If there was ever a moment to see Lizzo in concert, this is it.
The rapper and singer, who grew up in Houston, is having a moment. Or a year, to be more accurate. Her single “Truth Hurts,” originally released in 2017, is in its fifth week atop the Billboard Hot 100, the longest stretch ever for a female rap artist. “Good as Hell,” first issued in 2016, is scaling the same chart for the first time. And her album “Cuz I Love You” was released in April and is still in the top 10.
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But it’s more than numbers. “Truth Hurts” is the sort of hit that takes on a life of its own, connecting with a huge swath of fans from all sorts of backgrounds. Lizzo’s music is an extension of her personal mantras, calls for love and positivity and affirmation and inclusion. During Friday’s sold-out show at Revention Music Center, she made special mention of communities that have rallied behind her: “gender nonconforming people, queer people, black and brown girls.”
“You are more than qualified to run this f*****g country,” she shouted. “So get into it, bitch.”
Her material comes alive onstage, surging not only through her voice but through her face and body and purple hair. She turns pop stardom on its head because she smashes through beauty standards and dares us to do it as well. And she does it with the music, too, cleverly twisting overused pop tropes.
What that all means, then, is that Lizzo is the great unifier. She is, in this moment, all things to all people. Friday’s crowd was as diverse as the city itself. There were single ladies and gay men, schoolteachers and drag queens, kids and older folks. A large group fiddled with wedding veils, an homage to the “Truth Hurts” video. Even boyfriends danced and sang along.
Several fans lingered outside, hoping to score last-minute tickets. They didn’t seem to be very successful.
“Y’all was fightin’ hoes for these tickets,” Lizzo joked.
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The show itself was nearly 90 minutes of electricity. She took the crowd to church, literally, with opener “Heaven Help Me,” emerging from behind a pulpit in a gold robe that eventually revealed a Madonna-esque . The backdrop mirrored stained glass, and she was joined by dancers known as The Big Grrrls.
Every moment was a declaration. Lizzo channeled James Brown during “Worship” and riffed on Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” She poured searing soul into “Cuz I Love You.” And she made like Tina Turner during “Crybaby.”
The crowd was one of the most enthusiastic in recent memory. They danced. They sang along. They chanted her name between songs.
Someone, to her delight, tossed an Elsik T-shirt onstage. Lizzo attended and played in the band at both Alief Elsik High School and the University of Houston.
“This has been one of the most incredible trips home ever,” she said. “This time it feels so special.”
She encouraged the crowd to “put a light up for every scrub you’ve ever known” during “Jerome,” an ode to immature men. It was a clever twist on the usual concert cliché.
But mostly, she demanded we love ourselves – during the hypnotic “Water Me,” which also deserves to be rediscovered; the celebratory bounce of “Soulmate;” the disco swirl of “Juice; and “Like a Girl,” which starts “Woke up feelin’ like I just might run for president.” A fan near the stage brandished a shirt that read “Lizzo 2020.”
“A bitch just might,” she quipped without missing a beat.
Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter. Get expert picks for concerts, kids’ stuff, fine arts, movies and more each week in our PREVIEW entertainment newsletter.