Lizzo’s fourth album, “Special,” runs 35 minutes across 12 tracks, and it knows exactly what it wants to be. It wants to make you feel good about yourself, move a little, and fall in love without losing your nerve. That is the whole aim of the record, and Lizzo delivers it with the polish of an artist who has already found her lane and has no plans to leave it.
The Numbers Behind the Record
- Album: “Special” by Lizzo, released 2022
- Track count: 12
- Total length: 35 minutes
- Metacritic score: 78 out of 100
- Pitchfork score: 6.4 out of 10
Opening Tracks: The Sign Through I Love You Bitch
“The Sign” opens the album at 2:45, a brief statement before things get moving properly. It sets a tone rather than making a full argument, and that works fine as a doorway into the record.
“About Damn Time” follows, and it is the clear high point of this early stretch. Built on a lively beat with a chorus made for repeat plays, it earns the attention it has received. “Grrrls” comes next at just 2:00, tight and direct, more a short burst of energy than a full song, but it lands.
“2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” slows the pace without losing shape, asking honest questions about love and fear inside a pop arrangement built to carry weight. “I Love You Bitch” closes this opening run on a lighter, looser note — playful rather than deep, and content to be exactly that.
The Title Track and Break Up Twice
The title track, “Special,” is where the album states its purpose most clearly. At 2:54, it is a confidence anthem that does not try too hard to convince anyone of anything, and it is one of the songs that reviewers pointed to as proof the record works. “Break Up Twice” follows and keeps the momentum going, a sharper and more conflicted cut that shows Lizzo can write about heartache without giving up the hooks that define the rest of the album.
Everybody’s Gay and Naked
“Everybody’s Gay” is the loosest, most purely fun moment on “Special.” It does not try to be more than a good time, and that restraint is exactly why it works as well as it does.
“Naked,” at 3:00, pulls the record back toward something quieter and more intimate. It is a steady piece of writing rather than a standout, holding the album together between its louder moments without asking for much notice on its own.
The Closing Run: Birthday Girl, If You Love Me, Coldplay
The final stretch of the album closes with real strength. “Birthday Girl” and “If You Love Me” both lean into sincere romance, less about the dance floor and more about quiet, direct feeling — the kind of songs meant to be played at a wedding rather than a party. Then “Coldplay” closes the record at 2:55, and it is one of the sharpest tracks here. The title is a clever, self-aware nod, and the song itself earns the reference instead of leaning on it as a joke.
Here is how the tracks that reviewers singled out sit against the rest of the record:
- About Damn Time — the clear high point, delivered with full confidence
- Grrrls — short, direct, built for movement
- Special — the title track lives up to its name
- Break Up Twice — proof Lizzo can write conflict as well as joy
- Everybody’s Gay — pure enjoyment, no apology attached
- Coldplay — a closer that sends the album out on its highest note
What Reviewers Said
One British outlet called “Special” a collection built on “confidence anthems and romantic serenades,” and that description fits what the album sets out to do. Variety went further, writing that “it’s hard to imagine this isn’t immediately locked in as one of the leading album of the year candidates.” The Independent put it more plainly: “Special is good as hell.”
Not every review agreed. Pitchfork’s score of 6.4 out of 10 points to a common complaint — that “Special” does not move far from the sound Lizzo built on her last album. That criticism holds up. This is not a record that takes big chances or changes direction from what came before.
But it does not need to.
“Special” is not trying to surprise its listeners. It is trying to make good on a sound that already works, and on tracks like “About Damn Time,” “Special,” and “Coldplay,” it does exactly that, with real care and craft behind the writing. The quieter tracks — “Naked,” “I Love You Bitch,” “Birthday Girl” — are not failures. They are simply calmer moments, and at 35 minutes total, nothing on the record drags on long enough to wear out its welcome.
The record’s middle section holds its own next to the singles. “Break Up Twice” takes a familiar subject — the mess of ending things and then trying again — and gives it a chorus that stays with you. It is not the loudest song here, but it is one of the most honest. “Everybody’s Gay” goes the other way, dropping any pretense of depth in favor of a straight shot of joy. These two tracks show the range Lizzo is working with, even when she stays inside the same general sound.
The album’s structure also deserves note. Lizzo places her biggest statements early, with “About Damn Time” sitting at track two, and then lets the back half breathe. “Birthday Girl” and “If You Love Me” are softer, more personal cuts that do not demand the same attention. That choice means the record does not peak too early and then fade. Instead, it builds to “Coldplay,” a closer that feels like a reward for staying through the quieter stretches.
Reviewers have pointed to “Special” as proof that Lizzo can repeat her formula without losing its power. The praise is not faint. Variety’s line about “leading album of the year candidates” is strong, and The Independent’s short verdict — “Special is good as hell” — captures the general mood. The NME review, which called the record a set of “confidence anthems and romantic serenades,” gets at the balance Lizzo strikes between bravado and tenderness.
The only real knock against the album is that it does not push into new ground. Pitchfork’s 6.4 out of 10 reflects that view. Critics who wanted Lizzo to stretch beyond her established funk-pop sound came away with less enthusiasm. But that complaint misses what the album is for. “Special” is not a reinvention. It is a confirmation. Lizzo knows what her audience wants, and she gives it to them without hesitation.
That is not a small thing. Many artists try to change direction and lose what made them work in the first place. Lizzo does the opposite here. She stays in her lane, but she does so with enough craft and care that the record never feels lazy or recycled. The hooks are sharp, the writing is steady, and the whole thing moves at a pace that respects the listener’s time.
The result is an album that does what it says it will do. It is joyful, it is confident, and it is full of songs that stick. It will not surprise anyone who has heard Lizzo before, but it does not need to. “Special” earns its title through consistency and skill, and at 35 minutes, it leaves you wanting more rather than checking the clock.
This is a warm, hook-filled record from an artist who knows her strengths and builds directly on them without hesitation. It does not reach for something new, but it does not have to — “Special” earns its title through confidence and craft alone.
- The Sign2:45
- About Damn Time3:12
- Grrrls2:00
- 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)3:07
- I Love You Bitch2:28
- Special2:54
- Break Up Twice2:56
- Everybody’s Gay3:35
- Naked3:00
- Birthday Girl3:07
- If You Love Me3:11
- Coldplay2:55
