Lizzo is a pop star in her own right. But one of her biggest inspirations, Beyoncé, was also in the room with her when she reached another career pinnacle at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Lizzo took home the award for record of the year at the Crypto.com Arena ceremony on Feb. 5 for her song "About Damn Time"
After taking sip from her flask (yes, really), Lizzo took the stage and began her speech by dedicating the award to the late Prince, who died in 2016.
She said when the late recording artist died, she decided to dedicate her life to "making positive music."
"And this was at a time when positive music and feel good music wasn't mainstream at that point," she said. "I felt on the outside looking in. But I stayed true to myself, because I wanted to make the world a better place so I have to be that change to make the world a better place."
Lizzo went on to celebrate how times have changed since then.
"In a world of darkness I'd like to believe that not only can people do good or good, we are good inherently," she said. "And anybody at home who feels misunderstood, or the outside looking in like I did —Just stay true to yourself, because I promise you will find people you will attract people in your life who believe in you and support you."
She gave a shoutout to her family, boyfriend Myke Wright and team.
She then turned her attention to Beyoncé, who was standing in the audience. The pop star, earlier in the evening, had broken the record for winning the most Grammys of all time when she took home the best dance/electronic music album award for "Renaissance."
Lizzo's "About Damn Time" beat out Beyoncé's "Break My Soul" for record of the year.
Lizzo said her sister helped get her out of literature class in the fifth grade to go see Beyoncé perform.
"And she sang that gospel medley and the way she made me feel!" Lizzo said. "I was like, 'I want to make people feel this way with my music.' So thank you so much."
"You clearly are the artist of our lives!" she ended, as Beyoncé cheered Lizzo on from the audience.
Record of the year is awarded to the entire team involved in creating a song — including the recording artists, producers and engineers — while the song of the year goes specifically to the songwriters of one recording.
Hosted by comedian and former “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, the 2023 Grammys are broadcast live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. They are available to watch on CBS and various streaming platforms.
Beyoncé leads the list of nominees with nine nominations, with stars like Harry Styles, Adele, Bad Bunny and more also up for awards. Performers include Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny and more.
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