Lizzo’s new album fails to chart on Billboard 200, selling fewer than 3K copies in first week

Pop star Lizzo’s fifth studio album, “Bitch,” sold just 2,649 copies in its opening week and generated under 2.7 million on-demand streams, missing the Billboard 200 entirely — a stark reversal for an artist who, four years ago, was one of pop music’s most commercially dominant acts.

The album arrived June 5 via Atlantic Records. In its second week, sales fell further to 650 units, while streams dropped to just under 900,000. The figures, compiled by music data company Luminate, represent a precipitous decline from Ms. Lizzo’s previous album, 2022’s “Special,” which debuted with 39,000 copies sold and 69,000 equivalent album units earned — enough for a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200. 

Music industry executives interviewed by Rolling Stone offered several explanations for the collapse, centering less on any single factor and more on a confluence of structural and reputational headwinds.

“I think the biggest reason is that she never had a core fanbase,” one former senior label executive, who requested anonymity, told the magazine. “She was a very song-driven, radio-hits-driven artist who lacked a core fanbase, and that’s what you need today for career longevity.”

Lizzo broke through in 2019 with hits including “Truth Hurts,” “Juice” and “Good as Hell” and went on to win four Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year in 2023 for “About Damn Time.” She has acknowledged the shifting media landscape as a factor in the album’s underperformance. Writing on X earlier this month, she said the industry “changed so much in the last 3 yrs. streaming replaced radio & I was a radio darling. That’s how my fans discovered my music.”

Industry pundit Ray Daniels disputed that framing.

“If you know that the industry is changing, you should be warning your fans ahead of time,” he told Rolling Stone. “Why are you not telling your fans to request your song on radio? They’re your fans, they’ll do what you ask them to do.”

The album’s commercial struggles come as Lizzo faces unresolved legal proceedings. In 2023, three of her former backup dancers sued her, alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. A judge dismissed some of the lawsuit’s central claims, including the fat-shaming accusation, but the remainder of the case remains active, including allegations tied to a night out in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Last month, Lizzo told CBS Mornings she would rather take the case to trial than settle.

“I’m not afraid of the truth,” she said. “The truth is less salacious than the headlines.” 

The former senior label executive said the litigation had compounded the damage to her public image.

“A big part of her brand was being the underdog and being very self-confident, I am who I am, I support everyone, body positivity,” the executive said. “And when you’re called to task for the mistreatment of exactly what you held out as being your, quote-unquote, brand, then fans don’t wanna see you win anymore, and they desert you.”

Questions about Atlantic Records’ promotional commitment have also surfaced. In May, Lizzo posted a social media video showing herself putting up promotional posters, saying her label would not. A veteran music industry executive told Rolling Stone that Atlantic likely gave the album a rollout that “feels like they’re spending something, but it’s super lackluster, probably not very championed.”

“She is positioned to really be more successful than a lot of artists, so it is baffling,” the veteran executive said. “But it also shows you a classic industry underbelly fact, which is that the music industry does not care about its legacy artists at all, actually. If you fall off, you’re literally like nothing to your labels.”

Still, some in the industry see room for recovery.

“I don’t think she’s done at all,” Mr. Daniels said. “This is just a moment to remind her that she still has work to do.”

A veteran executive added, “I think there’s always hope for every artist. A hit cures all.”