It’s the day before Thanksgiving, andLizzocan barely contain her excitement.
The yams, she tells EW over Zoom, are already calling her name.
Remembering back to watching the awards, it seemed like you might have been having an out-of-body experience.
Lizzo recording ‘About Damn Time,’ as seen in ‘Love, Lizzo’.HBO Max
How were you feeling in that moment?
LIZZO:Oh, I was in my body.
So I always want to see to it that I’m saying the best possible thing in that moment.
Lizzo in ‘Love, Lizzo’.HBO Max
It’s not just about me.
Like, I have a platform.
I always see it as that.
Lizzo performs at Radio City Music Hall in 2019, as seen in ‘Love, Lizzo’.HBO Max
What message needs to come out of me to make me feel good about this moment?"
I was like, “Every girl needs to be in the crowd from the show!
Every girl is in a gown!”
And I think I was more so thinking about that.
You say in the documentary that during much of your earlier life you were always chasing the music.
I think it’s safe to say that has happened and you have arrived at that moment.
So what is the new goal?
What are you chasing now?
I don’t think it’s ever over.
Music isn’t a Grammy.
You know what I mean?
Like, ooh, where am I about to go next?
And music is calling.
It’s always calling.
And I will always be there to answer the call, no matter what.
Congrats on those Grammy nominations, by the way.
Your mom says in the doc that she always knew you were going to use your voice for something.
And music, of course, became the avenue for your voice.
But do you remember the specific moment when you realized that?
Not just as an artist, but as someone with a platform.
Yes, and we touch on that in the doc.
And I was like, “Oh, this isn’t feeding my ego.
This is serving a purpose.
I didn’t want to make music that served my ego anymore.
I wanted to make music that served a greater good.
And I think it started with that song.
I remember when the video for that came out and it made headlines.
It’s sweet that you remember that it was so long ago to me.
I literally was a rapper first.
I can’t,” you know what I mean?
Like, I’ve done it well maybe you could sing, who knows?
Rapping was like the thing I could hide behind because it’s like, I can’t sing.
So I was literally rapping first.
And then when I madeCoconut Oil, I started singing more and more and more, really singing.
And I think that’s where I learned how far I could take my singing voice.
And when I started gaining more confidence as a singer was well after “Truth Hurts” went No.
1, but I wasn’t confident in it for a long time.
I’m proud to say that I’m a singer now.
And it’s like, you’re free to’t.
You’re not going to.
[Laughs] I am who I want to be.
So my singing pocket is off the chain.
You very specifically say you remember sleeping in your car on Thanksgiving.
And here we are, at Thanksgiving.
Are those moments that you think back to often?
What kind of place do they hold for you?
Well, the place it holds is trauma.
Traumatic experiences, man.
But they also propelled me and got me out of I didn’t want to stay there.
I had to evolve, I had to grow, I had to get better.
It’s very cyclical and full-circle.
This is also the first time I’ve owned a house and loved where I’ve lived.
Two years ago I was in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in Echo Park.
And then I had like a rental house as of December 2019.
But this is really being a grown-up.
So it’s a big deal.
It’s something worth celebrating, for sure.
You mentioned your house.
Is it true that your house is built on property that Harry Styles used to own?
[Eating a cookie, laughs] No comment.
It is indeed, isn’t it?
But I have to say, I feel like he became an unseen character in this story.
And how music has this visceral effect on me.
[Laughs] And I just think that that’s like such a real moment, you know?
I feel it too.
I go there too.
Well you’re going to experience a Lizzo concert when you’re watching that special back during the edits.
I’m gonna love it.
[Laughs]
Okay, so someone stole your identity?
Did you find this thief?
kindly tell me you did.
I don’t know who it was.
I had two IDs.
I don’t know what that was all about.
Why won’t they let me…?
And then I found out that there was this whole other Melissa Jefferson that was reckless.
So I don’t know who it was.
[Laughs] But I have a driver’s license.
That’s a whole other documentary.
Well, genre’s racist inherently.
And I think the coolest thing I’ve seen is rap and hip-hop artists become pop.
And I’m giving that same energy.
I might be guacamole to them.
You just gotta get used to me because I’m making good s—.
1 hits are there but you do so much more and you put on a show!
I think I’m taking…
I made huge breakthroughs as a person on this tour, in my personal life.
And this tour has helped support that.
I could be taking care of my voice better."
Let’s just start there.
Wasn’t thinking about it at all, losing my voice like it was something to do.
I have taken care of myself much better, and I’ve really healed myself on this tour.
