Many first heard of Lizzo in 2019 when her studio album Cuz I Love You made a major splash and topped the charts. But her career started years prior and was influenced by one of the greatest artists of all time — Prince.
While appearing on The Breakfast Club, Lizzo opened up about her friendship with Prince and shed a few tears.
DJ Envy asked the singer to tell listeners about her relationship with the late singer. The radio host mentioned that prior to his 2016 death, Prince was slated to produce an EP for the 34-year-old singer.
“God it makes me so sad thinking and talking about it,” she said during the interview.
She then told the hosts about her favorite Prince memory.
“I got invited to Paisley Park last minute to see Prince perform on piano,” she said, explaining that she got in the car and “zoomed” to Chanhassen, Minnesota, to see the legend.
Lizzo said she was hoping he would play his 1984 hit “Purple Rain,” but was told that would be a long shot. Nevertheless, the “Truth Hurts” singer was thrilled to be there, and still remembers the details of the “white outfit” he wore during the performance.
She told Angela Yee, Envy and Charlamagne Tha God that even though it was just Prince and a piano, it sounded like there was “a whole orchestra” accompanying him.
“It was one of the most amazing concerts, and then he did ‘Purple Rain,'” she shared. “And when he was performing ‘Purple Rain’ he started getting emotional and started crying towards the end.”
After he finished the song, he left the stage triumphantly as the crowd, Lizzo included, roared with applause. Then he came back to the stage to address the crowd one more time.
“I gotta put that song in a different spot,” Lizzo said Prince told the crowd, wiping away tears as she remembered how special the moment was.
Lizzo then shared how pivotal Prince was in her career, telling listeners that the artist was a champion of her career.
“He said ‘Lizzo, you’re next.’ And [he] said it in magazines,” she said.
The singer also shared that she’s committed to honoring him in her career and beyond.
“That was such a big deal to me,” she expressed. “I do a lot of things to make Prince proud.”
Of the EP that almost happened, Lizzo shared that she still has “the emails to this day” regarding the collaboration, and looks at them frequently.
Charlamagne then said he wonders “what musical direction would Prince have taken Lizzo into.”
“I wonder too, I wonder too,” Lizzo said. “I think he wanted me to get weird with it, but you know, we’ll never know [and] that makes me sad.”
