Lizzo is speaking out candidly following the less-than-ideal release of her fifth studio album, BTCH. The LP sold a mere 2,649 copies during its first week and failed to crack the Billboard 200 album charts.
While the “Truth Hurts” Grammy winner admits the muted response was “soul-crushing,” a call from SZA provided her with a healthy dose of perspective.
The Numbers: A Significant Dip Compared to ‘Special’
Upon its June 5, 2026, release on Nice Life/Atlantic Records, BTCH sold 2,649 copies in the first week and an additional 650 the second. This is a far cry from the 39,000 copies her 2022 album Special sold during its first week.
Lizzo said she’s “had all of these high hopes for what we would do the first week, and it didn’t match.” She confessed there were “24 hours of my life where I based my success and my worth on a number.”
I Hurt My Own Feelings’: Lizzo Opens Up About The Emotional Fallout
During her appearance on the Swiftologist’s Proto Pop podcast, Lizzo admitted that she felt “really stressed and really sad for a few days” because she believes the music on the project is “some of my best stuff.”
She stated that she had to “mourn” the changing relationship she has with both her fans and the industry, explaining, “The music industry is different in the last three years… my connection musically with the world is different.”
“Thank God for Solna,” Lizzo continued. “She called me and was like, ‘you’re on my mind.’ I was like, ‘Am I a failure???” and she was like, ‘Oh my god no!’”
Lizzo Addresses Why It Underperformed
Lizzo cited a combination of factors that contributed to BTCH’s underperformance, including algorithm shifts on social media, declining radio play, and “the very obvious & public attack on my career” following the 2023 lawsuit filed by former backup dancers. (She denies the allegations and is engaged in the legal battle.)
She also mentioned handling much of her promotion independently after feeling unsupported by her label, telling the podcast hosts, “I went out and I was hanging up posters… it was really, really fun.”
Despite the flop, Lizzo isn’t giving up on the album or her musical career. “B_TCH is still some of my ‘best stuff’… a stepping stone in the right direction.” In fact, she’s already back in the studio working on new material.