Lizzo

In 2019, the singer and rapper Lizzo ascended to pop-star status when “Truth Hurts,” her snappy single from two years prior, resurfaced as a viral No. 1 hit. Known up to that point for her versatile vocal performances, her focus on body and sex positivity, and, of course, her flute, she cemented herself as an outsized presence in a somewhat tame mainstream landscape, as well as a savvy purveyor of feel-good pop. After again topping the charts, earlier this year, with the song “About Damn Time,” she brings the funk of her new album, “Special,” to Madison Square Garden, Oct. 2-3. The record expands her confessional music to include disco grooves and bluesy ballads. On her albums, Lizzo is most enthralling when her cadences blur genre lines; onstage, she turns songs of self-love into raucous crowd-pleasers. (Madison Square Garden.)