Lizzo Turns into a Superhero in 'Special' Music Video Dedicated to 'Anyone Who Has Felt Unseen'

Anna Lazarus Caplan
·2 min read

Lizzo is here to save the day!

The musician, 34, debuted her new music video for "Special" on Wednesday, in which she plays a waitress who moonlights as a superhero.

In the video, the Houston, Texas, native sings she's "been the same since I've been driving slow on Bissonnet," and that "fame is pretty new, but I've been used to people judging me," while she channels a superwoman character who wears a purple costume and saves a series of strangers from imminent danger.

Lizzo later offered more insight into the video, which is directed by Christian Breslauer, in a voice note on Instagram Wednesday.

"The music video starts off as showing the superhero, the Black woman as superhero, and it's like, America loves a Black woman as superhero, but absolutely hates her as a human being," she said. "The glorious superhero, you see her doing the regular life-saving, press, everyone loves her, and then she takes off her costume, it's a Black woman and just showing the juxtaposition of how she gets treated in the real world."

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Lizzo - Special [Official Video]
Lizzo - Special [Official Video]

Lizzo Music/YouTube

RELATED: Lizzo Shares Moment She Played New Song Special for Her Mom in Sweet Video: 'All You Need'

Lizzo concluded, "The hope is that y'all see me for who I am, y'all appreciate me, and at the end, I hang up my superman outfit. I ain't saving the world anymore, I'm saving myself."

On Twitter, the "Good as Hell" singer added: "The #Special video is for anyone who has felt unseen, alone, disrespected. I see you."

The empowering song, which is the title track of Lizzo's fourth studio album, has a personal message for the star, who emotionally shared a first look last year with her mother, Shari Johnson-Jefferson.

"This is the first time I played my new music for my momma — I was nervous to post this! But just know: if the ones you love support you — THATS ALL U NEED. It's been a long journey YALL… but I think it's about that time," Lizzo captioned the post, alongside a sweet video on Instagram.

RELATED: Lizzo Unveils Trailer for HBO Documentary Love, Lizzo: 'I'm Always Chasing the Music'

She also shared the clip to her Instagram Story, writing: "I've always wanted to make my momma proud. Today was her first time hearing my new music. She told me she has ALWAYS been proud of me (even in my crazy rock star sleeping in my car days). She always made me feel special. In case nobody told you yet... you're special. Keep going. I'm proud of you."

Special is available to purchase and stream now.

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