Lizzo
“Hi, my name is Lizzo, and I’m all about body positivity and self-love,” introduced the Minnesotan hip hop artist after the third song on her Friday afternoon set. Of course, at that point her actions had rendered any such explanation wholly unnecessary. From the jumping jacks in the song “Fitness,” to the forward request to her audience members to take a photo of her twerking during “Phone,” Lizzo showcased a larger-than-life persona unapologetic about her womanhood and fiercely cognizant of her self-worth.
Lizzo’s performance was marked not by her music, but rather by her stage presence. “En Love,” was complemented by her backup dancers and a bit of well-placed hairography. A short cover of fan favorite “No Scrubs” was tied thematically to the knowing “Jerome Go Home.” In between songs, Lizzo entertained the audience with a notable magnetism. From a twerk tutorial, to a moment of covershoot-esque posing and with the wind blowing her hair, to aphorisms on modern love—“I’m not a game. I’m not chess”—Lizzo guaranteed that audiences would need to see her live in order to experience the full impact of her music. Though her sound was catchy, Lizzo’s true draw is as a beacon of self-love shining beams of self-actualization onto her audiences.
Alina Baraz
Having performed in 2016 at the Pepsi—now American Eagle—stage and Thursday night as one of Khalid’s guests on Bud Light, Cleveland R&B musician Alina Baraz is no stranger to Lollapalooza. That said, her first set on Lake Shore fell just a tad bit flat.
Featuring silky, whispery vocals on tracks like “Fallin’,” Baraz lacks the vocal force needed to fill such a large stage. As a result, she struggled with general lack of stage presence. Even the addition of her backup dancers didn’t seem to really help take up the space: Though they moved fluidly, they were not visually entertaining enough to draw interest towards themselves. There were moments in the set where the sound mixing seemed off: During “Buzzin’,” feedback interrupted her singing, and a later portion of the song was quiet to the point of obscuring the lyrics. And though the bass picks up in “Fantasy,” it didn’t quite take off enough to make the set feel as though it was improving as the songs went on. Finishing several minutes early, the performance felt fairly underwhelming for an artist who has shown that she can bring so much more to the table.
—Staff writer Rick Li can be reached at rick.li@thecrimson.com.