Lizzo has made a name for herself in the last year topping the Billboard Charts as of Oct. 5 at number one for two weeks in a row. Known by her friends and family as Melissa Jefferson, she started her career back in 2013 when she released her first studio album Lizzobangers. 2017 arrived with her single “Truth Hurts” dropping but it wasn’t until 2019 when she released her third studio album Cuz I Love You featuring the now popular “Truth Hurts” that took everyone by storm.

Since Lizzo started her career, she has stepped apart from all other artists. Being a woman of size and a woman of color in the music industry hasn’t been easywhile she promotes self-love in all her songs, it hasn’t always come naturally. Like many people, Lizzo had doubts about her appearance and feeling confident in her own skin. It wasn’t until the release of her song “Good as Hell” that she felt like the stunning star many see her as. In a Parade article, author Becky Hughes discusses what Lizzo previously said in a piece for NBC News, “I understand how difficult it is to ‘just love yourself’ in a society in which the media quite literally tells us that we don’t have enough money to love ourselves.” She is giving people a path they can follow to get to a place where they can love themselves. Having a powerful woman in the spotlight such as Lizzo shows that it doesn’t matter what your size is, it just takes time to learn to love yourself. She wrote, “we have to start being more honest with what we need, and what we deserve, and start serving that to ourselves.” 

Cuz I Love You promotes self-love and body positivity through every song released. Songs like “Soulmate” and “Like a Girl” boost self-care and loving ones self, “Tempo” showcases body empowerment no matter your size. Lizzo even hits points in her song “Boys” influencing loving any type of man no matter their appearance or background. To add to the self-love and body positivity vibe from her album, the cover of Cuz I Love You is an image of Lizzo nude showing off the body she has. Having this as her cover photo for the album adds to the notion that it doesn’t matter what your size is, be comfortable in the skin you have. In a Ramapo News article, author Tori D’Amico states, “Lizzo does not shy away from her truest thoughts and feelings, and thrives because of it; her talent simply boosts these messages even higher.” 

She makes a happy and comfortable place for her fans; in The Daily Cardinal, author Sammy Gibbons wrote, “the audience of all shapes, colors, sizes, genders, etc. were happily in cohesive space of releasing their worries about their identities with help from the inspiring artist.” Not many artists can provide a space that can make all feel safe, yet Lizzo continues to inspire and assist those who look up to the plus size artist for guidance.

Lizzo continuously provides outlets for those who are bigger like she is, giving different ways to love yourself and steps that should be taken in order to get to a place where one is comfortable is something not many have done through music. With Lizzo providing a whole album directed at this topic, it gives those who are plus size someone to relate and look up to. Lizzo is changing the game through her music; it’s only a matter of time until a new album is released that takes everyone by storm yet again.