Lizzo in Memphis: What to know about the star's 'The Special 2our' stop at FedExForum

The 2023 edition of Lizzo’s “The Special 2our” will stop in Memphis on April 24 for what promises to be one of the year's biggest concert events. The empowering pop/R&B singer and flautist will be joined on the bill by opening act and rising Atlanta rapper Latto.

The Lizzo concert at FedExForum originally was scheduled for April 26, but was moved due a scheduling conflict with a possible Game 5 of the Grizzlies-Lakers NBA Playoff series. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date, and additional tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.

Over the last five years Lizzo, born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, has become one of music’s brightest stars. A native of Detroit, who has spent time in Houston and Minneapolis, Lizzo broke through with her 2019 album, “Cuz I Love You.” Its success would propel her to eight Grammy nominations and three wins.

Her 2022 follow-up LP, “Special,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. and landed in the top 10 in a dozen other counties, buoyed by the success of her chart-topping single, “About Damn Time.”

Since then Lizzo’s star power has continued to grow, as she won her fourth Grammy earlier this year and added an Emmy ( for her reality show “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls”) to her collection of prizes. She’s also branched out into acting, appearing in films like “Hustlers” and more recently the Star Wars TV spinoff “The Mandalorian.”

Here's what to know before her Memphis show.

Jozzy: This Memphian wrote hits for Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige. Now she's shining as a solo artist

Comedy in Memphis: From Chelsea Handler to Rickey Smiley, 8 don't-miss comedy shows coming to Memphis

Lizzo shows love to Memphis

Lizzo’s kicked off 2023’s “The Special 2our” with a run of shows in Europe and Scandinavia in February and March. The first show of the U.S. leg will take place April 21 in Knoxville, followed by an April 22 stop in Lexington, Kentucky, before her Bluff City set at FedExForum.

Although she’s played Tennessee numerous times, including the Bonnaroo festival, and several Nashville shows dating back to when she was still a club act, the upcoming FedExForum show will mark her Memphis debut.

However, Lizzo did do a kindness for Mid-South medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, Lizzo treated more than 100 Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto employees, who were working in the Southaven facility's COVID-19 unit, to a special catered lunch.

While Lizzo had no direct connection to the hospital or the region, she was apparently brightening work days for hospital staff in various cities around the country, with the Baptist workers experiencing her generosity during the difficult early days of the pandemic.

What the critics are saying about Lizzo's tour

Lizzo’s most recently reviewed gigs include several triumphant shows in the U.K. The Independent newspaper in London offered an ecstatic appraisal of her 25-song O2 Arena set, giving it five out of five stars.

“In an industry that has long awarded privileges to slim, white bodies, Lizzo loudly and proudly defies both,” noted reviewer Nicole Vassell. “She demands that people notice her, and preaches the value of others doing the same. Lizzo is so fresh and exciting a cultural entity, however, that her actual talent is sometimes the last thing that comes to mind when you think of her.”

The Independent added that Lizzo’s 2-hour set, “packed with spine-tingling belted vocals, trilling flute solos, and high-energy dance routines, is a firm reminder that Lizzo is more than a cultural figure; she’s a musician for the ages.”

The Guardian in the U.K. weighed in with similar fulsome praise for her Glasgow, Scotland, performance, also giving it a five-star rating. Critic Katie Hawthorne hailed Lizzo’s performance as “relentlessly aerobic, theatrical, emotional, hilarious.”

Tickets to Lizzo

Though Lizzo’s FedExForum show has sold well so far (at last look, it appears roughly 80% of all seats are gone), a number of good ticket options remain as of this writing.

Lizzo’s staging will feature a catwalk that will extend into a standing room pit area. Tickets for this unreserved general admission area are $156.50.

Although a bit farther back, floor seating is also available, ranging from $126-$280. Middle level seating is in the $126 range, while upper-level seats can be had for as low as $36.

For more information or to purchase, go to Ticketmaster.com

Lizzo in Memphis

8 p.m. April 24 at FedExForum, 191 Beale St.

Tickets: $36-$280; Ticketmaster.com

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Lizzo in Memphis: What to know about tour stop at FedExForum