Lizzo releases long-awaited third album, prepares to kick off tour in South Florida

After three years of fans waiting for new music from Lizzo, the 34-year-old singer finally released a new album this month.

“Special,” made available to the public on July 15, is a project she has been working on since 2018. It features a track list that was settled at 12 songs out of the 170 the artist wrote specifically for the album.

“I needed to go through life and get a lot of things off my chest. I had a lot happen interpersonally and a lot has happened globally, and I think I needed to process that,” Lizzo said in an interview on Sirius XM’s The Heat channel. “The way that I process things is through writing music. I also wanted to make a thorough album.”

On July 6, the singer revealed the ‘Special’ track list, with songs like “Everybody’s Gay,” “Grrrls” and “Naked” that reveal “spicy” vibes Lizzo hopes will become the sounds of summer.

In anticipation of the project, “About Damn Time” was released on April 14, the same day the album was announced, and acts as the leading single for the project. Lizzo shared that she switched up the album last minute in order to match the vibe of the first release.

In fact, producer Ricky Reed, who produced Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts,” and songwriter/producer Blake Slatkin, who produced 24kGoldn’s “Mood” with Iann Dior and Kid LAROI’s “Stay” with Justin Bieber, reunited with Lizzo for the creation of the viral summer single.

And that combination is working. As of July 14, “About Damn Time” was holding at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“I wanted to make ‘Lizzobangers’ again. So even if it’s a ballad, it bangs. Every song is memorable and delicious and you want to hear it again and again and again,” Lizzo said during an interview with ET Canada.

The new album also comes at a perfect time in the singer’s career, with her reality competition series “Watch Out For The Big Grrrls” that premiered on Amazon Studios in March and her shapewear brand “Yitty,” which is currently trending on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

“Special” has some big shoes to fill if it expects to hold a candle to her 2019 Grammy-winning album “Cuz I Love You,” which took home awards for Best Pop Solo Performance (“Truth Hurts”), Traditional R&B Performance (“Jerome”) and Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2020.

It appears to be on its way. Along with the release of “Special,” Lizzo intends to put on immersive audiovisual light shows that she hopes will enhance the overall experience when listening to the album. She calls the event “Lizzoverse.”

“Lizzovers,” presented by American Express and produced by Superfly, ran last week for two days in New York City. Amazon Music also live-streamed the event.

As for the “Special” tour, Lizzo is expected to start performances right here in South Florida. On Sept. 23, she will play at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, and the tour will span North America across 23 dates. The Detroit native will wrap up the tour Nov. 18 at Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.

David Espinosa, a senior at Florida International University, is majoring in journalism, with a concentration in film. He enjoys writing, music and art.