The Japan Times - 'Booked, blessed and busy': Lizzo returns

The 12-track record brings back the soulful pop-rap blends that made the effervescent performer a household name with her messages of body positivity, feminist empowerment and sexual freedom.

The hitmaker, whose 2017 song "Truth Hurts" became a viral sleeper smash and boosted her to global fame two years later, promoted the release of her fourth album with a "Today" show performance in Manhattan outside of NBC's studios.

"I'm so proud of this album," she told the show Friday. "It was three years in the making. It's literally a classic, no-skips album. It's the best thing I've ever done."

Lizzo's week had already kicked off to a banner start after she scored an Emmy Awards nomination for her show "Watch Out for the Big Grrrls," a reality show where she searches for her tour's back-up dancers.

"We didn't do this for awards, we did this for ourselves. For the lives we touched making this… To shake up the industry.. and show the world how BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED WE AREEEEE!" she posted on Instagram after learning of the nomination.

"BIG GRRRLS ARE BOOKED, BLESSED AND BUSY."

The 34-year-old artist born Melissa Viviane Jefferson debuted in 2013 but did not achieve mainstream success until the release of her third album "Cuz I Love You," which found runaway success and earned the Detroit-born, Houston-raised performer eight Grammy nominations with three wins.

She's set to kick off a North American tour in September, with stops including New York's Madison Square Garden and Los Angeles' Kia Forum.

"It takes 10 years to become an overnight success," she told Today.

"I needed to discover my self-love," she continued, elated fans cheering her along. "The music that's connecting to people is about my self-love."

K.Tanaka--JT