Lizzo Talks Pressure to Top Last Album and Returning to Live Performing: 'I Got My Confidence Back'

Lizzo will perform an American Express UNSTAGED concert on Saturday, Dec. 4 in Miami

Lizzo is gearing up for her next era — and getting back onstage.

After the COVID crisis deterred tour dates, Lizzo is getting back to performing live with an American Express UNSTAGED concert in Miami on Saturday, Dec. 4 (see here for details).

“I felt like I was going to be rusty, but it’s almost like second nature,” Lizzo, 33, tells PEOPLE of returning to the stage. “I’ve learned to trust myself and trust my body again. My confidence was shook a little bit over this time, like, ‘Will people care? Are people going to show up?’ They proved me wrong. I got my confidence back.”

Lizzo skyrocketed to mainstream fame in 2019 with her smash hit “Truth Hurts” and major-label debut Cuz I Love You, and she went on to win three Grammys in 2020.

“I let go of the part of myself I lost — being anonymous, privacy — but I’ve gained so much,” she says of how life has changed since becoming a star. “My dreams are coming true. People love my music. That’s all I ever wanted. I was really hungry back then, burning the candle at both ends.”

She adds, “Now I have this sort of calm to me, like: ‘You’ve done it. Enjoy it. Appreciate it.'”

In August, Lizzo released her Cardi B collab “Rumors,” the first single off her forthcoming second major-label LP. But she’s not feeling any pressure to top her accomplishments.

“The commercial success I think is where the pressure is. Everyone’s like, ‘You gotta have the same type of No. 1s and Grammys.’ First of all, I didn’t expect none of that, so I’m not expecting it this time either,” Lizzo says. “What I do expect of myself is to make great music, and I’ve done that.”https://youtu.be/4P9XUrniiK4

Lizzo also spoke about her close relationship with Adele.

“I met her at a birthday party or a Grammy party — I can’t remember where because I was drunk at both,” Lizzo said of their friendship. “She’s been through similar things that I have, and she’s given me really good advice.”

She added, “We have very similar personalities and the way we think, and we just connected in that way. We’re both supreme divas. We know our worth — and we’re also both Tauruses!”

Lizzo, Issa Rae and Chef Kwame Onwuachi. ARTURO HOLMES/GETTY IMAGES FOR AMERICAN EXPRESS

While in Miami, Lizzo also attended The Amex Brunch alongside actors Issa Rae and Nick Creegan at 1 Hotel South Beach. The vegan singer helped newly-vegan Chef Kwame Onwuachi, of Top Chef fame, curate the menu that included a spicy broccoli taco and mini-chicken and waffles.

For more on Lizzo, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.