Lizzo says SZA helped her through disappointment over new album sales

Monday, June 29, 2026 at 1:40 PM

Lizzo and SZA attend Netflix's Canelo v Crawford Fight Night at Allegiant Stadium on September 13, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images for Netflix)

SZA helped Lizzo work through her feelings regarding the reception to her latest album cause she's Lizzo girl, they codependent.

Speaking on the Proto Pop podcast, she admitted she was disappointed by the first-week album sales of Bitch, which sold 2,649 copies, especially because of the work she put into marketing it.

Lizzo's fourth studio album, Special, debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 in 2022 after selling 69,000 copies in its first week.

"I had all of these high hopes, I think, for what we would do the first week, and it didn't match," Lizzo said of the Bitch rollout. "I was so excited because I met my presave goal and I met all of that, and then it dropped, and I was like, 'Oh, this isn't what I kinda thought it would be.'"

"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," Lizzo said, before expressing her gratitude for SZA, who called her at the right time.

"She just called me, she was like, 'Hey, you’re on my mind,'" Lizzo recalled. "I was like [crying sound], ‘Am I a failure?’ She was like, 'Oh my God, no!'"

Lizzo continued, "She's so sweet, and I like meditated and prayed on it. I was, like, this is why I don’t judge myself and my success, or my impact, on numbers ... because it’s soul-crushing if you do."

Lizzo was also among the many artists who paid tribute to Ms. Lauryn Hill at the BET Awards 2026 on Sunday, where Hill received the Living Legend Icon award.