Lizzo has become a household name.
We love Lizzo (IG @lizzobeeating)! And the recent announcement of the 2020 Grammy Award nominations has the singer/songwriter, real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson, with the most nominations of the bunch (eight, to be exact) and big girls everywhere are rejoicing.
The media calls Lizzo a breakout star and people of all sizes, genders and colors know every single word to a Lizzo song.
For us in the plus-size community, she has been on our radar for a few years now.
We all knew she was destined for greatness, even when we saw her dancing in a Lane Bryant commercial declaring that her activism was inspired by #ThisBody.
In case you missed that, back in 2017, Lane Bryant tapped Lizzo alongside other iconic plus size women, such as the dance troupe Pretty Big Movement and poet/spoken word artist Ashlee Haze, to star in their powerful #ThisBody campaign, celebrating the power of women and what they can do with their bodies at any size.
Plus size icons do exist, contrary to what television host/comedian Loni Love said in a recent interview with Hello Beautiful, where she stated that “There are no real plus-size icons for me.”
It seems no one outside of our community sees them until they go mainstream.
And Lizzo is leading the pack, busting down mainstream doors and infiltrating places that we are rarely seen in.
What makes Lizzo different than other plus-size celebrities such as Ashley Graham, Gabourey Sidibe, Rebel Wilson and Melissa McCarthy?
She stands out by simply celebrating her non-hourglass body and being confident in her own skin. She’s not trying to lose weight, hide her body or treat her size as a hindrance. She doesn’t shy away from the word FAT or the term “plus size”. She is proud of her body, her dark skin, ALL OF IT.
This is why Lizzo is a plus-size icon and will always be one of us.
Her unbothered attitude is what has many hooked. It’s not just about her music, but who she is. She’s imperfect and embraces who she is unapologetically and knows her beauty. And that is refreshing and so damn empowering.
“When I just decided to let my body do what it wanted to do and focus on what’s important to me, I realized that I liked what I saw.”
Lizzo, Lane Bryant #ThisBody Campaign
While 2019 was definitely her year, with her gracing the cover of Vogue UK (YES!) and fronting Urban Decay’s new Pretty Different campaign alongside other celebrities, such as actor Ezra Miller and Korean pop star CL, Lizzo is showing no signs of slowing down. She’s not only taking the music scene by storm but she’s also entering into other spaces where plus-size bodies should be more represented.
Seems to us, Lizzo is just getting started and this has been long overdue.
“The fact that you can now see a brown face with a double chin and natural curls on a billboard representing beauty is a big, big, big deal. I want [all kinds of] people to see themselves in my face.” — Lizzo in an interview with Vogue.
Lizzo is nominated in the following categories:
- Best New Artist
- Album of the Year — Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)
- Best Urban Contemporary Album — Cuz I Love You
- Record of the Year — “Truth Hurts”
- Song of the Year — “Truth Hurts”
- Best Pop Solo Performance — “Truth Hurts”
- Best R&B Performance — “Exactly How I Feel” (with Gucci Mane)
- Best Traditional R&B Performance — “Jerome”
The Grammys will air January 26, 2020, 8:00 PM EST. Check your local listings for channel and time zone information.
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