Lizzo Reflects on Album Disappointment and Redefining Success After Billboard 200 Miss

Lizzo opened up about the disappointment she felt after her latest album, "Bitch," failed to debut on the Billboard 200 chart following its release earlier this month.

Speaking on the Swiftologist podcast, Lizzo described her efforts to promote the album before its June 5 release. She told host Zachary Hourihane that the lukewarm response caused her to question her ideas about success.

"It dropped, and I was like, 'Oh, OK, this isn't what I thought it would be,'" Lizzo said on the podcast. "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."

According to Luminate, "Bitch," the follow-up to Lizzo's Grammy-winning 2022 album "Special," moved 5,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. during its first week, including 3,000 in pure album sales. By comparison, "Special" debuted with 39,000 copies and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "About Damn Time," reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy for record of the year.

Singles from "Bitch," including "Don't Make Me Love U" and the title track, have not seen the same chart success. Through June 25, "Don't Make Me Love U" had 2 million U.S. on-demand streams, while "Bitch" had 1.8 million, according to Luminate.

"Bitch" is Lizzo's first album to miss the Billboard 200 since her 2015 album "Big Grrrl Small World."

Lizzo said she felt stressed and sad for several days after the album's release, believing it was some of her best work.

"I had to reframe and be like, 'But aren't you proud of yourself?'" she said. "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."

She also revealed that "Bitch" was originally planned for release in either 2024 or 2025, but plans shifted.

After releasing "Special," Lizzo contributed to SZA's "SOS" album and performed "Pink" for the "Barbie" movie soundtrack. In early 2025, she teased a project called "LIRL," later releasing a track of the same name as the planned fifth album, "Love in Real Life." That album did not materialize, but Lizzo released her third mixtape, "My Face Hurts From Smiling," last June.

"With pop and with music, timing is everything," Lizzo said. "So right now, I'm just letting it live." She pointed out that "About Damn Time" took 14 weeks to find its audience. "I'm not afraid of failure anymore because I've already won," Lizzo said. "That's something that the general public may not believe or understand about me. Once they hold people to this standard like, 'You just have to keep doing it like you did it and if you don't break the Beatles' record, then you are not a real pop artist.'"

Before the album's release, Lizzo addressed criticism on TikTok, saying some accused her of being upset over poor sales. She claimed that music industry professionals thanked her for speaking about the challenges of social media music marketing.

"The algorithm-based way that social media functions now is destroying the music industry," Lizzo said. She told her followers that feeds no longer display posts in chronological order, making it hard for the public to know when music is released. "Music marketing relies heavily on social media, but now, ever since the algorithm has been showing us things out of order, there's actually no way to successfully promote an album where everyone knows your album is coming."

Lizzo said she is not concerned with breaking chart records, but instead wants to reach her core fans, the "Lizzies," and others who have supported her from the beginning. She cited Taylor Swift's relationship with her fans as an inspiration.

She also thanked SZA for offering support during a difficult time. "She just called me and was like, 'You're on my mind.' I was like, [crying] 'Am I a failure?' and she was like, 'Oh my God, no!' She's so sweet," Lizzo said.

Lizzo's only scheduled show this summer is July 7 at the Filene Center in Vienna, Virginia.