All the talk is true: Lizzo is your new muse. The Grammy-winning singer is back, ringing in a new era with her single “Rumors” featuring Cardi B, out Friday (July 13). And she is bringing some major Hercules vibes in the epic accompanying music video.
The visual begins with Lizzo adorned in gold bling and a matching laurel headdress on an animated amphora vase. As it rotates, we see her waving her arms as incense emerges from her armbands. Onto the first verse, Lizzo strolls across palaces adorned with plus-sized statues, animated wall murals, and giant Grecian pottery. She raps about the media’s scrutiny of her, suggesting people focus on more important news around the world instead: “Spendin’ all your time tryna break a woman down / Realer shit is goin’ on, baby, take a look around.”
At the chorus, she and her crew of muses dance on top of Ionic columns. “Talkin’, talkin’, talkin’ / Give ’em somethin’ to talk about / Sick of rumors / But haters do what they do / Haters do what they do,” she sings. Cardi majestically enters the track on a throne, showing off her baby bump. She reads through a long scroll, listing all the critiques that have been thrown at her throughout her career. “All the rumors are true, yeah / Fake ass, fake boobs, yeah / Made a million at Sue’s, yeah / Y’all be runnin’ with fake news, yeah,” she raps.
We later see Lizzo decked in a gold crown and a semi-transparent glitter bodysuit draped with a white hanging sleeve, walking down steps, dancing and twerking with the muses again. The video ends with the two singers lightly touching their fingernails and imitating Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam in an animated jar.
Lizzo first announced that she would be collaborating with Cardi on social media in the week preceding the release, posting a recorded FaceTime call with the Bronx rapper. “That’s who’s featured, y’all. Period. It’s Harry Styles,” she joked, referencing how fans were predicting she and the former One Direction member would work together. Cardi took to Twitter on Thursday (August 11) to post the single’s artwork, writing, “isn’t the single art so buuuute.”
“Rumors” is the first single off Lizzo’s upcoming album, the title and release date for which have yet to be announced. It will follow her third studio album Cuz I Love You, which was released in 2019 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 charts. The album also won three Grammy awards in 2020. The singer is expected to perform at multiple festivals this fall, beginning with the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on September 4, where she will be the first woman to headline, and Global Citizen Live on September 25.
