was a radio darling,” also writing that the “very obvious & public attack on my career changed things,” referring to the 2023 lawsuit.
Lizzo attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026.
Speaking with USA TODAY ahead of the release of “Bitch,” the Grammy winner said she was “reclaiming who I am” with the new record.
“A lot of my identity has been manipulated by people outside of me, so this album is me taking that back − showing the Lizzo everybody knows and loves, letting her tell her side of the story and just letting her play again,” she said.
Contributing: Morgan Hines, Naledi Ushe and Melissa Ruggieri
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lizzo speaks out on ‘soul-crushing’ poor album sales
