US musician Melissa Jefferson, best known as Lizzo, has addressed the poor sales of her latest album ‘Bitch’ released on June 5.
In an interview, the “Truth Hurts” singer called the low numbers “soul-crushing.”
“It dropped, and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, this isn’t what I thought it would be,'” she said. “I didn’t think it would be crazy, but I also didn’t think it would be this. There was, like, 24 hours of my life where I based my success and my worth on a number, and I think that was soul-crushing.”
Despite renewed efforts to promote the album in the weeks before its release, the sales still fell short of expectations.
Bitch, Lizzo’s follow-up to her award-winning 2022 album Special, only sold 2,649 copies in its first week, a huge decline from the 39,000 copies that Special debuted to, according to Rolling Stone.
The album also failed to chart on the Billboard 200, whereas Special hit No. 2. The lead single from Special, “About Damn Time,” reached No. 1 and also won a Grammy for record of the year.
Lizzo also said that she took the low sales to heart because she was really proud of the album.
“I took the poor sales to heart really, really, heavily. I had to reframe and be like, ‘But aren’t you proud of yourself?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I actually am proud of myself.’ Aren’t you excited to sing these songs? Aren’t you glad they’re out?’ Yeah.”
This is the singer’s first album since being sued by her former dancers.
In 2023, three of Lizzo’s former backup dancers sued the singer, her production company, and her dance captain for sexual harassment, religious and racial discrimination, and creating a hostile work environment.
The lawsuit alleged incidents such as pressuring dancers to interact with nude performers at an Amsterdam strip club and conducting gruelling rehearsals
