I am a big fan of Lizzo. Her music has been there for me over the years; at every party, through every rough patch with my body image, and through every pandemic meltdown, she was there to remind me of my worth. I’ve always admired the way Lizzo carries herself with such confidence, grace and openness. It inspires me to cultivate the same qualities in myself. Basically, I want to be her when I grow up—she’s my hero. So naturally, when she announced her North American Special tour earlier this year, I thought, “It’s about damn time Lizzo went on tour!” I splurged on pit tickets, making sure I got a front row seat to see the magic happen. And magic it was!
There is some sort of indescribable magic that enters a stadium during a concert. The lights go down, the stage is set, and the music starts up, vibrating your entire body. Lizzo came out blazing with “The Sign” as the first song on her setlist, singing “hi, motherf*cker, did you miss me? I’ve been home since 2020.” What a perfect opening. It was the first stadium concert I had been to post-Covid, and it felt GOOD AS HELL to be back. Lizzo was up there twerkin’ with her Big Grrrls (if you haven’t seen the Amazon Original “Watch Out For The Big Grrrls” go watch it now!).
Lizzo radiates the same pure joy and confidence that we all know and love about her music. There were a few moments during the show that were beautiful and felt really genuine. At one point in between songs, Lizzo took the time to pause and acknowledge people in the crowd. She said calmly in her soothing gentle tone, “I see you. You are seen, and I love you. Y’all think I don’t see you, but I see every single one of you.” She then proceeded to call people out in the crowd, like an old man with white hair dancing to her songs, or the lady up in the balcony wearing a lavender dress, or the pair of little girls in the hot pink t-shirts holding up a big “I love Lizzo” sign. The joy a person feels when someone tells them they’re seen, it just feels so good.
Toward the end of the show, there was a moment when all the lights went out and the stadium became pitch black. Lizzo’s voice came through the speakers as she encouraged everyone to close their eyes and take a deep breath. She proceeded to guide us through a lil’ meditation, which was a gift I didn’t know I needed. For those 5 minutes, Lizzo became the big sister/therapist/boss b*tch mentor I always wanted her to be. She seemed so sure of herself that I couldn’t help but believe her as she was telling everyone to say these words to themselves: “I love you. You are beautiful. You can do amazing things every single day.” It didn’t sound like gaslighting, or fake encouragement, the way a lot of celebrities tend to come off. She radiated pure love with every word. On top of everything, Sasha flute (In Lizzo’s words, “the world’s most famous flute owned by a black woman”) made several appearances. Lizzo’s flute solos were the cherry on top of a seriously magical evening. I mean, who else can twerk in a glittery bodysuit while playing the flute, only to jump right back into the song with booming vocals and dance with the Big Grrrls like nobody’s watching? Iconic. Simply iconic. If you missed out on the Lizzo concert experience, no need to fret. You can get up close and personal with her in her upcoming HBO Max original film, Love, Lizzo, (releases on Nov. 24!) which delves into her self-love journey and her mission to spread body positivity. Lizzo, if you ever read this, thank you for being you. You make me excited to be me.