'Stay woke, Tulsa!' Lizzo talks critical race theory, Greenwood, 'Simpsons' at concert
TULSA — "Scuse Me," but Lizzo didn't need a crown to show Oklahoma that she's a queen.
The game-changing superstar made a dazzling Sooner State debut Saturday night at Tulsa's BOK Center on the latest stop of her "The Special 2our," which is on its second wildly successful North American leg.
The four-time Grammy Award winner wowed the enthusiastic sold-out audience with her smash hits, thrilling vocals, snazzy flute solos, sexy dance moves, glittery costume changes and superb all-woman band and dance crew.
"Tonight, this is a safe space for you to be yourself ... for you to celebrate each other, to celebrate yourselves. If you want to dance, then dance. If you want to sing, then sing. Whoo!" she declared early in the night, hitting the first of several impressive high notes.
Even as she held court in the cavernous downtown Tulsa arena, Lizzo managed to bring a level of intimacy to her glitzy, theatrical one-hour and 45-minute set, maybe because she seemed to be having as much fun as anybody there.
Here are the highlights of Lizzo's first Oklahoma concert:
1. Lizzo dedicates 'Special' to Greenwood District and tells Tulsa to 'stay woke'
The multiplatinum entertainer dedicated the uplifting title track to her smash 2022 album and current tour to Tulsa's historic Greenwood District, "to the descendants and the people who lost their lives in the Tulsa (Race) Massacre."
"I know you know your history, but they trying to take critical race theory out of schools. So, educate each other, because history is meant to be learned from," Lizzo said to raucous cheers of approval from the Tulsa crowd.
"We're seeing the exact same thing happening today: Marginalized communities are being tampered with; our rights are being taken away. It's still happening. ... Stay woke, Tulsa!"
Instead of talking about the tragedy of Greenwood —"because we know about the tragedy" — the global hitmaker said she wanted to focus on the Black prosperity that can be achieved "when we live in a world where we're celebrated and we're protected by the law — and when we see someone who looks different, we don't resort to violence."
"And we're doing it right here, right now, in this very arena," she continued. "This is love. This is acceptance. I want you to take this love and send it all through Tulsa, and maybe we can change the (expletive) world."
2. Lizzo and Latto make tuneful political statements
Neither the headliner nor her opening act, "Big Energy" rapper Latto, shied away from making tuneful political statements during their sets.
Haloed by flashing rainbow-hued lights, Lizzo wrapped herself in a Pride flag to croon her sultry retro-sounding banger "Everybody's Gay."
In a high point of her spicy 35-minute set, Latto punctuated one defiant tune by leading a chant of "My Body, My Choice," while her dancers marched on the stage with protest signs bearing that slogan as well as the message "Protect Women's Rights."
3. Superstar frees herself through hits, covers and costume changes
Of course, as Lizzo notes in the lyrics of "Special" — "If it wasn't me, then would you even get offended or is it just because I'm Black and heavy?," she ponders rhetorically — simply being a voluptuous, outspoken and confident woman of color seems to be a radical political statement to some Americans. That knowledge has seemingly freed Lizzo to basically do as she pleases as a recording artist and entertainer.
A solemn, pre-recorded series of positive affirmations proceeded her sassy rise from below the stage on the speedy opening anthem "The Sign." She shifted to showing her vulnerable side on "2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)," then encouraged her devotees to be their own "Soulmate."
A scorching guitar solo heralded her explicitly sexual song "Tempo," while her attention-grabbing Big Grrrls dancers showed their stuff early and often through Lizzo's "Phone," "Grrrls" and "Boys."
"Normally, I do this for the big girls, but tonight I'm doing it for Tulsa, Oklahoma," Lizzo said before firing up "Rumors," with her collaborator, Cardi B, appearing on the huge high-definition LED screen in a simulated video call.
Although she started the show strutting the massive stage in a curve-hugging nude jumpsuit decorated with strategically arranged blue sparkles, the first of Lizzo's numerous costume changes was even more daring: After disappearing briefly at the end of "Scuse Me," she dramatically retook the stage in an unadorned nude bodysuit topped with a swirling sheer robe trimmed with pink feathers to her provactive, empowering tune "Fitness."
Shifting immediately to the alluring torch song "Naked," she strolled to the end of the catwalk, where she dropped the robe to bask in the lights of a huge disco ball, a canny series of projections and the crowd's waving cellphones.
She encouraged her fans to keep their lighted phones waving as she lounged on a couch to croon her kiss-off tunes "Jerome" and "Break Up Twice."
A cover of the Lauryn Hill classic "Doo Wop (That Thing)" provided cover for another costume change, and a feel-good lead-in to "Special."
4. Lizzo shows off her myriad of talents, plus Sasha Flute
Lizzo joined forces with her talented trio of backup singers on Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" as an intro into her inspiring rap "Like a Girl."
A video session of "Bad B--ch Meditation" guided the crowd — which stayed on its collective feet for most of the show — into "Water Me," with its fitting repeated mantra "I am free."
Lizzo showcased her myriad of talents throughout her electrifying set. Standing in a beam of golden light, she gave a gorgeously throaty reading of Coldplay's "Yellow" before shifting into her romantic number "Coldplay," featuring her eagerly awaited first flute solo of the night.
The genre-bending sensation showed off the full scope of her skills with her fiery smash "Truth Hurts," shaking her curves with the Big Grrls, conducting the crowd in a full-on sing-along, wailing on Sasha Flute and screaming like a rock goddess.
5. Lizzo hypes Sunday appearance on 'The Simpsons'
The pop-culture phenomenon took a moment Saturday night to urge her fans to watch the new episode of "The Simpsons" at 7 p.m. Sunday on Fox, as she and Sasha Flute are making an appearance.
"I never promote on stage, but I'm shameless," admitted the grinning superstar, who last fall proved her affection for the long-running animated series with her spot-on Marge Simpson Halloween costume.
6. Game-changing pop idol literally introduces herself to Oklahoma
Chatting up the audience during a show can be a challenge for even seasoned entertainers, with concert banter often coming off as stilted and rote. But Lizzo brought connecting with her audience to a whole new level in Tulsa, literally stopping the show for about 15 minutes to compliment fans on their customized outfits, talk about their clever signs and thank them for their support.
A lucky few — a trio who drove eight hours from San Antonio, Texas, to be there, a local youth therapist dressed as the anime character Sailor Moon who avidly thanked Lizzo for her support of the Black and queer communities, a little girl who literally wept tears of joy as she hugged the superstar — even got invited to hop the barriers between the crowd and the stage to take selfies with the smiling headliner.
7. Lizzo squeezes every last drop of entertainment out of her encore
Lizzo rewarded the audience's patience during that extended onstage meet-and-greet by closing her set with a rowdy rendition of "Good as Hell," encouraging the fans to clap and stomp along with the infectious crowd-pleaser to get rid of any residual negative energy.
Although Lizzo waved goodbye, took her bows and blew kisses to the crowd at the end of her five-times platinum smash, the giant disco ball above the arena floor slowly dropped, a shiny signal that an encore was coming.
The fans clearly savored another round of dynamic dancing, flute solos and splashy spectacle for the two-song encore, and Lizzo and her cohorts squeezed every last drop of entertainment from "Juice" and the smash "About Damn Time."
"Tulsa, I had so much fun with you," Lizzo said as she closed her Oklahoma concert debut by encouraging the crowd to "be kind to each other and be kind to yourself."