Grammy winner Lizzo, 34, brought her lively and infectious vibe to James Corden‘s Carpool Karaoke on Monday night’s episode of The Late Late Show.
Corden, 43, started the segment by singing along to her “About Damn Time,” as well as the singer’s string of recent bops like “Good as Hell,” “Truth Hurts,” and “Juice” as they commuted throughout Los Angeles, according to Vibe.
The late-night host segued into learning more about Lizzo’s affinity for playing the flute by presenting her with the instrument mid-drive.
She said she’d played the woodwind instrument since age 12. Lizzo disclosed that she named her trusty musical companion “Sasha Floot” after Beyoncé‘s alter ego Sasha Fierce, according to People.
“When I was shyer, when I didn’t think I was cool, and when I was getting picked on, I would listen to Beyoncé in my bedroom and it would transport me,” she said to Corden. “I would feel something, I would feel my life is gonna be better. There’s hope for me.”
The body-positive artist further explained that the 2006 album B’Day helped safeguard her mental health.
“When I dropped out of college and I was really depressed, I listened to B’Day on repeat and I would just sing B’Day all the time,” she remembered. “And I was like, ‘I’m gonna be a singer, I’m gonna be a singer.’ The way she makes people feel is how I want to make people feel with music. She’s been my north star.”
Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, confessed the origin of her distinct stage.
“It’s a teenage nickname. We did a thing—I don’t know if everyone was doing this, but in Houston, you chop the second half of your name and you put an O,” she described. “I was Lisso with two Ss. You’re Jameso. You are. And then everybody would be like, Liszo, Liszo, they said it with like a little sway to it, so I changed the Ss to Zs, and the rest is history.”
Lizzo will drop her fourth album, Special, on July 15.