Lizzo joined Drink Champs for an interview clip that went live Saturday (June 6), and when asked to choose between two musical greats, the Detroit native refused to do so.
Instead, Lizzo gave the often-compared rivals Michael Jackson and Prince their flowers, and saluted MJ and the Purple One’s iconic legacies that she doesn’t think will be touched by any artists of today.
“How lucky are we to be able to experience or have experienced or witness the kind of artistry that Michael Jackson and Prince gave in real time? This is Mozart-level s–t,” she said. “In 150 years, people are still going to be talking about these artists.”
Lizzo believes there are too many distractions for artists these days muddying the waters to truly be dedicated to their crafts.
“It’s not even possible to be that great anymore,” she added. “We got too many cell phones, too many distractions. What they had was working at home on their craft. Do you know the blisters and the bleeding that you have to have on your fingers to play guitar the way Prince played guitar?
The “Truth Hurts” artist continued: “That comes from hours of sitting and just playing. Like, that’s not going to come to you after going viral on TikTok. Michael Jackson was working on his spins in a dance studio from 7 p.m. to six in the morning.”
Lizzo credited the Jacksons with being the original pop family band and inventing pop stardom. “That’s what I always say about Janet [Jackson]: She’s the queen of pop because they invented pop,” she claimed. “Motown literally invented what modern pop is today.”
“I don’t think there’s ever been a pop star of that magnitude. And it will never happen again, baby,” Lizzo added of Michael Jackson, before crowning Prince as the “greatest guitar player of all-time.”
Over the course of their careers, Michael Jackson placed 52 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, while Prince landed 47 songs on the Hot 100 and five No. 1s on the Billboard 200.
As far as her own music goes, Lizzo returned with her first album in four years on Friday (June 5), as Bitch arrived on streaming services. 2022’s Special debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 69,000 total album-equivalent units, according to Luminate.
“Reclaiming the word ‘b—h’ is power. It’s taking a label once used to diminish women and turning it into a declaration of confidence and unapologetic self-love,” she said in a statement. “So many incredible women in music have used the word for positivity like Meredith Brooks and Missy Elliott. It was only fitting to name my album Bitch because it has become my favorite word when using it on my own terms, and because I am 100% that b—h!”
Watch the clip of Lizzo on Drink Champs below.
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