Lizzo ‘did not rehearse’ Grammy speech because she had ‘no idea’ she would win

Lizzo said she did not rehearse her poignant Grammy acceptance speech dedicating the award to late music star Prince and singling out Beyonce for changing her life.

The US pop singer, 34, fought off competition from Beyonce, Adele, Abba and Harry Styles to unexpectedly scoop record of the year with About Damn Time on Sunday.

During her lengthy speech, Lizzo said she decided to “dedicate my life to positive music” after the death of American singer Prince in 2016 and praised Beyonce as the “artist of our lives”.

She also said she felt “misunderstood” during her career but stayed true to herself because she “had to be the change to make the world a better place”.

Asked by presenter Graham Norton on his BBC One chat show if she rehearsed the speech, Lizzo said: “No. I had absolutely no idea I would win. Did you see who I was up against?”

The pop star also teased details about her upcoming performance at Saturday’s Brit Awards, where she is nominated for international artist of the year and international song of the year with About Damn Time.

She said: “Rehearsals are going great and I am so excited. The show will be a Lizzo sampler platter.”

Lizzo also spoke about her upcoming fifth studio album, saying she has written 200 songs in three years.

“I wrote a lot of songs but I had to use the creme de la creme,” she added.

The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One at 10.40pm on Friday.