Lizzo and the Minnesota Vikings: The Music Connection

At a glance

• The lyric: the chorus of Truth Hurts includes the line “New man on the Minnesota Vikings” (NFL.com).
• The song: first released on 19 September 2017, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2019 (Wikipedia).
• The jerseys: Lizzo and her dancers wore Vikings jerseys to perform it at her Minneapolis concert on 11 October 2019, in a gallery published by the team (Vikings.com).
• The rivalry footnote: a Green Bay radio station bleeped “Minnesota Vikings” out of the song in 2019 (WCCO / CBS Minnesota).

The line in Truth Hurts

The Vikings reference sits in the chorus, so it comes round every time the hook does: “New man on the Minnesota Vikings.” It names the team, not a player. Nothing in the song identifies anyone.

Truth Hurts was first released on 19 September 2017 by Nice Life Recording Company and Atlantic Records and later added as a bonus track to the deluxe edition of the album Cuz I Love You. It became a slow-burning hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2019 and spending seven non-consecutive weeks there. It went on to win Best Pop Solo Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020 (Wikipedia).

Why Minneapolis matters

Lizzo, born Melissa Viviane Jefferson in Detroit and raised in Houston, moved to Minneapolis in 2011. The city is where her career took shape: she performed with local groups including The Chalice and Grrrl Prty, released her debut album Lizzobangers in 2013 and followed it with Big Grrrl Small World in 2015. In 2014 she appeared on Prince and 3rdEyeGirl’s album Plectrumelectrum (Wikipedia).

Those years are why the 2019 Minneapolis shows described below were reviewed as a homecoming. Lizzo’s own reasons for writing the line are not covered by the sources we reviewed, so we do not guess at them.

The homecoming show in Vikings jerseys

In October 2019, weeks after the song reached No. 1, Lizzo played two sold-out shows at The Armory in Minneapolis, which Mpls.St.Paul Magazine reviewed as a homecoming. The Vikings published a photo gallery captioned: Lizzo and her dancers “wore Vikings jerseys at her Minneapolis concert on Oct. 11 during the performance of her Billboard No. 1 hit song ‘Truth Hurts.’”

The gallery is direct evidence of the performance and the clothing. It does not establish a personal relationship with any player, and it does not show a business arrangement with the club.

View the official Vikings concert gallery.

Green Bay’s radio edit

The lyric also found its way into the Vikings–Packers rivalry. In June 2019, WIXX-FM in Green Bay edited Truth Hurts so that “Minnesota Vikings” was bleeped out (WCCO / CBS Minnesota). The station told Atlantic Records about the change first. Its music director, Otis Day, explained the decision simply: “This is football. It’s a rivalry. This is how sports works. And we thought this would be kind of fun” (NFL.com).

The sources we reviewed record no response to the edit from Lizzo or from the Vikings.

Keep the claims separate

A song reference, a concert outfit and a team employment or endorsement relationship are different claims. The lyric supports the song connection and the gallery supports the concert connection. We do not infer a player’s identity, a relationship or an endorsement agreement from either, and we have not found a reliable source for Lizzo performing at a Vikings game or at U.S. Bank Stadium, so this page makes no such claim.

For the current dance squad, use the official cheerleaders page. Our fan guide explains where to find roster and audition information.

More Vikings culture on this site

• What does Skol mean? The Vikings rallying cry, explained.
• Vikings vs Packers: the Border Battle that the Green Bay radio edit played on.
• Paul Allen, the radio voice of the Vikings.
• Vikings wallpapers for phone, tablet and desktop.