Lizzo: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
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Published 2019-08-05
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July 29, 2019 | Stephen Thompson -- Lots of musicians cut corners during sound check. It's a time to make sure everyone's in tune and in balance, everyone's blocked properly for the cameras, and every piece of recording equipment is doing its job the way it's supposed to, but it's not as if anyone's rolling tape for posterity. Sometimes, Tiny Desk artists do their sound check in shabby street clothes before ducking into the green room to don their fancy performance wear. It's standard procedure, and no big deal at all.
But from the second Lizzo entered the room, fresh off a long interview with Fresh Air's Terry Gross, she was on: all charm, vibrant and gracious, dressed to the nines and ready to sing her face off. In rehearsal, Lizzo belted out "Cuz I Love You," the title track from her wonderful new album, with nothing off her fastball; if you were standing six feet away at the time, you'd swear the gale force of her voice was blowing your hair back. She was the star and the mayor rolled into one, at once ingratiating and commanding, as an audience of maybe 25 milled around and prepared to let in the crowd.
Once we opened the room, there were as many people as we've ever had at a Tiny Desk concert, hanging on Lizzo's every word as she held court and waited for the cameras to roll. She literally needed no introduction; one of us usually says a few words and gets the crowd to applaud for the start of the performance, but Lizzo was master of ceremonies from the second she walked in. Naturally, she needed all of two seconds to blow everyone's hair back once more.
Everything around the singer must have felt alien to her, starting with "this tiny-ass desk" and continuing through the crowd — perched mere feet away, with only a bit of office furniture and a few cameras as a barrier — and a backing band assembled, at Bob Boilen's request, just for the occasion. Lizzo usually performs with dancers and a backing track; the former, though much-missed here, stood in the crowd and bobbed along, while the latter got mothballed in favor of slyly funky arrangements. Together, Lizzo and that brand-new band preside over three songs from Cuz I Love You: the aforementioned title track, "Truth Hurts" (so winning, in spite of its repeated references to the Minnesota Vikings) and the literal and figurative show-stopper, "Juice," which gave her the opportunity to pick up the flute she'd been waiting the whole set to bust out.
SET LIST
"Cuz I Love You"
"Truth Hurts"
"Juice"
MUSICIANS
Lizzo: vocals, flute; Devin Johnson: keyboard; Dana Hawkins: drums; Vernon Prout: bass; Walter Williams: guitar
CREDITS
Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Beck Harlan, Bronson Arcuri; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR
All Comments (21)
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Want to play your own Tiny Desk concert? Unsigned musicians, enter the 2024 Tiny Desk Contest between Jan. 23 and Feb. 21. Learn more: npr.org/tinydeskcontest.
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She's a blues shouter! Way old skool.
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The amount of skill her band has to have to adapt to her singing and pauses is incredible. Props to them for extraordinary support.
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Her songs in the radio don't do the justice of what she's capable of. I was not a fan, but now I can definitely say this is one of my most favourite NPR tiny desk concert ever!! it's so moving, touching, uplifting!
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Lizzo is so charismatic and charming how does anyone not fall in love with her?
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her lung capacity is something to be extremely jealous of. singing, belting, performing for that audience AND playing a flute (which you need an expansive lung capacity to play anyways). i can’t even walk up the steps and attempt to play the flute afterwards
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Lizzo knew what she was doing with that orange cause GOODNESS 😍🤩
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the pianist and the drummer's communication in the background is so cute
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I have a personal tradition of rewatching this once every few months. Never fails to hype me up
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She works the crowd so goddamn well Her talent is undeniably huge
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RIP the Tiny Desk Concert. It can only be known forward as the Tiny Ass Desk Concert. What an icon!
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I’m a flutist with long nails, thank you lizzo for proving you can still play the flute in long nails!!!!!
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That part at the end. Where she says, if you can love me then you can love yourself. Hit hard, because I had just sent this video to a friend saying this is why I love Lizzo. Now onto trying to love myself.
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Holy shit her energy is insane
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Major vocals. Wow, she can sing,rap,play flute, twerk, is hilarious. Icon.
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i feel like people overlook her talent so much bro.
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honestly, lizzo needs to be in a musical
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Lizzo got the most lit audience I ever heard on tiny desk!!!💕
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If Lizzo ain’t one of the muses in a live action Hercules I want no parts in it
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We don't deserve Lizzo, but we got her! That's a reason to celebrate.
