Lizzo Says It Was 'Soul-Crushing' to See Her New Album's Disappointing Sales: 'I Was Really Sad'
Lizzo Says It Was 'Soul-Crushing' to See Her New Album's Disappointing Sales: 'I Was Really Sad'
Rachel DeSantisMon, June 29, 2026 at 7:09 PM UTC
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LizzoCredit: Swiftologist/Youtube -
Lizzo's new album Bitch, released June 5, failed to chart on the Billboard 200
The singer opened up about the emotional toll of the album's performance and her evolving relationship with the music industry
Lizzo credits SZA's support for helping her reframe her perspective and says she's already working on new music
Lizzo is opening up about falling short of expectations for her new album Bitch — and why she's keeping her chin up.
The Grammy winner, 38, put out Bitch, her first record in four years, on June 5. The record did not chart on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking a surprising result for an album that followed a No. 2 record in 2022 for the star.
In a conversation with Zachary Hourihane (also known as the Swiftologist) on YouTube on Sunday, June 28, Lizzo admitted that her disappointing numbers were “soul-crushing.”
“I was so excited ‘cause I met my pre-save goal, and then it dropped and I was like, ‘Oh okay, this isn't what I thought it would kind of be,'” she said. “I think that 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.”
The album sold approximately 3,000 total units in its first week of release, and the number dropped to 650 in the second week, music data company Luminate told Rolling Stone.
The “Truth Hurts” singer said she'd been writing the album since September 2023, and was confident that the songs she was sharing would resonate and connect with her audience. When Bitch failed to find immediate footing, Lizzo said she “hurt my own feelings.”
“I was really stressed and I was really sad for a few days because I just was like, ‘Wait a minute. This is like, some of my best stuff,'” she said. “And I had to come to terms with the fact that not only is the music industry different in the last three years… but also my relationship and my connection musically with the world is different. And I think I had to kind of mourn that.”
Lizzo (born Melissa Jefferson) said she's grateful for her friendship with SZA, as it was a phone call from the “Kill Bill” singer that eventually helped give her a new perspective.
“SZA called me. She was like, ‘Hey, you're on my mind.' And I was like, ‘Am I failure?' And she was like, ‘Oh my God, no.' She's so sweet,” Lizzo said. “I meditated and I prayed on it and I was like, ‘This is why I don't judge myself and my success or my impact on numbers. This is why I don't do that, 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.'”
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She said she reminds herself on a “daily basis” that shortcomings when it comes to numbers are “not personal,” and are indicative of a wider issue within the music industry.
Despite the setback, Lizzo said she's focused on moving forward, and has even been in the studio recording more music.
Lizzo at the 2026 BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 28, 2026.Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty
“[Bitch] is just a stepping stone in the right direction. I had to course correct my destiny and my career because people were trying to veer it off my path and I will never let that happen,” she said. “I'm not afraid of failure anymore because I've already won. And I think that's something that the general public may not believe or understand about me.”
Bitch marks the first album release from Lizzo since she was accused of sexual harassment in the workplace by former employees. She has maintained her innocence, and told Keke Palmer last year she “did nothing wrong” and was “deeply hurt” by the lawsuit.
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In December, a judge dismissed fat-shaming allegations from the lawsuit.
"There was no evidence that I fired them because they gained weight," Lizzo said in a social media video shared at the time. "They were fired for taking a private recording of me without my consent and sending it off to ex-employees."
In an interview with The New York Times in May, the star said she doesn't have “anything to hide.”
“I love myself. And the world loved me back for it. I think that the beauty of everything is that I get to evolve as a person, and I get to have more depth as a person, because it isn't always happy-go-lucky,” she said. “And I feel like moving forward — it's kind of hard to talk about."
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
