"Special" is a song by American singer and rapper Lizzo, and the title track of her fourth studio album, '' Special'' (2022). It was released to Italian

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

on January 13, 2023, as the third single from the album. A remix featuring American singer SZA was released on February 9, 2023. The song peaked at number 52 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

and became Lizzo's first and SZA's second song to top the Adult R&B Airplay chart. It also reached number 2 in

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and number 6 in

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

Live performances

Lizzo debuted the song on the forty-seventh season of ''

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'' on April 16, 2022, three months before its release. She performed the song on '' Today'' on July 15, 2022, the same day as the release of its parent album. Lizzo also performed the song during a December 2022 appearance on

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

. Lizzo further performed the song at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, accompanied by a

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choir. A few days later, she performed a medley of "Special" with " 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)" and " About Damn Time" at the Brit Awards 2023. The same month she played the song on

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's Live Lounge, alongside a cover of " Unholy" by Sam Smith and Kim Petras. She was brought out by SZA to perform "Special" together during the concert at the Grand National Tour in Inglewood,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, on May 21, 2025.

Music video

Lizzo released the music video for "Special" on February 1, 2023. In the video, she portrays a "beleaguered and put-upon waitress" who is secretly a

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at night.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{SZA songs 2022 songs 2023 singles Lizzo songs SZA songs Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Lizzo Songs written by Max Martin Songs written by Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer) Songs written by Pop Wansel