Lizzo began teasing new music when she appeared on the “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer” podcast in December. She confirmed her new album was finished and described “a lot of the music” as “me talking things through… I remembered my purpose… I’m putting everything in my art.”

She continued teasing new music with video teasers, one of which featured a close-up shot of the Grammy winner’s face as her cries slowly turned into laughs, and with someone playing flute off camera. Prior to that, Lizzo ushered in a new musical era by posting a video of herself spray-painting the phrase, “Bye, bitch!” over her last album’s cover, “Special.” The 2022 LP housed her Grammy, record of the year-winning single, “About Damn Time.”

Lizzo’s short hiatus from music was filled with legal drama after the performer was accused by her former employees of harassment in the workplace, including claims from three of her former dancers and her former stylist. “The hardest part about all this is that none of these things were true,” Lizzo told Palmer in December.

The “Juice” singer described the situation as a lesson, stating that the “experience taught me healthy boundaries… there’s a difference between having boundaries and professional boundaries… It’s nuanced. It’s a new conversation in this industry.”