“To be a part of this cultural event,” Lizzo tells Billboard in a recent interview, “Man, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m the perfect person for it.”
The singer is referring to her new partnership with Chili’s, for which she recorded her own version of the iconic “Baby Back Ribs” jingle and performed it in an over-the-top ad spot for the restaurant chain — featuring giant slabs of meat and her very own rib flute — released Wednesday (May 27). Just a few years ago, however, most people probably wouldn’t have seen Lizzo as the “perfect” spokesperson for the campaign — namely because she used to be vegan.
But after about three years of following a vegan diet that she often promoted to her followers, the Grammy winner announced in late 2024 that she’d started eating meat again. That’s why, she explains over Zoom, she wasn’t worried about taking part in such a meat-centric brand deal at this point in her life.
“I think that I’m very sensitive about the way I deliver personal news to the world,” she says, wearing a Chili’s T-shirt and bright red lipstick. “When I announced that I was no longer vegan, and that I was consuming animal protein, I was so nervous that I would hurt people’s feelings or let people down. But it was important for me to say that back then, because of things like this now, where, you know, it would have been super jarring for me to be a vegan in 2021, and then 2026, I’m eating a big old rib and playing a rib flute. So what I said back then to make sure that I cleared the air, and that any decisions I make now, you know where I’m coming from.”
One of those decisions was when she dressed up as a Chili’s mozzarella stick for Halloween last year — which she says was likely the reason the company reached out to her afterward with the “Baby Back Ribs” proposal. “I think they saw that and was like, ‘OK, we have to do something with her,’” she says with a laugh.
“Everyone knows that I’m just, at my core … If I was not a singer, I’d probably be a mukbanger,” she adds, referencing the type of content creator who posts videos of themselves eating large amounts of food for entertainment. “I was watching Trisha Paytas back in the day. More than the health advocacy side, I think this [partnership] is more my fun, love-to-eat foodie side.”
For her campaign with Chili’s — where she says she used to eat with her family on weekends throughout her childhood — Lizzo reimagined the “Baby Back Ribs” jingle with updated lyrics and some of her signature flute playing. In the corresponding commercial, she sings the song while recreating scenes from the original 1996 ad before turning a Chili’s kitchen into a disco, dancing among line cooks and performing with a flute made to look like a juicy rib.
“I’ve played some weird flutes,” she tells Billboard when weighing whether it was the most eccentric flute she’s ever played. “I did play a cookie flute on Sesame Street. So I’ve played edible flutes before.”
Of recording her own version of the brand’s jingle, Lizzo adds that she had to do her research to see where she could slot in among previous acts who’ve put their own spins on “Baby Back Ribs,” such as *NSYNC and Boyz II Men. The collaboration comes less than two weeks ahead of her new album Bitch, which drops on June 5.
“The *NSYNC version, I remember being like, ‘Whoa.’ They made it a ballad, and they were shipwrecked, and they’re like, ‘I want my baby back,’” Lizzo recalls. “And I said, ‘OK, that’s a really good angle.’ How do I turn it into … ‘Oh, you want your baby back? You gonna have to work hard to get that.’ I wrote the verse really quickly, and it just rolled off the tongue. It took, like, an hour.”
See Lizzo’s version of the “Baby Back Ribs” jingle — which is available now on YouTube, along with an a cappella version — below.
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