lizzoAs our own Brooke Weber extolled this past summer, "It's impossible to listen to a Lizzo track and feel anything less than pure joy." In April, the Minneapolis by-way-of Houston singer, rapper and flautist released her major label debut, Cuz I Love You, to great acclaim. Thanks to chart-topping singles 'Juice' and 'Truth Hurts', Lizzo's brand of pop/alternative hip-hop, which features uplifting messages that encourage body-positivity and self-love, has already earned her a steadily growing legion of fans.

Christened Melissa Vivianne Jefferson, Lizzo is certainly not an overnight success. Having put in her hours performing in a succession of Houston rock bands, R&B groups and rap duos, 2014 saw Lizzo get an early taste of success when she featured on the late-great Prince's album Plectrumelectrum. It couldn't have come at a better time, as Lizzo was getting ready to throw in the towel on her pop career. "Be Eternal" was the purple one's advice to the young singer at the time, and its advice she's taken to heart. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, she said, "It gave me confidence to be an artist, not just a rapper or a singer or a girl in a band. When you're an artist, you become eternal."