Lizzo expands her empire with a TV deal

Lizzo has got to be feeling “Good as Hell” right about now. The singer and Amazon Studios announced that they have secured a lucrative partnership that will expand the singer’s empire with a first-look television deal. So what does that mean exactly? Well, it means Lizzo’s on-screen presence could soon be more than a killer TikTok account.“I’m so excited to partner with the amazing team at Amazon,” Lizzo said in a statement on August 6, which was released in conjunction with Amazon’s day at the virtual Television Critics Association Press Tour. “Thank you to [Amazon Studios head] Jen Salke and the rest of the team for making this dream come true. I can’t wait to get started and share my vision with the world.”

 

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“You can’t wear a crown with your head down”

A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Jul 31, 2020 at 1:26pm PDT

Under the deal, the Grammy-winning musician will work with the studio to create (and potentially star in) projects that will then premiere on Prime Video. “Lizzo is one of the most exciting, creative, joyful artists in the industry, and it is such a pleasure to announce this new deal with her,” said Salke. “She has such a unique perspective and we’re so excited to hear her ideas for new content that our Prime Video customers are sure to love.”The “first-look” deal isn’t a new concept in Hollywood, but with more places for TV projects to air and stream these days, studios typically sign contracts with talent so that they have first dibs on anything they create. Earlier this year Amazon Studios also announced a first-look deal with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment company.

 

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Hi, we just signed a first look TV deal with the one and only @lizzobeeating and yes, we are feelin’ good as hell! ?

A post shared by Amazon Studios (@amazonstudios) on Aug 6, 2020 at 11:30am PDT

Teaming with Lizzo makes perfect sense, especially considering her massive popularity. The “Truth Hurts” singer took home three Grammys this year and her music has reached more than four billion global streams, according to Variety. As if that weren’t impressive enough, she also has 9.1 million followers on Instagram, 9.5 million followers on TikTok, and 1.6 million followers on Twitter. On those platforms, the singer often posts body-positive images, quashes all the haters, and has been a voice for those looking for a role model who exists beyond the unrealistic ideals often perpetuated by Hollywood.With so much success already, it’s hard to believe the 32-year-old performer only just released her first major label record, Cuz I Love You, in 2019. That same year she also voiced Lydia on UglyDolls, and she appeared in Jennifer Lopez’s star-studded female stripper crime flick Hustlers alongside Cardi B., Constance Wu, and Lili Reinhart. Although Lizzo wasn’t a prominent player in the latter project, she did have some memorable flute scenes and got to announce to the rest of the ladies when Usher made an appearance at the club.Even more notably, in 2019 Time Magazine named Lizzo their Entertainer of the Year. Not too shabby for someone who spent about a decade before all of this performing on the road while making basically nothing and living in her car, right?“I’ve been doing positive music for a long-ass time,” she previously told Time. “Then the culture changed. There were a lot of things that weren’t popular but existed, like body positivity, which at first was a form of protest for fat bodies and Black women and has now become a trendy, commercialized thing. Now I’ve seen it reach the mainstream. Suddenly I’m mainstream!”Now, thanks to the Amazon deal, add an emphasis on “stream.”[video_embed id='-1']RELATED: Lizzo's had a wild year and she's just getting started[/video_embed]