Woo child! It’s Lizzo’s 32^nd birthday and, like her lyrics tell us, it’s not her fault that she’s out here making news. She’s the pudding in the proof! Not to mention loud, proud, body-positive, effervescent, vivacious and just so darn charming and talented.With a flute in one hand, Time Magazine’s Entertainer of the Year is one of the few things making 2020 actually bearable. If she’s shining, “everybody gonna shine;” so to celebrate her big day, we’re taking a look at how the best gal from Texas is on a mission to show us that no matter what we look like or where we come from, we can “boss up and change our lives.” And the world.

10. When she was singularly-focused on pursuing her dreams

No overnight success here! Lizzo is a gal who worked hard for every success. She scraped by for years in pursuit of her dream, dropping out of college and living out of her car—a previously-T-boned 1990 Subaru—for a few years. She told The Cut, “I would drive around to my friends’ houses, and if they were having dinner, I’d be like, ‘Hey, come hang out! You got some food? Let’s kick it!’ And just eat the chicken and rice. Actually, I was a vegetarian. So I would eat the chicken-juice-soaked rice. I was like, ‘I’m too broke to have morals.’”When she finally got signed in 2015, Lizzo started opening for big names and her hard work, drive, ambition, and pure, raw talent took care of the rest. Her ramshackle road to success is a reminder that you don’t have to achieve all your goals right now, you can take the long road there, you can forge your own path, and maybe, create something all your own.

9. When she embraced her quirkiest talent

If you didn’t know (and if you don't, seriously, where have you been?), Lizzo is a classically trained flautist of over 20 years. Take a look at how she wields the instrument with such care and precision—it's like honey for your ears. She even named her flute Sasha Flute after Beyonce’s alter-ego Sasha Fierce! It may seem out of character for a big pop-rap star to play a woodwind instrument of all things, but it is a reminder that we all have unique talents or quirks that make us who we are. We shouldn’t hide our light—we should embrace it! Love playing the accordion? Yodelling? Cross-stitching? Whatever it is, own it! Find your Sasha Flute!

8. When she twerked and all was right in the world

Never. Stop. Twerking. If she were to stop, we’re pretty sure the earth would stop spinning on its axis. That’s not just us saying that, that’s science. *does the math* Yup, that checks out.

 

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A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Mar 9, 2020 at 8:20am PDT

7. When she used her Instagram to become a plus-size style icon

If you don’t follow Lizzo on Instagram, do you, like, hate beauty? Because she posts some iconic lewks and dazzling outfits that are inspirational for every size. That being said, she spreads some extra love to the plus-size community that she’s repping, because she is here for them. She's posted amazing snaps from her wardrobe in Vogue-worthy poses, but may we bless your timeline with this pic of her in a Canadian tuxedo? Praise be!

 

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WHATS MY MUTHAFUCKIN NAME ?

A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Aug 15, 2019 at 8:48am PDT

6. When her body-positive message highlighted the importance of self-love

In between her earworm songs, Lizzo always has something uplifting and inspiring to impart on her audience, and lucky us, it's mostly about self-love. “Be kind to each other! But most of all, be good to yourself!” she said on SNL—if that's not the single most important philosophy to live by, we don't know what is. Lizzo is here to tell you that the grass is greener where you water it! Even in the most trying of times, we have our girl's words to keep our spirits up: “Focus on a body part u don’t like about yourself and show it some love today. This quarantine has a lot of people suffering from mental health issues because we can’t get out and do our normal coping/self care routines.... self-hatred was starting to creep up on me but I gotta remember I’m 110% that bitch. love you!”

5. When she charmed the specs off of Stephen Colbert

One of Lizzo's first televised performances was her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert way back in 2015. She left everything she had on stage—she danced, twerked, sang her heart out and dedicated the whole thing to her late grandma. After she took a bow, she got not one but TWO enthusiastic hugs from the normally-composed bespectacled host. Colbert, like all of us, just can't resist that Lizzo energy.

4. When Harry Styles wanted some of that "Juice"

It's no small feat when one of the most influential pop stars in the biz covers your song. When Harry Styles performed Lizzo’s "Juice" on a BBC Radio 1 live session, it was like a seal of approval from the music gods. As fate would have it, the connection led to the iconic moment Harry and Lizzo took the stage in Miami during a pre-Super Bowl show to perform "Juice" as a duet. Just try to not smile while watching them. Betcha can’t do it. With one duet, the world was suddenly a magical, connected, joyful place to be.

3. Her big, colourful performance at the MTV VMA’s sparked all kinds of joy

If you caught her two performances at the MTV Video Music Awards, then you know Liz loves to put on a show that rivals most Broadway musicals in terms of pomp, dazzle, vamp, and showmanship. It's hard to pick a favourite of all time, but who could forget when she wore a sunshine-yellow bodysuit in front of a giant bum while downing a bottle of tequila and sang "Good as Hell"? She is a performance powerhouse. (Close runners-up include the giant wedding cake she emerged from at the BET Awards , her SNL set and the 2020 Grammys.)

2. When she expertly shut down a troll

Yes, she is about love, acceptance, and kindness, but if there’s one thing you should never do to Lizzo, it's underestimate her. Never mistake her kindness for weakness, because she’s got sass for days and will clap back at trolls in epic fashion. Who could forget when a Twitter troll criticized her SNL performance as promoting obesity (like, how are the two even related?) and she clapped back with “keep my name out ya mouth” and “here’s that attention you ordered!”

I’m popular because I write good songs and I’m talented and perform high energy hour and a half shows filled with love.

The only person who needs to do better is you.Keep my name out ya mouth & look in the mirror before you come for me.Here’s the attention you ordered ? https://t.co/zXnOv4f9Dr— Feelin Good As Hell (@lizzo) December 23, 2019

She even took her epic retorts to the iconic ‘Mean Tweets’ segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where she let every hater know that it doesn’t matter what you think of her, the cheque still cleared, son.

1. When she dropped "Good As Hell"

It was impossible to go anywhere last year without hearing, “I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby how you feeling?!” everywhere you went. It was on movie soundtracks like Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty, commercials for My Little Pony, and it was even a lip sync hit on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The tune is a downright earworm. It became the go-to power song, perfect for every occasion, and truly put Lizzo on the map. Bouncy, catchy, fun, flirty, and rich in character, GAH is almost a genre all its own. How we feelin' after thinking about Lizzo this long? GOOD AS HELL.