Key Points
Lizzo confronts criticism of her new single 'Still Bad'
Compares herself to iconic Black musicians who faced similar challenges
Calls out 'lazy' music reviews post-pandemic
Emphasizes her commitment to radical joy in music
She declared she's fuming over accusations the track is "too optimistic" and compared herself to music legends such as Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin who all battled their own demons during their time in the spotlight, reports 'Female First UK'.
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Lizzo wrote, "Saying my brand of 'poptimism' doesn't work in a 'post Covid world' is a lazy take. As if I didn't release 'about damn time' post pandemic. As if I didn't write (her song) 'About Damn Time' to be a post lockdown anthem to inspire us to get outside and together again. And was successful at it btw. Same people saying my music is 'too optimistic' would've been really mad in the 60s at James Brown and Motown".
As per 'Female First UK', Lizzo went on to write about her new song 'Still Bad', which is the first single from her upcoming fifth studio album 'Love in Real Life'.
She added, "'Still Bad' is a break-up song with the world. It literally starts with me saying, 'I'm about to throw my phone away', it's a call to action for the negativity we experience on our phones and how we need to disengage and recenter. The girls that get it, get it. In the music video I'm literally taking my power back from the 'birds' (tweets) that tried to keep me down with negativity. I think seeing and hearing a black woman make real music with radical joy triggers miserable people but I follow in the footsteps of Janet (Jackson), of Funkadelic, of Earth Wind and Fire ... nobody's doing it like me for Us. And I stand on that".
"Imagine listening to 'say it loud I'm black and I'm proud' and saying it's too optimistic. Imagine listening to (OutKast song) 'Hey Yah' and saying it's too poppy. What Andre (Andre 3000) say? You all don't wanna listen ya just wanna hate. Aretha (Franklin) and Whitney (Houston) got backlash for being 'too pop' and they kept going... and so will I. I'm out here reclaiming rock n roll for US", she added.
Lizzo also suggested criticism of her new song may be linked to her recent weight loss.
