Overview
- Lizzo’s fifth studio album Bitch, released on June 5, sold roughly 2,650 copies in its first week and did not reach the Billboard 200 or the UK top 100.
- The singer told the Swiftologist/Proto Pop podcast that the result left her “stressed” and “really sad,” saying she briefly judged her worth by the numbers before reassessing her pride in the music.
- Lizzo said she took promotion into her own hands — doing press interviews, hanging posters and engaging with fans online — because she felt label support and discoverability were limited.
- Coverage and Lizzo herself point to broader forces—streaming-algorithm driven discovery, the waning gatekeeping power of radio, and fallout from a 2023 lawsuit by former backup dancers—as factors that reduced the album’s reach.
- Observers say the episode could affect how established artists plan releases, with attention now on streaming, radio play and touring as measures of whether Lizzo can regain mainstream momentum.