The Singles Jukebox

Your editor was about to say “but, your last single was only three months ago” before realising it was actually nine months ago. Since time is an illusion, let’s disco…

[Video]
[7.25]

Nortey Dowuona: About damn time Lizzo made a great single. It’s about a gosh-darned damned time.
[9]

Al Varela: It only makes sense that Lizzo would be the next pop star to jump onto the disco revival. I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier, actually. Lizzo’s force of personality and “yas queen”-type flamboyance is a perfect fit for this brand of feel-good disco-pop. It’s almost too easy, which is probably why it took me a minute to truly love this song. It’s the kind of effortless that almost feels safe. Lizzo gets to make her quirky punchlines and catchphrases over very agreeable production, it’s catchy and inoffensive, and there’s little here to complain about. I guess I wish this song took a few more chances, really go above and beyond like what Dua Lipa and The Weeknd do with their disco jams. Eventually, it clicked for me as I noticed how riddled with insecurity the song truly is. Lizzo has always been a beacon of positivity and self-confidence but this song is also messy and emotional. Unafraid to shy away from the fact that Lizzo has been really sad, and the backlash she’s gotten from fatphobic racists and misogynists really does get to her. But the point of the song is that she’s learning to accept that things are going to be okay. She’s gonna go for a night out in the club, and she’s going to embrace the happiness she truly deserves. I think these past few years makes that message especially resonant. At least for me.
[8]

Tobi Tella: She’s not beating the “Old Navy commercial music” allegations, but at least it’s fun C-tier funk?
[6]

Edward Okulicz: If “Rumors” felt like Lizzo self-consciously leaning into her schtick, this is her at ease with what she does best. The flute is cute, the bass is from a good source if not an untapped one, and Lizzo makes her self-empowerment infectious. Very few people could get away with her striptease-while-winking delivery even if they had a chorus this catchy or such a way with a line that even the ones aren’t quotable are cheeky just on charisma. This is a welcome addition to the list of great wedding party bangers — it’s not as good as “Juice” but I will happily take B+ versions of that for a good few years yet. 
[8]

Rose Stuart: “About Damn Time” is a perfectly fine pop song. Not particularly ground breaking, but also not something that wears out its welcome. The type of song that will have one moment in time where it is your favourite song ever, but otherwise is left to the middle tier. It does, however, have the best flute riff in a disco track since “The Hustle,” and if I judged it on that alone then it would get a solid 10/10.
[6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Certainly more faithful to the source material compared to most contemporary disco pastiche but to what end? More inspirational pop that I’ll regard pleasantly in retail environments for the next 3 years.
[6]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: The best part of every Lizzo song is Lizzo herself. The production, hook, and overall conceit of “About Damn Time” are retreaded territory for the pop star, but she manages to inject enough vim and enthusiasm into them in order to sell them properly. 
[7]

Thomas Inskeep: Hot disco-y goodness, almost as good as “Juice,” and exactly what I want from Lizzo. [insert obvious title-based pun]
[8]