US star Lizzo wowed fans during a concert on Tuesday in Washington DC when she took to the stage to play a 200-year-old crystal flute, once owned by former US President James Madison.
The singer and trained flautist was granted permission by The Library of Congress to play the instrument, which arrived on stage with a police escort.
Inspecting it on stage, she said: “It’s like playing out of a wine glass.”
She then played a few notes while simultaneously shaking her lower body.
“I just twerked and played James Madison’s flute from the 1800s!” she beamed, after having handed it back to a representative who put it back in its case.
While posting the video on her own social media channels afterwards, the Houston-raised Juice singer told her fans: “No one has ever heard what is sounds like… now you do.”
She later added: “As a flute player this is iconic and I will never be over it.”
A spokesperson for the Library of Congress told the BBC that the flute may have been played in public on a rare special occasion in the past, most likely in Madison’s time.
Until Lizzo picked up the flute, the Library’s curator, who has worked at the Library since 1993, had never heard it played live.
Following her historic gig on Tuesday evening, The Library of Congress tweeted to confirm the flute had been returned safely.
“We just did a DNA test,” they posted. “Turns out: It’s 100% that [crystal] flute” – a play on words with the lyrics from Lizzo’s hit song Truth Hurts.
We just did a DNA test. Turns out: It’s 100% that [crystal] flute @lizzo played at her D.C. stop on the #SpecialTour tonight. It’s safe & sound back at the Library now. Thank you @CapitolPolice for escorting it. Watch this space for more from Lizzo’s Library visit. #LizzoAtLOC pic.twitter.com/YnS5wVoALN
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) September 28, 2022
Grammy-winner Lizzo is currently touring the US in support of her fourth album, Special, which featured the TikTok hit, About Damn Time.
Earlier this summer, she changed the lyrics to a new song, Grrrls, after fans complained it used an ableist slur.
James Madison, America’s fourth President from 1809 to 1817, made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, he was referred to as the Father of the Constitution.
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19 August 2021
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15 December 2020
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