Lizzo’s record About Damn Time was named Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. The performer stood before the audience and gave a moving statement in which she credited Prince and Beyoncé as major influences on her work.
Lizzo, clearly taken aback by the news, grabbed the stage and explained that she and Adele were just there to enjoy the show and were “rooting for our pals.”
To begin her acceptance speech, Lizzo said, “When we lost Prince I resolved to commit my life to crafting positive music.” As the musician put it, “feel-good music wasn’t mainstream at that stage, and I felt terribly misunderstood.”
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“I stayed true to myself because I wanted to make the world a better place, and I knew that in order to do that, I had to be that change,” she explained. And now I look around and there are all these songs about enjoying our bodies and feeling comfortable in our skin and feeling f***ing amazing, and I’m just so pleased to be a part of it because in a world that has a lot of darkness and a lot of scary sh*t. I’d like to think that human beings are good not simply because of what they’re capable of doing, but because of who they are.
You will find people, you will draw people into your life who believe in you and support you, I guarantee you. “And anyone back home who feels misunderstood or on the outside looking in as I did, just be true to yourself.”
Later, Lizzo turned to Beyoncé to confess that she had skipped fifth grade to see her perform. She thanked the creators of About Damn Time, her “Team Lizzo,” and her parents.
Lizzo told Beyoncé onstage, “You altered my life.” To paraphrase, “When you sang that gospel medley and I felt the way you did, I thought, ‘I want to make people feel this way with my music.'” You are, without a doubt, the artist of our lives; we are eternally grateful. In the end, Lizzo began jumping around and shouting, “I got a f***ing Grammy!” while Beyoncé applauded her.
