Lizzo said the reception of her new album, “B‑TCH,” was "soul‑crushing" due to poor sales and a failure to chart [1].
The singer's comments highlight a significant commercial decline for an artist who previously maintained a high-profile presence in the pop music industry.
Speaking on the June 28 episode of Swiftologist’s Proto Pop series, Lizzo said the album's performance did not meet her expectations [1]. She said she had high hopes for the first week of release, but the results did not match those goals [1]. Despite the outcome, she said she was initially excited because she had met her pre-save goal [1].
The album failed to appear on the Billboard 200 [1]. This marks a sharp contrast to her previous album, "Special," which peaked at No. 2 on the same chart [4].
Lizzo has faced online mockery regarding the project's early numbers [3]. In a TikTok post, she wrote that she "secured another five sales" [3]. The post drew attention to the disparity between her commercial performance and her social media reach, as she maintains 27 million followers on the platform [3].
Lizzo said the experience left her feeling stressed and sad [1]. The singer's reflections on her career following the release were further detailed in reports published earlier this month [2].
“"I had all of these high hopes for what we would do the first week, and it didn't match."”
The commercial failure of “B‑TCH” suggests a disconnect between Lizzo's massive social media following and her current streaming and sales conversion. While a follower count of 27 million [3] typically indicates a broad reach, the inability to enter the Billboard 200 [1] after previously hitting No. 2 [4] points to a decline in active listener engagement or a shift in public perception of her brand.
