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Best Lizzo Songs: 20 Juiced-Up Bangers
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List & Guides

Best Lizzo Songs: 20 Juiced-Up Bangers

Full of positivity, beauty and joy, the best Lizzo songs carry crucial messages for everyone: we’ve all got the juice!

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In 2022, Lizzo was invited to the Library Of Congress, in Washington, DC. The Library is home to an enormous flute collection and Lizzo was asked to play one of its rarest, a crystal flute once belonging to President James Madison. Lizzo had been playing the flute since she was a young girl, and the footage of her with the crystal flute is a beautiful expression of North America’s past and present finding common ground – something which, in their own genre-spanning way, many of the best Lizzo songs also tend towards.

“When people look back at the crystal flute, they’re going to see me playing it,” Lizzo has said of this moment, which cemented her place among the most influential female musicians of her generation. “They’re going to see that it was owned by James Madison, but they’re going to see how far we’ve had to come for someone like me to be playing it in the nation’s capital, and I think that that’s a cool thing. I don’t want to leave history in the hands of people who uphold oppression and racism. My job as someone who has a platform is to reshape history.”

Lizzo’s music is celebrated for its joy and positivity, yet such optimism often comes from dark places: the need to build your own self-esteem while oppressive forces in society try to shut you down. “Nobody would believe that I was happy and confident all of the time,” she has said. “Saying words like ‘uplifting’ makes it sound saccharine and corny, but there’s a rawness to my lyrics that makes it more than uplifting.”

Heartbreak and difficulties are also in evidence across the best Lizzo songs, yet the artist always looks for the learning as well as the melancholy. “I’m not going to say anything negative in my music because I don’t want anything negative in my life,” she has said. “But I’ll speak on things that have happened, I’ll talk about hard times, and how I got through it.”

Here, then, are the best Lizzo songs: expressions of a unique life that has had a universal impact.

Listen to the best of Lizzo, here, and check out our best Lizzo songs, below.

20: The Sign (from ‘Special’, 2022)

Lizzo’s fourth album, Special, was highly anticipated. Speaking at the March 2022 South By Southwest festival, Lizzo announced that the album was “coming soon” and that “it’s good. I worked real hard on it, so it better be good.” Opener The Sign absolutely let listeners know that Lizzo was back and in full effect. It’s a kinetic groove that sets up the awe-inspiring album that follows.

19: Blame It On Your Love (with Charli XCX) (from ‘Charli’, 2019)

This is a reimagined version of Charli XCX’s Track 10 (from her 2017 mixtape Pop 2). For Blame It On Your Love, Charli changed the original’s glassy austerity for a far bigger pop sound and invited Lizzo to guest. Charli rightly called Lizzo “the queen of everything”, and Lizzo’s contribution – while short on words – is huge in impact. Her filthy, jubilant laugh right at the end is the sound of pure hedonism.

18: Everybody’s Gay (from ‘Special’, 2022)

“I wanted to write a fantasy song, like one of those Hollywood songs where you’re taken away to a picture that I’m painting, a dream sequence kind of thing,” Lizzo said of Everybody’s Gay. Easily one of the best Lizzo songs, it’s a tribute to the communities that were early adopters of Lizzo’s sound, style, humour and positive politics. “I’ve always been so connected to the queer community,” she has said. “Drag queens were the first people who put my music on, and saw my music, and identified heavily with it in the beginning,”

17: Worship (from ‘Coconut Oil’ EP, 2016)

Coconut Oil was Lizzo’s first major-label EP. “I was taking care of myself and I did healthy things like using coconut oil,” Lizzo said of the period in which she recorded it. “And I wanted to connect to women of colour more, too, so coconut oil was a perfect metaphor for the project.” Opening the EP is Worship (Lizzo herself being that object of devotion), and Lizzo has said it was an important track to her in terms of her vocal growth – the first song on which she consciously explored how big her voice could get.

16: 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) (from ‘Special’, 2022)

One of many infectious throwbacks among the best Lizzo songs, 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) “is a callback to when pop records had key changes”, Lizzo has said. “That golden era of late-80s and early-90s pop, when singers had massive records that were vocally impressive but also danceable.” This electro-funk monster is a big personal favourite of Lizzo, who has called it “a work of art”.

15: Like A Girl (from ‘Cuz I Love You’, 2019)

Imagine Lizzo as President! On Like A Girl, Lizzo expresses her hopeful, affirmative feminism, something she has discussed in interviews. “Where there was a wave of feminism where we were burning bras, now I’m like, my bra is in your face,” she said in 2019. “I think that that is just a testament to human beings and how we evolve. And I think that the wave of feminism right now that’s overtly sexual and in your face, I think, is just the response to where we were. Like, I’m going to wear a suit, and I’m going to boss up on you.”

14: Fitness (standalone single, 2019)

“Hey, so I’ve been working out consistently for the last five years and it may come as a surprise to some of y’all that I’m not working out to have your ideal body type,” Lizzo said in 2020. “I’m working out to have my ideal body type. And you know what type that is? None of your fucking business, because I am beautiful, I am strong, I do my job and I stay on my job.” One of the best Lizzo songs from her breakout period, Fitness is a short, almost minimalist paean to the restorative powers of a resilient body. It’s a concentrated protein shot that wants you to sweat for yourself and your own confidence, and never for anyone else’s gaze.

13: Let ’Em Say (with Caroline Smith) (from ‘Broad City: Original Series Soundtrack’, 2014)

The video for Let ’Em Say, a life-affirming DIY pop song of pride and female solidarity, features Lizzo and Caroline Smith strutting down the street. It was exactly what the pair were like in real life at that point. “We didn’t want to overthink it,” Lizzo said. “We wanted to do something fun and simple and something that showcased our personalities. We like to walk down the street, have a great time, and we hope everyone can have a great time with us.” Caroline added, “We were literally doing what we do when we hang out: being goofballs and drinking vodka lemonade out of Styrofoam cups.”

12: Good As Hell (from ‘Coconut Oil’ EP, 2016)

Originally composed for the Ice Cube movie Barbershop: The Next Cut, Good As Hell quickly outgrew its soundtrack status to become one of Lizzo’s biggest hits – and its body-positive message makes it a contender among the best workout songs, too. Opening with a lyrical hair toss, Lizzo reminds us all about our worth, our magnificence, and that we all have wings to soar whenever we need them. Lizzo also created a remixed version, a duet with Ariana Grande, in 2019.

11: Cuz I Love You (from ‘Cuz I Love You’, 2019)

The title track from Cuz I Love You is one that Lizzo particularly treasures. She tweeted that she and producers X Ambassadors wrote the song in ten minutes! Sonically, it’s something of a departure among the best Lizzo songs: a huge vocal over a track that’s half power ballad, half glam-stomp (and there’s a nod to its glitter heritage with the Slade-referencing misspelled title, too).

10: Coldplay (from ‘Special’, 2022)

Closing out the album Special, Coldplay opens with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s pitch-shifted vocals from the song Yellow, and is a beautiful hymn to elusive realness in love. The song began as a 45-minute stream-of-consciousness freestyle, with Lizzo rapping over a piano loop, and producer Ricky Reed crafted the track from Lizzo’s improvisations. “This is one of the most literal songs I’ve ever written,” Lizzo said. “Everything I say in the song actually happened.”

9: Jerome (from ‘Cuz I Love You’, 2019)

While Lizzo often comes across as frank and open, she has traditionally kept her personal life for herself. It was through such songs as Jerome – a masterful track about a suitor with a fondness for 2am texting – where we gained clues to her past or present relationships. Yet with the release of the 2022 documentary Love, Lizzo, the star decided to speak openly about her long-term relationship with Myke Wright. “It was a tough decision because I could have completely left it out of the film, and trust me, there’s edits where it was done,” Lizzo said in 2022. “But it’s such a huge part of my life because of the kind of artist I am. I do write songs about him. A lot of my songs are about love and about him.”

8: Boys (standalone single, 2018)

Harking back to her earlier years as a Minneapolis indie-rapper, Boys is a short but thumping funk tribute to all that’s special about the male gender. “From this Black girl to the world, I want you to identify with my story no matter what you like in yo’ holes,” Lizzo said, with her usual lack of shits given. “I want people to feel free, I want people to have fun, I want these boys to know that you could be my next victim… if you play your cards right.”

7: Humanize (from ‘Big Grrrl Small World’, 2015)

A song about Lizzo’s “internal struggle to accept intimacy”, Humanize is a subtle, subdued track from her second album, Big Grrrl Small World. Now regarded as one of the best Lizzo songs, it was also one of the hardest tracks for Lizzo herself to pin down: the verses flowed well, but hanging the whole thing together was tough. “It’s a different voice,” she of the song at the time of its release. “I’m not singing super big or rapping at all. I’m singing really quietly. The lyrics I pulled from very personal experiences. It’s like reading out of your diary with a baby voice.”

6: Tempo (featuring Missy Elliott) (from ‘Cuz I Love You’, 2019)

“Without [Missy Elliott] I would have been trying to chase a completely different type of career,” Lizzo told Teen Vogue in 2018. There are not enough superlatives to honour Missy (topping our list of the best female rappers is just one), and on Tempo she delivers a pithy, brilliant rap which built on an encounter that the two legends had a year previously. “I wanted to freestyle and get drunk,” Lizzo said. “So they sent me to Means Street [Studios] in Atlanta and Missy happened to be in the studio at the time, and she was like, ‘Yeah, send Lizzo through.’ So I went in and I played her some of my songs and she was like, ‘This shit fire.’ And then she was like, ‘I want you to freestyle.’ So she was just playing tracks and I was freestyling on it. We did that maybe two or three times and then I never saw her again after that, and I was like, ‘Wow that was an amazing dream that I had.’”

5: My Skin (from ‘Big Grrrl Small World’, 2015)

One reason why Lizzo’s positivity is so celebrated is because the listener knows the forces set against it: the racist, sexist and body-shaming structures in society. Facing those challenges down is all documented in My Skin, a track that accepts head-on the bumpy journey to self-esteem and self-confidence. “My afro-hair, fat, muscle, bone and melanin are not a punchline,” Lizzo posted on her website at the time of Big Grrrl Small World, the album which includes this entry among the best Lizzo songs. “I was born in it, and I will proudly wake up in it everyday.”

4: About Damn Time (from ‘Special’, 2022)

Topping our list of the best songs of 2022, About Damn Time was Lizzo’s second US No.1 and won Record Of The Year at the 2023 Grammy Awards. Epic in sound and equally epic in construction, it was the final song recorded for Lizzo’s fourth album, Special, and took over 30 sessions and four months to complete. It was all worth it. “I think life had thrown some major traumas and hard experiences at us, especially globally these last few years,” she said. “I wanted to write a song that allowed us to take a moment and celebrate our survival, and celebrate how far we’ve come.”

3: Truth Hurts (standalone single, 2017)

Truth Hurts is the biggest No.1 ever by a female rapper, spending seven weeks at the top of the Billboard charts in 2019. Not bad for a song that didn’t even chart the first time it was released, two years previously. But Lizzo always knew the splash it could make. “I was just like, ‘Let’s see what the fuck happens,’” she said around the time of its re-release. “I’d never really written a big fucking pop banger before, and Ricky [Reed, producer] was the guy to do that with.” A no-brainer among the best Lizzo songs, Truth Hurts has since been certified seven-times platinum and is included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time list. Turns out, she’s 100 per cent that bitch!

2: Batches & Cookies (featuring Sophia Eris) (from ‘Lizzobangers’, 2013)

“Confidence is very important, and that’s why it took so long for me: I had to get my confidence up,” Lizzo said at the time that Batches & Cookies made her name. “Somewhere along the line, you break out. You have to become comfortable with yourself and love yourself.” The video to Batches & Cookies, resplendent with giant donuts, bigger motorbikes, popped balloons and LGBTQ+ pride, is the result of Lizzo’s confidence flaring up and showering us all with love. “We didn’t exactly plan the video, we just kind of went out and shot,” Lizzo said. “That’s what we came up with and I’m so proud of it and happy with it. I like the randomness of it and the spontaneity of it because that’s basically what the song is all about, it’s just about working with what you have.”

1: Juice (from ‘Cuz I Love You’, 2019)

“I love this song,” Lizzo said of Juice. “I just can’t not sing the whole thing!” There’s so much to know about it (in fact, there’s a whole story behind Juice), but the most important thing – and the reason it tops this list of the best Lizzo songs – is that it encompasses the best of Lizzo, all in one place: her positivity, her beauty, her joy; and it says that you absolutely have to treat those things with the same importance that you give sadness and heartbreak. “My job as an artist isn’t merely to sing,” Lizzo said at the time of the song’s release. “My role is to deliver something that helps people. With my message on [Cuz I Love You], I can do that in the best way.”

Find out where Lizzo ranks among the most influential female musicians of all time.

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