Lizzo performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 12, 2022. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF.

SAN FRANCISCO — R&B superstar Lizzo brought her “Special” Tour to Chase Center Saturday night. The Detroit-born singer is in the midst of a massive arena tour in support of her latest album, also titled Special, playing a set filled with about two dozen songs to the capacity crowd.

Fittingly, Lizzo packed in just about her entire new album, along with plenty of selections from 2019’s Cuz I Love You. Opening with “The Sign,” she mixed in tracks like “Everybody’s Gay” and “Break Up Twice,” before the monster closing trio of “Good As Hell,” “Juice” and “About Damn Time.”

From her early shows in the Bay Area—she performed at the Fillmore with Doja Cat in 2017, before much of the world knew who they were—to headlining Outside Lands and now San Francisco’s biggest room, Lizzo’s music career has truly blossomed to that of one of the biggest acts on the planet.

Her stage production was massive, too, with a large projection screen bordered in gold at the back of the stage. The singer’s four-member band also had their own raised platforms, surrounded by lighting arrays that pulsed to the rhythm of the music. The stage was expressive and colorful, the performance energetic and filled with personality.

Lizzo performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 12, 2022.

After finishing up new album track “The Sign,” fans roared with approval, and the cheers only got louder from there. This was the penultimate stop of tour, and Lizzo demanded fans get louder and more boisterous.

The songstress (and flautist!) brought a message of empowerment and self-expression. Alongside the band, she also brought along a bevy of back-up dancers as well as DJ Sophia Eris, who had earlier opened the show and pumped up the crowd.

“When is the last time you said something kind about yourself?” Lizzo during a quick break while getting a drink. “Tonight is a self-love fest!” She and the band then launched into “Soulmate,” from Cuz I Love You.

Taking center stage, of course, was the 34-year old’s booming, powerful voice and larger-than-life talent as a performer. Donning a sultry pink-feathered robe, Lizzo displayed her vocal finesse on “Naked,” a stripped-down ballad that featured her wearing a brown board with images projected on her body. Toward the end of the song, the board displayed “My Body, My Choice”—her response to Republicans’ attack on Roe v. Wade.

Latto performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 12, 2022.

Lizzo is just a few weeks removed from an unusual controversy when the singer faced criticism from conservative voices over her playing of a 200-year-old flute that once belonged to James Madison, given to her for a performance by the Library of Congress. At Chase Center, Lizzo mentioned she’d recently purchased a platinum flute to add to her collection and asked the crowd for name suggestions. And of course, someone suggested she name it for Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry.

Rapper Alyssa Stephens, better known as Latto, preceded Lizzo. The 23-year-old Colombus, Ohio singer played a set of covers and originals from her 2022 album, 777. During “Soufside,” Latto was accompanied by a group of dancers.

Latto also declared her stance on women’s rights. During “Pussy,” several dancers walked around with protest signs like “Protect Women’s Rights” and “My Body, My Choice.” She concluded her set with her most recent single, “Big Energy,” which samples Tom Tom’s Club’s 1981 song “Genius of Love.”

— Mike DeWald

Follow photographer Onome Uyovbievbo at Twitter.com/byonome and Instagram.com/by.onome.