Lizzo’s 2025 Career Comeback: New Music, First Movie Role & Bold Future Moves

Mian Hamid September 14, 2025

N E E D   T O   K N O W

  • Lizzo drops new single “Love in Real Life” and teases upcoming album.

  • Releases mixtape My Face Hurts from Smiling with collabs from SZA and Doja Cat.

  • Cast in her first lead film role as Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Rosetta.

  • Performed on SNL, debuting three new songs including a guitar-driven ballad.

  • Launches mini “In Real Life” tour in intimate U.S. venues.

  • Candidly admits her comeback plans “crumbled” under lawsuits but is pushing forward.

  • Fans await her blend of rock, pop, and soul influences in upcoming projects.

Lizzo’s Comeback: Music, Movies & Reinvention in 2025

Lizzo’s 2025 Career Comeback New Music, First Movie Role & Bold Future Moves

Lizzo is stepping back into the spotlight — not merely to recapture past highs, but to reshape what a real, imperfect, artist-led comeback looks like in 2025. Between new music, her first starring movie role, public scrutiny, and a creative reset, she’s navigating a demanding industry on her own terms. Here’s what’s happening now in Lizzo’s career.

The Music Returns: Singles, Mixtape & New Album

After several years of high visibility with Special (2022), Lizzo released her lead single “Love in Real Life” on February 28, 2025, marking her next musical era. The song reflects a rock-influenced pop sound and serves as a bridge into deeper shifts in her artistic identity.

In June 2025, she dropped My Face Hurts from Smiling, her first mixtape under a major label since Special. It features collaborations with SZA and Doja Cat.  The mixtape was re-released in September as My Face Still Hurts from Smiling with nine additional tracks.

But Lizzo’s been candid: despite having “three years to plan this s**t out,” her comeback “kind of crumbled” under the weight of legal challenges and changing expectations in the music industry. As she told New York magazine:

“The industry and the landscape change every year. What worked last year is not going to work this year.”

TV, Film & First Major Acting Lead: Rosetta

Lizzo’s 2025 Career Comeback New Music, First Movie Role & Bold Future Moves

Beyond music, Lizzo is expanding her presence in film. She has been cast in her first leading acting role as Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the upcoming biopic Rosetta, produced by Amazon MGM Studios. Tharpe is a foundational figure in gospel music and electric guitar, often called the “Godmother of Rock & Roll.” Lizzo expressed both honor and excitement: “Black people made rock n roll yeaaaah.”

This is a significant milestone: not only is Lizzo leading a major movie, she’s also producing it alongside notable names—Kevin Beisler, Nina Yang Bongiovi, and Forest Whitaker. The screenplay comes from writers Natalie Chaidez and Kwynn Perry.

Performance & Appearances: Stages & Screens

Lizzo’s relationship with live performance has resumed in earnest. Early 2025 saw her performing on Saturday Night Live, where she shared Love in Real Life, Still Bad, and debuted a new ’80s-inspired power ballad called “Don’t Make Me Love You.” That performance also included her playing electric guitar—foreshadowing her role as Tharpe, who herself was a guitar pioneer.

She also embarked on a short run of "intimate" shows (“Lizzo In Real Life” tour), including stops in Los Angeles, New York City, and Minneapolis, both to promote “Love in Real Life” and to reconnect with fans.

Challenges, Reinvention & What’s Next

Lizzo’s path hasn’t been smooth. Multiple lawsuits from past tour members have cast a spotlight on her professional and personal conduct. She’s spoken about depression, betrayal, criticism — all set against high expectations from fans and the industry. Yet in her newest work, there’s a clear attempt to own her narrative, to rebuild with transparency, and to define success beyond charts. 

Her upcoming album Love in Real Life is highly anticipated. While a precise release date hasn’t been confirmed, the lead single and performances have given many clues about its tone and intention.

Lizzo’s 2025 Career Comeback New Music, First Movie Role & Bold Future Moves

What Fans Should Watch For

  • How Rosetta will portray Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s legacy and Lizzo’s performance in her first lead dramatic role.

  • Whether Love in Real Life signals a long-term stylistic shift (rock influences, more guitar, less polish) or is one phase of reinvention.

  • Reaction to her live show styles: small venues vs big production, emotional transparency on stage.

  • Legal resolutions and how they play into public perception of her authenticity, responsibility, and brand.

  • Possible future acting roles beyond Rosetta, especially if her first lead succeeds critically or commercially.

Lizzo’s career in 2025 is about more than a comeback — it’s about transformation. The music, the movie, the performance, even the setbacks, are part of a larger story of an artist refusing to be boxed in. She may not have everything figured out, but she’s asserting the power to make her own mistakes, redefine her terms, and show up in new ways — “warts and all,” as she might say. And for many fans, that’s exactly what makes this Lizzo-evolution something worth following.

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