Dua Lipa is an English singer and songwriter whose debut album was released in 2017 and earned her Brit Awards for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act. Since then she has released a string of hits that have reached the top of the charts. Indeed, with the release of her sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, earlier this year she has secured her place on my list of favourite new artists. Rolling Stone described the album as "breathtakingly fun" and "a loving nod to disco" that offers "the perfect balm for a stressful time". In addition, Future Nostalgia has been compared to Madonna's sensational Confessions on a Dancefloor in terms of its sound and cohesion, which is the highest praise especially since Dua has cited Madonna among one of her biggest musical influences.
Just when I thought I couldn't love the album more, Dua announced the release of Club Future Nostalgia: The Remix Album, the first single being a remix of one of the album's stand-out tracks, Levitating, featuring none other than the Queen of Pop herself and Missy Elliot. Other collaborators on the remix album include Gwen Stefani (another one of her early influences) and Mark Ronson.
So to celebrate the release of the Levitating remix today, here are my 7 favourite Dua Lipa songs:
|| Blow Your Mind (Mwah)
I actually discovered this song on a Just Dance for Wii and it soon became one of my favourites with its bouncy disco pop chorus and cute "mwah". I think it could easily have been be a track on Future Nostalgia.
|| Be The One
This was the first Dua Lipa song I heard back in 2016 and I recall playing it at max volume while sitting in traffic on the way to work. It's a bewitching synth-pop song with blissful, airy elements and gospel-esque harmonies.
|| IDGAF
A song for "one of those days" when you have zero fucks left to give. It's also the quintessential break up song: "You say you're sorry / But it's too late now / So save it, get gone, shut up / 'Cause if you think I care about you now / Well, boy, I don't give a fuck".
|| Physical
A song inspired by Flashdance with subtle nods to Olivia Newton-John's 1981 hit with the same name? Yes please! This was the second single from Future Nostalgia. The video is a colourful 80s-inspired hybrid of real life energetic choreography and animation.
|| Hallucinate
The fourth single from Future Nostalgia has a Confessions bassline reminiscent of Sorry. The lyrics are fun and flirty from the beginning: "Pocketful of honey and I'm ready to go / No, I ain't got no money, but I'm letting you know / But I'ma love you like a fool / Breathe you in 'til I hallucinate, mm". The video is entirely animated since it was created and released during worldwide lockdowns due to COVID-19.
|| Love Again
Probably my favourite song on Future Nostalgia because it samples the catchy trumpet hook from White Town's Your Woman (anyone remember the fabulous song from 1997?) as well as soaring strings and a dance-pop disco-infused bassline. I dare you to listen to it without getting up to dance.
|| Levitating (Blessed Madonna Remix)
Finally, the remix that was released today, 13 August. While I feel that the chorus of the reimagined song is missing an underlying beat to carry it to a full-on club banger, the addition of Madonna's vocals (which are hard to distiniguish from Dua's at certain points) and Missy Elliot's rap mid-way does "turn the party up a notch" as Dua expressed ahead of the single's release.
Comments
Post a Comment