Jonah Schwartz June 18th, 2026 - 2:19 PM
Despite the releases of her recent singles “Don’t Make Me Love U” and “Bitch” as well as her Scary Movie 6-backed collaboration with Sexyy Red titled “Hoes,” Lizzo’s new album, Bitch, is underperforming, Stereogum reports. The album, released June 5, has failed to chart on Billboard 200. Lizzo’s last album, Special, which was released in 2022, debuted at #2. Her 2025 mixtape, My Face Hurts From Smiling also did not chart.
A year after Special’s release, Lizzo was sued for sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, and she has not quite been able to regain the level of popularity she had before. The artist took to X to answer a post questioning why she seemingly had a fall-off in popularity:
I actually can answer this: the industry changed so much in the last 3 yrs. streaming replaced radio & I was a radio darling. That’s how my fans discovered my music. Not to mention the very obvious & public attack on my career changed things.
But I’m out here doing my absolute… https://t.co/hSlxl64C7s
— LIZZO (@lizzo) June 7, 2026
While it is true streaming has gained more popularity in recent years, it was still a well-established industry in 2019 when Lizzo had her breakout with “Truth Hurts.” The artist also took to Tiktok to call out streaming platforms, claiming their non-chronological algorithms get in the way of album rollouts. “The algorithm-based way that social media functions now is destroying the music industry,” she said. “Now, when I say the music industry, I don’t mean music culture. I don’t mean the good music that’s out. I don’t mean our ability to connect via social media to music. I’m talking about the actual industry that allows artists to sell their music for profit.”
@lizzoDon’t get me started on how the algorithm is racist & fat phobic 😏
In the same TikTok, she claimed that she’s been heavily promoting her album and that she has “280,000 people who want to buy my album, who want to see me on tour, and they’re not even seeing my promotional videos.” Still, she claims, the algorithms are preventing the people who do care from engaging with her work.
