Lizzo reveals learning Beyoncé’s “Get Me Bodied” dance saved her from depression

“Summer of ’07, I learned the entire Beyoncé ‘Get Me Bodied’ choreo,” Lizzo captioned her Twitter post.

The year was 2007. Beyoncé was headlining “The Beyoncé Experience Tour” in support of her second studio album, B’Day, which was released the previous year. And Lizzo, who was still just a regular 19-year-old Houston teenager at the time, was battling depression and suffered a loss. That summer, Lizzo learned the entire choreography to the music video for “Get Me Bodied,” a single featured on B’Day, and it saved her. The upbeat R&B track came with an extended mix that saw Beyoncé joined by sister Solange Knowles and best friends Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams as they hit the town on a dance-filled night of partying.

Fast forward to 16 years later, and Lizzo is now reflecting on how her favorite artist inspiring her has led to her inspiring others. Today (March 16), the “Special” singer uploaded a video of a fan who mimicked her “About Damn Time” tour routine as she performed it on stage last night (March 15) — the moment brought Lizzo to tears backstage as she reflected on the comparisons between the young fan and herself at 19. “To know [that] I mean to her what my favorite artist meant to me is deeply touching,” Lizzo captioned her Twitter post.

The 34-year-old artist has never been shy about showing her love and admiration for Beyoncé. At the 2023 Grammy Awards, Lizzo was awarded Record of The Year for “About Damn Time.” During her acceptance speech, she told Beyoncé, who stood up to applaud the flutist, that she skipped school in the fifth grade to watch her perform. “You changed my life,” Lizzo told Beyoncé from the stage. “You sang that gospel medley, and the way you made me feel, I was like, ‘I want to make people feel this way with my music.’ Thank you so much. You clearly are the artist of our lives.”