Lizzo has opened up about the emotional aftermath of her latest album, B*TCH, missing the Billboard 200, revealing that SZA was one of the first people to check in on her during a difficult week. Speaking during an interview with the Swiftologist, the Grammy winner admitted she questioned herself before receiving reassurance from her longtime friend.
“Thank God for Solána, she called me and was like ‘you’re on my mind,’” Lizzo recalled, referring to SZA by her first name. “I was like ‘am I a failure???’ and she was like ‘oh my god no!’ — she’s so sweet.”
The conversation came after B*TCH, released on June 5 through Nice Life and Atlantic Records, failed to debut on the Billboard 200. According to previously reported Luminate figures, the album sold 2,649 copies in its opening week before dropping to 650 copies in its second frame.
Lizzo also spoke honestly about the emotional toll the album’s commercial performance has taken on her, describing a period of grief as she adjusted to changing industry realities.
“I was really stressed and really sad for a few days because this is some of my best stuff,” she said. “I had to come to terms with the fact that not only is the music industry different—we need to talk about the radio aspect—but also my relationship and my connection musically with the world is different. And I think I had to mourn that.”
Her latest comments expand on concerns she has shared throughout the album rollout. Earlier this month, Lizzo responded to criticism that she was not promoting B*TCH aggressively enough, explaining that every promotional effort was met with online backlash.
“I promoted my album super hard and people were calling me a desperate flop,” she said in a TikTok video responding to a fan encouraging her to keep pushing the project.
She has also argued that the music business has fundamentally shifted over the past several years, pointing to streaming, declining radio influence, and social media algorithms as major factors affecting how audiences discover music.
“The industry changed so much in the last 3 yrs. Streaming replaced radio & I was a radio darling. That’s how my fans discovered my music,” Lizzo previously wrote on X, adding that the public controversies surrounding her career also affected her commercial momentum.
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