Lizzo retracts “gap year” comment: “It’s a grind year”
Lizzo has retracted her previous comments that she was taking a “gap year” – see what the singer-songwriter had to say.
While attending the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit on Monday (October 14), the ‘Truth Hurts’ singer was asked about her extended break – which she first announced on social media in August.
Rolling Stone reports that in response to the question, Lizzo chuckled: “‘Gap year’? Girl, who said ‘gap year’? I launched my company Yitty in 2022 at the same time as my album, ‘Special’… As soon as I stepped down home from tour — I may not be as public-facing — but I went straight to Yitty headquarters, and I’ve just been working, working, working. You may not see me, but I’ve been working. This ain’t a gap year, it’s a grind year.”
The retraction comes two months after the singer-songwriter announced that she had landed in Bali, Indonesia, and will be taking a “gap year”. In a video showing the singer taking a moment outside in the pouring rain dressed in a black swimsuit, Lizzo captioned the post: “I’m taking a gap year & protecting my peace”.
Several weeks later, she revealed on social media late last month that she has been working on a new album. Lizzo wrote: “I wasn’t gonna post this on [Instagram] but 2021 me would be soooo proud of 2024 me. And I’m NOT only talking about my body if yall only KNEWWWW what I’ve done for my mental & emotional health in the last year… wheeeew don’t worry imma write a album about it.”
Most recently, Lizzo in September addressed fans’ allegations that she had used the diabetes drug Ozempic to aid her weight loss journey. In a post on Instagram, she singled out a comment on one of her posts that reads “Did she use Ozempic or did she snort coke?”. Lizzo wrote back: “when you finally get ozempic allegations after 5 months of weight training and calorie deficit”.
Lizzo’s last album comes in the form of 2022’s ‘Special’. In a four-star review of the record, Nick Levine wrote for NME: “Perhaps inevitably, given Lizzo’s overwhelmingly positive message, ‘Special’ is sometimes a bit cheesy. Still, it’s cheesy in a way you won’t want to resist. “Is it your birthday, girl? / ‘Cause you lookin’ likе a present,” she sings on ‘Birthday Girl’, a song that practically marches you to the bar and orders you a shot of Tequila Rose. On this evidence, Lizzo knows exactly who she is as an artist and what she wants to achieve: she’s the bad bitch with an incredible talent for making people feel good.”
In a glowing five-star review of Lizzo’s concert at The O2 in London last year, Levine wrote: “By the time she ends with a triumphant ‘About Damn Time’ – accompanied by a giant disco ball – it’s clear her job here is done. Lizzo isn’t just a great entertainer, but pop’s foremost purveyor of unadulterated joy.”
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Surej Singh
NME
