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On Friday, June 5, Lizzo released her new album Bitch<\/em>. It\u2019s not doing so well.<\/p>\n In its first 24 hours of release, Bitch<\/em> garnered just 633,914 streams on Spotify. That\u2019s a far cry from the heights of Lizzo\u2019s previous two albums, 2022\u2019s Special<\/em> and 2019\u2019s Cuz I Love You<\/em>, which debuted at No. 2 and No. 6 on the Billboard 200 respectively.<\/p>\n In the first half of the 2020s, Lizzo\u2019s cultural presence was undeniable. Her single Truth Hurts<\/em> went massively viral, launching her into the spotlight. Between 2020 and 2023, she won four Grammys and even an Emmy for her reality competition Lizzo\u2019s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls<\/em>.<\/p>\n But in the years since, Lizzo\u2019s foothold in pop culture seems to have slipped. And according to the singer, a widespread shift in the music industry is to blame.<\/p>\n After Bitch<\/em>\u2019s underwhelming debut, some social media users wondered why the tide seems to have turned against Lizzo.<\/p>\n \u201cLizzo not having a fanbase is so weird to me when this woman was literally selling out arenas not even 2 years ago,\u201d one user wrote<\/a> in a viral post. \u201cLike, where did those people go?\u201d<\/p>\n Though plenty of other users had theories (including a lack of evolution in her sound<\/a>, an online obsession with dunking on the singer<\/a>, and simply the fickle finger of the music industry<\/a>), Lizzo herself chimed in on the discourse with her own explanation for the decline in her fanbase.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually can answer this: the industry changed so much in the last 3 yrs,\u201d Lizzo wrote<\/a>. \u201cStreaming replaced radio & I was a radio darling. That\u2019s how my fans discovered my music.\u201d<\/p>\n Lizzo added that \u201cthe very obvious & public attack on my career changed things\u201d as well, likely referring to the lawsuit filed against her in 2023 by three former backup dancers, who accused Lizzo of harassment, discrimination, and assault, among other claims. Lizzo has denied the allegations, and the lawsuit is ongoing.<\/p>\n Still, Lizzo wrote that she\u2019s \u201cout here doing my absolute best and u can\u2019t knock a bitch for that.\u201d <\/p>\n In a separate post, Lizzo wrote<\/a> that she\u2019s \u201cnever been a stream queen\u2026 but I ALWAYS been a HITMAKER.\u201d She also responded directly to Bitch<\/em>\u2019s first-day streaming numbers<\/a>, thanking her fans and writing, \u201cI\u2019m so proud of us LIZZBIANS!\u201d<\/p>\n Even after Lizzo\u2019s explanation, social media users weren\u2019t sold. Though it\u2019s true that for music consumption, streaming continues to gain popularity, many users pointed out that the transition predated Lizzo\u2019s loss of popularity. As early as 2021<\/a>, streaming had surpassed radio as the most common way Americans listened to music, largely driven by Gen Z\u2019s listening habits.<\/p>\n And though streaming may be popular, radio remains the most listened-to platform across all ad-supported audio for American adults, with Nielsen even noting as of June 2026<\/a> that radio\u2019s share of daily listening time has increased quarter over quarter.<\/p>\n Where Lizzo\u2019s assessment is correct is that she\u2019s getting less radio airplay than she used to. Though her previous singles \u201cAbout Damn Time,\u201d \u201cTruth Hurts,\u201d and \u201cGood As Hell\u201d all spent weeks topping Billboard\u2019s Radio Songs chart<\/a>, none of her releases since 2023 have appeared on the chart at all, including any of the tracks from Bitch<\/em>. Even if radio is alive and well, Lizzo\u2019s time as a \u201cradio darling\u201d may be behind her.<\/p>\n\u2018I was a radio darling\u2019: Lizzo says streaming is at fault<\/h2>\n
Is radio really dead?<\/h2>\n