Lizzo turned Alive into a celebration of love – and she was amazing doing it – NiT

Lizzo turns Alive into a celebration of love – and she’s fabulous at doing it.

Performing early in the night, the singer made sure she didn’t go unnoticed in her debut appearance in Portugal.

Female, black and with a body that is traditionally considered outside of beauty standards. Lizzo turned what others consider her weaknesses into her strength to become a star. On day two of NOS Alive, she took to the main stage to demonstrate why she’s one of the greatest pop singers of our time.

Lizzo sings, dances, spits rap, plays the transverse flute and, if necessary, washes dishes on stage. We’re not the ones to say so: It was hip-hop icon Missy Elliott who dedicated a message to him that resonated on Paseo Maritimo de Algeas., This was not his debut in Portugal; It was confirmed at Primavera Sound do Porto 2019, but cancelled. To quote a footballer with a philosopher’s touch, “I miss what we didn’t experience”.

Returning to the present, one of the challenges of critically analyzing a live concert (or an artist in general) is being able to put yourself in the role of another. Being someone who has the only thing in common with Lizzo is being overweight, it’s hard to imagine how big it is for a woman with her characteristics to be successful in an environment like pop. Not wanting to characterize the artist, it is important to recognize that his elevation is a victory. Yes, it’s a sign of the times, but above all it’s pure, hard-hitting genius.

The singer/rapper loves herself, whether she likes it or not – and she wants other people to have the same relationship with her intimate relationships. The tune was established immediately, even though Lizzo had not entered the stage. “These are songs about love: self-love, family love, brotherly love, and sexual love,” it read on stage. Throughout the night, they adopted trans flags, saluted the LGBTQIA+ community, urged attendees to applaud themselves, referred to themselves as the objects of the drawings, and emphasized that no one had anything to do with their bodies. -Do not give. Its project is not ideological, except that acceptance and tolerance are considered ideological metrics. “It’s been tough, I know, it’s been for me too, but I’m still here”, he said before the “special”.

What the artist brought to Oiras was an old-fashioned concert with modern sensibilities: a full female band, a trio of singers and a troupe of plus-size dancers to accompany her. The intersection of rap with funk and pop in their music meant a rich instrumental accompaniment with hints of virtuosity, especially guitars reminiscent of Funkadelic.

“Cuz I Love You” opened with Lizzo immediately vocalizing and the music didn’t stop, with “Juice” receiving the most enthusiastic first response. Throughout the night, the singer proved to be an exemplary master of ceremonies and was not shy to say at the outset that Lisbon was going from “Lisbon” to “Lisbon”.

If with “Grurls” he created a classic Beastie Boys theme to charm the sorority, “Boys”, one of his first big hits, celebrated men of all types and sexual orientations. “Tempo” brought out her sensuous side and shook the earth with the musical accompaniment, while “Rumours” didn’t fare so well, especially with Cardi B’s guest part on the theme being broadcast on screen.

It was one of the few obstacles in a practically spotless concert. One of Lizzo’s greatest strengths is her classical training as a flautist, as she strips away the pedantic context of the instrument and gives it back the playful nature of classic North American funk. “Jerome” was the first moment the transverse flute was heard, but through the mouths of the other performers on stage. When it was the artist’s turn, he unleashed breath after breath on “Coldplay,” a song created out of his undying love for the British band. By the way, the singer started this theme with “Yellow”.

One of his biggest hits, “Truth Hurts”, enthralled the audience, especially when he picked up his flute in the middle of the set and twirls himself while playing it. In the final stages of the concert, Lizzo took the opportunity to speak from the front rows and read posters dedicated to her. He sang a happy birthday wish for a birthday girl, as well as a short “The Sign” at the request of a message, and took a selfie with someone else’s phone in front of the audience. The only thing he asked was that no attack should be made on him. “They don’t do that in Portugal, do they? This is America’s bullshit,” he said.

“Good as Hell”, a song as catchy and inescapable as it was with a shampoo ad, led the way in closing “About Damn Time” to apotheosis. Before plunging himself into this infectious pearl of disco, he warned, “It’s bad.” When all this was over, he left the stage through the same door he had entered. Proud, of course, because he actually made Alive his “lizobon”.

Read details for The Black Keys’ concert and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ performance on July 6 at NOS Alive. And click through the gallery to see more photos from Lizzo’s concert.

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