The latest Lizzo comeback attempt is upon us. Her hitmaking run came to a screeching halt in 2023, when he was hit with multiple lawsuits from former employees who accused her of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Lizzo denied the allegations and announced, "I didn't sign up for this shit— I QUIT." Last year, she un-quit, releasing the single "Love In Real Life" and the mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling, neither of which were commercial successes. She also got hit with a copyright-infringement lawsuit for an unreleased song-snippet. But hey, now she's back again!
Today, Lizzo returns with the new single "Don't Make Me Love U," an '80s-style synth-rock howler that's really going for that Tina Turner Private Dancer aesthetic, to the point where it interpolates the keyboard line from Turner's "The Best," as well as Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" bassline. Because of those interpolations, the song has nine credited writers, including Lizzo and producers Ricky Reed and Cheche Alara. Lizzo debuted the song on SNL last year. If you can separate the song from its flop-sweat context and all of its allusions, it's a pretty rousing example of the form.
But you won't be able to separate the song from its flop-sweat context if you watch the Tanner K Williams-directed video. In the clip, Lizzo plays someone who's desperate to impress someone who looks exactly like her 2019 self. New Lizzo squirts tears out of her eyeballs and grinds on the impassive, robotic Old Lizzo. This is clearly engineered to generate conversation, though I'm not sure what the conversation is supposed to be. Figure it out for yourself below.
"Don't Make Me Love U" is out now on Nice Life/Atlantic.
