Lizzo

Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, born April 27, 1988, in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Houston, Texas, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and classically trained flutist whose infectious music, outspoken self-love message, and electrifying live performances catapulted her to global superstardom in 2019 and made her one of the most culturally significant pop figures of the early 2020s. Raised in a Houston household where music was a constant presence, she studied classical flute from a young age and was classically trained through her high school years, developing a level of technical mastery on the instrument that she has incorporated into her pop performances in ways that no other mainstream pop star has attempted. She released her debut independent album Lizzobangers (2013) and the more polished Big Grrrl Small World (2015) before her breakthrough arrived with Coconut Oil (2016) and then the mainstream explosion of Cuz I Love You (2019), whose lead single Juice and the follow-up Truth Hurts — which became a viral sensation years after its release due to a TikTok moment — both topped global charts and introduced her message of radical self-acceptance and body positivity to a worldwide audience. Truth Hurts became the longest-running number-one song by a solo female rap artist in Billboard Hot 100 history. She won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album for Cuz I Love You (2020) and won three Grammy Awards including Record of the Year for About Damn Time (2023). Her concerts are celebrated as among the most joyful and inclusive live events in pop music. She also appeared in the film Hustlers (2019) and her own Amazon Prime show Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (2022).