Lizzo talks to PEOPLE about her new Instacart campaign, reprising her role as a bride in her “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” music video, and what makes her feel most confident these days.
Lizzo fans are in for a treat — or treats — on Sunday at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.
The “About Damn Time” singer, 34, will not only perform during the show, for which she is nominated for four awards, but she will also take over a commercial break when her Instacart commercial for their new “The World Is Your Cart” campaign debuts.
“I’m excited to show this side of myself,” Lizzo told PEOPLE recently via Zoom, where her display name is appropriately “100% that bitch.” “I don’t do partnerships very often, especially for large advertisements like this. Normally, you hear my music but don’t see me. It’ll be awesome to see myself in a commercial like this.”
Lizzo can be seen in the video sitting in a bathtub, using her Instacart app. Her surroundings become increasingly fantastical as she adds items to her digital cart, with cherries raining down on her and a Takis sandstorm.
“The creative was really fun,” Lizzo says. “It felt very much like me. ‘Oh, this actually sounds fun,’ I thought. All I get to do is sit in a bathtub? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!'”
Lizzo Recreates Her ‘Truth Hurts’ Wedding Look for New Music Video ‘2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)’
The commercial is set to a remix of her song “The Sign,” which appears on her new album Special. “‘If you’re looking for a sign, this is it,’ I mean. Come on in and get your order, “she claims
At the end of the video, Lizzo is still in her tub, surrounded by people who are having a sort of Alice in Wonderland tea party. Shari Johnson-Jefferson, the musician’s mother, is among those present.
“My mother has been asking me every week, ‘When is it coming out?’ ‘When is it coming out?’ “she claims “I’m not telling her because I want to surprise her. She’ll be watching the VMAs and thinking to herself, ‘Oh my God!'”
Lizzo jokes, “Somebody get this girl a reality show!” when asked if this could be the start of a new career path for her mother.
Along with the commercial, Lizzo’s Cart — a verified, official list of grocery items curated by the star herself — will be available on the Instacart app starting Thursday. Carts are searchable, shoppable product collections curated by pop culture personalities, retailers, and creators for their fans and customers to shop their favourite products.
Lizzo’s Cart, in addition to cherries and Takis, includes Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy Cherry Garcia (one of her vegan favourites! ), a light-up spike ball, Oreos, limes, flowers, Skittles, Impossible meat, bananas, lemons, Essentia water, Swiffer Dusters, Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap, Perrier, Coca-cola, Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, and her recent go- “Something about it fulfils the inner child,” she quips.
As a frequent user of the Instacart app, Lizzo believes this collaboration makes perfect sense.
“I relied heavily on Instacart when we were on lockdown during the [COVID-19] pandemic,” she says. “It really came through and helped people stay safe during difficult times.”
Lizzo has not only been busy with the new Instacart campaign, but she has also been hard at work on her shapewear line, Yitty.
“Right now, I’m wearing Yitty, the new body butter collection, which consists of shorts and this cute tank top with a turtleneck,” she says. “The fabrics, there’s something in the fabric that both holds you in and elicits emotion from you, almost like a feeling. It’s creamy and delicious. My family has made several comments, such as, ‘I put on your shaping panty and went to a festival and was like, “I’m not going to be able to wear shapewear all day. It’s going to get awkward. But it was never uncomfortable.” ‘Small things like that validate me as a CEO and business owner.’ It means more than you can imagine.”
MTV has added Lizzo, BLACKPINK, Jack Harlow, and Mneskin to the lineup of performers for the 2022 VMAs.
Lizzo also released the music video for her song “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” earlier this month, which she will perform at the VMAs. She recreates the wedding scene from her 2017 music video “Truth Hurts” in it.
“I was moved more than I expected to be because when I walked on set, I was like, ‘Holy s—-, I’m having flashbacks,'” she explains. “It looked so similar to when we shot it in 2017, and it’s kind of symbolic of how far I’ve come, and being able to tell the second part of this story and just get wacky with it was a lot of fun. It makes work feel less like work.”
It was also “fun” to put on the wedding gown and “pretend to be a bride” again, according to Lizzo.
“I recommend everyone try jumping in the pool in a wedding gown,” she adds with a laugh.
Lizzo says “moving” makes her feel most confident and beautiful these days.
“I’ve been dancing more and going for walks more, and it’s really improved my mental health and the way I feel about myself,” she says. “I’m not sure. Something about sweating, smiling, and exhaling heavily just feels sexy.”
