‘Future Nostalgia’ Release Excites Dua Lipa Fans

Dua Lipa released her sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, nearly a month earlier than anticipated because it leaked early. Lipa and her team thought it would be best to release it as soon as possible, since all the music was already out in the open. Despite this conflict, Lipa ended up thriving with Future Nostalgia. 

In the past, Lipa has had many great singles make it to the top of the charts such as New Rules, One Kiss, Electricity and IDGAF. New Rules gained over 2 billion views and a #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for multiple weeks. One Kiss featuring Calvin Harris, gained 640 million views and also earned her a #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks. Lipa’s collaboration with duo Silk City, featuring Diplo and Mark Ronson, Electricity, gained her an astonishing amount of fame, with over 120 million views, #1 for numerous weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and a Grammy for Best Dance Recording. It is safe to say that Dua Lipa has achieved many accomplishments with her past records. However, many wondered what would come out of her 2nd album, Future Nostalgia. 

Lipa revealed the name of the album on Instagram with the title tattooed on her arm. The album has a total of 3 singles, Don’t Start Now, Physical and Break My Heart, along with the title track, Future Nostalgia, as a promotional single. These singles have already obtained major triumphs such as Don’t Start Now acquiring a #2 spot, Physical gaining #3 and Break My Heart getting #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a few weeks. The album has 11 songs and none of them are features, which surprised many fans since artists usually include features on their tracks.

Lipa created Future Nostalgia with producers Jeff Bhasker, Ian Kirkpatrick, Stuart Price and The Monsters & Stangerz, transforming the album into a heavily ’70s disco and ’80s pop-inspired piece. The work they all have put into the album was worth it because when the album officially released, it reached #1 in her native U.K., New Zealand, Australia and Ireland, and ranked #4 in the U.S. This is an enormous accomplishment for Lipa for many reasons; this is her first #1 album and she is the first female solo artist in 2020 to have a #1 album in the U.K. charts. 

That being said, I am a huge fan of Dua Lipa, so much so that my first concert was her self-titled tour in June of 2018, and I was the person that pitched this article. So, of course I need to dish out my opinion on what were the best and worst songs on the album, even though there are no bad songs.

My all-time favorites on Future Nostalgia are Levitating, Love Again and Break My Heart. I have all of these songs on repeat during this quarantine and these are the songs that I most listen to out of the rest. Levitating is a funky disco-infused track that is fun to dance to and makes you feel light. Love Again is a sweet track with a beautiful opening and closing, which reminds me of a romantic ’80s pop song you could imagine being sung by Whitney Houston or Olivia Newton-John. Break My Heart is a groovy, upbeat track with a heavy ’80s influence, containing a strong bass line. All of these songs can have you dancing around your house, making you forget about the pandemic.

Unfortunately, there are songs I have to say were not my favorite on the album and those are Don’t Start Now, Pretty Please and Future Nostalgia. While I do like these songs, I do not play them as often as the others. Don’t Start Now has that same retro ’70s disco vibe as the rest of album but, after a while, especially because it’s the first single, it gets repetitive and a bit annoying to listen to. Pretty Please is a bit plain and slow to my liking, making it a song that I could easily skip. The title track, Future Nostalgia, is a fun song to sing along to but I did find myself not playing the song as often.

With that said, one song I do want to mention is Boys Will Be Boys. The last song on the album, Boys Will Be Boys, is a song with a soft medley that leaves the listener thinking. It is a song about the issues women have to face in the 21st century. The issues Lipa muses about are especially timely. The song talks about the excuses society has built to protect boys from scrutiny because of the way they treat girls. Lipa mentions certain actions a woman will do to prevent getting hurt such as, “It’s second nature to walk home before the sun goes down… put your keys between your knuckles when there’s boys around… We smile away to ease the tension so it don’t go south.” Boys Will Be Boys has such a powerful message that opens many people’s eyes. I did not include it in my favorites because it is not a song I listen to often, even though I should, and I did not include it in my least favorite because how could that even occur to anyone? 

Seeing the growth Lipa has achieved from her debut album in 2017 to now is incredible. In the past, Dua Lipa was known for a very awkward video of her dancing in 2018. Many people started questioning her capabilities as an artist, whether or not she would make it as a mainstream pop artist. Sooner or later, those videos turned into very popular memes and people noticed her lack of stage presence.

If you compared Lipa in 2017 versus her in 2020, you would not think it is the same person. She came back better than ever with her first single Don’t Start Now, doing incredible performances. She drastically improved her dancing and stage presence. The first proof of this occurrence was when she performed Don’t Start Now in the MTV EMA’s. Lipa exuded confidence while performing and demonstrated that she could definitely dance (with the right choreography, of course). After this performance, there have been multiple times she showed that she has the talent and artistry to be a major pop star, alongside Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, etc. The world is not ready for what Dua Lipa has in store.