Lizzo celebrates birthday by announcing new album

Lizzo, real name Melissa Jefferson, celebrated her 38th birthday by announcing her fifth studio album, B**ch, which is set to release on 5 June. She shared the album title on Instagram and revealed the cover art—a hand holding a cutout of herself in place of a middle finger. The album’s title track interpolates Meredith Brooks’s 1997 song of the same name. In a statement, Lizzo explained that she wants to reclaim the word 'b**ch,' transforming it from a label used to diminish women into a declaration of confidence and unapologetic self-love. She cited examples like Meredith Brooks and Missy Elliott. Additionally, Lizzo mentioned upcoming projects, including a children’s book, *Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’*, due in September, and a role as musician Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the biopic *Rosetta*, from Amazon MGM Studios.