Being sick — especially when the symptoms impact the mouth, nose, or throat — can have a noticeable impact on how our voices sound. For Lizzo, she sees some instances of that as a positive: She actually recorded “Naked,” a song from her new album Special, while she had a sinus infection, which she insists is when she’s at her vocal best.
First, Lizzo told Apple Music that the song was partially inspired by seeing Solange live:
“Initially, I wanted to write a song about how comfortable I’ve become with myself, but then I evolved as a person. And as I’ve evolved, ‘Naked’ has undergone a lot of rewriting. It has evolved with me. So now it’s like, ‘How accepting are you of me?’ It’s very intimate. I saw Solange perform a couple years ago now at the Lovebox Festival in London, and I was in awe of her set because she had so much nuance. Meanwhile, I’m all bravado. I’m in-your-face, loud-loud-loud, full-throttle. I was like, ‘Man, on my next album, I want nuance.’ Because there’s nothing like the control that she has, the power she has in the quiet.”
She then added of her singing on the song, “So on ‘Naked,’ I’m in a half-falsetto for most of the song. I’m ad-libbing here and there. I’m having a little chat. It’s under your breath. Also, I had a sinus infection when I sang this, and frankly I give the best vocals with a sinus infection.”
Listen to “Naked” above.
Special is out now via Atlantic Records/Nice Life. Get it here.
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.