Lizzo reveals how shifting priorities and personal struggles led her to delay Love in Real Life indefinitely.
Lizzo has opened up about the decision to shelve her long-teased fifth studio album Love in Real Life, calling it out of step with where she is now creatively.
The news comes hot on the heels of her surprise mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling, which dropped in late June.
In a candid New York Magazine cover story published September 8, the star admitted that although the record was finished earlier this year, she no longer felt connected to the songs.
“By 2025, I’ve changed, the world has changed so much, and so much has happened,” she explained. Written mostly in 2022, the album no longer reflected where she is now.
“It just wasn’t what I was feeling right now. I was like, ‘I need to do shit differently and I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to just start following my instincts.’”
Her instincts led to a difficult but liberating conversation with Atlantic Records.
After the project’s lead singles underperformed on the Billboard Hot 100, Lizzo sat down with her label and insisted she needed more freedom.
“I sat down at the table and I said, ‘I need to do shit my way starting from now. And I need y’all to have my back. It’s going to be a little scary,’” she recalled.
To her relief, the label agreed, assuring her they would support the pivot even if it meant scrapping the album’s rollout.
With Love in Real Life now officially ‘TBD,’ Lizzo has thrown herself into new work.
My Face Hurts From Smiling marks the beginning of a new era – one where she prioritises risk, honesty, and artistic freedom above all else.
“I’m in one of the most exciting, creative flows I’ve had as a human being on this planet,” she said defiantly.
“Who cares if you don’t like it? I got 7,000 more songs like it. You can’t get rid of me!”
The shift comes after a turbulent period in Lizzo’s career, marked by lawsuits from former employees and an avalanche of public scrutiny.
While she has denied all allegations, the legal battles have taken an emotional toll. Instead of retreating, she’s funnelled the chaos into bold, unfiltered music.
Love in Real Life may never be released, but Lizzo’s reset shows she’s determined to reclaim her narrative on her own terms.
