- Chili's and Lizzo have dropped a reimagined version of the iconic "Baby Back Ribs" jingle, co-written and co-produced by Lizzo, to celebrate the chain's newly upgraded, meatier Baby Back Ribs now offering guests up to 50% more meat with a new caramelized barbecue sauce crust.
- The accompanying video includes shot-for-shot nods to the original commercial, an all-new verse from Lizzo, and a flute solo performed on a custom instrument designed to look like a Chili's Baby Back Rib, a flex only a classically trained flautist could pull off.
- Lizzo also recorded a separate a cappella rendition of the original jingle, performing every vocal part herself, keeping the classic intact for longtime fans.
- My Chili's Rewards members can now enter an exclusive giveaway for a Lizzo-signed limited-edition t-shirt and a Chili's gift card.
Chili’s Grill & Bar is no stranger to bold partnerships. The chain previously teamed up with Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey for its 2023 margarita campaign, and has maintained a multi-year NASCAR sponsorship with Spire Motorsports.
This time, though, they went straight for the jingle, one of the most recognized in American pop culture, and handed it to one of music’s most distinctive voices.
Lizzo, a four-time Grammy and Emmy Award winner who openly identifies as a longtime Chili’s superfan, she famously dressed as a Fried Mozzarella cheese pull for Halloween, co-wrote and co-produced the remix, adding a new verse and a rib-shaped flute solo that’s unmistakably her.
“I don’t think there’s a more memorable jingle,” she said of the collab. The video also pays direct homage to the original ’90s spot featuring NSYNC, with shot-for-shot recreations woven throughout.
The timing is deliberate. Chili’s recently upgraded its Baby Back Ribs to meatier, full- or half-rack portions with up to 50% more ribs and a new caramelized BBQ sauce crust, and the brand needed a campaign to match the moment.
On the Lizzo side, this deal adds to an already active 2026. Just weeks ago, she fronted the new Yitty Swim campaign with Fabletics, the brand she co-founded and continues to lead.
She’s also set to release a new album on June 5 and has announced her debut children’s book, Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’, arriving in September. Her brand portfolio previously included partnerships with Dove, Google Pixel, and Logitech.
Like Doja Cat’s recent layered campaign work across Ray-Ban Meta and MAC Cosmetics, Lizzo is proving that today’s top female artists are building multi-front brand empires, not just one-off deals.
Takeaways
This one works because neither side is pretending. Lizzo is a genuine Chili’s fan, Chili’s has a genuinely iconic jingle, and when you let authenticity lead, campaigns like this don’t feel like ads. They feel like events. That’s a rare thing to pull off in 2026, when consumers can smell a forced partnership a mile away.
What’s also smart here is the layering. There’s a remix for the TikTok crowd, an a cappella cut for nostalgia lovers, a giveaway for loyalty members, and a product upgrade at the center of it all. Chili’s didn’t just slap a celebrity on an existing campaign, they built a full ecosystem around the partnership.
For Lizzo, the timing couldn’t be sharper. With a new album dropping June 5, a Yitty Swim campaign still fresh, and a children’s book on the way, this Chili’s collaboration keeps her name in every feed: across music, food, fashion, and family content simultaneously.
Does this set a new standard for how legacy restaurant jingles get revived, and who’s next? With Lizzo this active across Yitty, Chili’s, and a new album drop, how sustainable is a multi-front brand presence before audiences start tuning out? Could this partnership evolve into a deeper, ongoing brand ambassador role, or is it a one-campaign play?
