Some call her the queen of pop and some call her the queen of heartache. Dua Lipa has been in the game for quite some time now and she continues to deliver and does not disappoint.
Dua Lipa has re-released her Sophomore album “Future Nostalgia” three times, and recently released the latest version of it on Feb. 11, 2021.
Some of you may be familiar with the song “Don’t Start Now” that gave fans a glimpse of what “Future Nostalgia” was all about. Lipa came in heavy with the disco pop tone which was the complete opposite of her first self titled album “Dua Lipa.”
Her first album was just like any other pop album, but there was clearly something special about her. She blew up and everyone all over the world was singing her songs non-stop. She made a whole movement and delivered something different than any other ordinary pop artist.
Lipa definitely felt this, therefore she held onto this feeling and made something beautiful out of it in her Sophomore album.
Lipa dove into numerous spectrums in “Future Nostalgia.” For example, the song “Physical” embodied a futuristic upbeat tone that had the ability to make me envision I was in another dimension. On the other hand, the well known song “Levitating” took me to the moon.
Lipa’s constant references to the milky way, starlight, moonlight, glitter and the galaxy is what makes “Levitating” for what it is. Lipa succeeded in comparing her romantic feelings for her lover to the galaxy. It was a creative, yet meaningful connection for how love can make someone feel.
She’s got “stars” in her eyes in the song “Hallucinate,” and the color of the sky is looking really nice in “Cool.” Dua made sure to keep these environmental elements alive throughout this album.
Being a fan of Dua’s music, I was not expecting this “full 180.” She went right out of her comfort zone and gifted fans a completely different side of her creativity. I was shocked when I first heard this album, and I quickly wanted more from her. Little did I know, Dua was not done after this album was released.
A couple months after the release of “Future Nostalgia” Lipa re-released it as “Club Future Nostalgia (DJ Mix)” with DJ, The Blessed Madonna. With features such as Mark Ronson, Missy Elliot, Madonna, and Gwen Stefani.
Lipa has collaborated with Mark Ronson in the past on the song “Electricity” which was released in 2018. I guess you can say she was testing her waters and was hinting at what she is capable of in the disco/pop scene.
What made “Club Future Nostalgia” different from the initial “Future Nostalgia,” is that Lipa remixed all of her songs to make them suitable for the club scene, all while she was unafraid of what fans and critics might think.
This is what makes Dua Lipa so unique, she was completely unafraid to switch up her sound. Facing constant pressures while deciding she no longer wanted to limit herself to one sound is what makes a musician a musician.
Lipa developed a whole entire new meaning to “Future Nostalgia” in the club release. She collaborated with artists that might have seemed impossible to collaborate with in her old sound. Instead of remaining in her own bubble, she expanded her horizons and pushed herself to reach a new height.
If she keeps this up, soon enough young upcoming artists will want to collaborate with Dua Lipa in the future. The roles will definitely be reversed.
“Levitating” is basically stuck in everyone’s head at this point, Lipa took the extra mile to change the entire song with Missy Elliot, and Madonna. The lyrics are the same, but the beat is completely different.
They each individually added their creativity and turned it into something magical. If someone was solely used to listening to the original version of this song, they wouldn’t recognize this version.
Just like in the new version of “Physical,” featuring Gwen Stefani and Mark Ronson is also unrecognizable. Lipa knew that she was not going to deliver a similar sound to the second release of “Future Nostalgia.” She definitely succeeded in doing so.
It may have seemed as if this was it, but Dua has a fire in her, that is just expected at this point. She re-released “Future Nostalgia” for the third time as “Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition)” on Feb. 11.
With features such as, J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus, and DaBaby. She added eight new songs totaling “Future Nostalgia” to 19 songs, and of course kept that familiar pop/disco vibe to the new songs she added.
In “If it Ain’t Me” Lipa expresses her love for her significant other and will be completely destroyed if her “baby” ever finds another lover. She would be crying sequin tears and it would turn into a “sad disco.”
These key “disco” elements strengthen the vibe she is going for in this song. It is a perfect song to dance to while someone may be feeling insecure in their relationship’s future. It makes this serious issue a little more lighthearted and funky.
In “We’re Good,” Lipa teased fans with this song a couple days before the release of the Moonlight Edition. The pop vibe is stronger in this song than the rest. It sort of reminded me of her old sound, but definitely matured.
Lipa goes in depth on a failed relationship, and it is time to finally part ways. This is where the “queen of heartache” comes in aside from the multiple things Lipa is known for.
In “That Kind of Woman,” she comes in hot with the 80’s vibes. This song automatically teleports me to this decade, which is extremely powerful. It suits her, the lyrics match up with the beat, and purely speaks for the “new” Dua Lipa.
Dua also isn’t afraid to expand her sound with new languages besides her native language, which is English. In the songs “Un Dia,” and “Fever,” Lipa collaborates with Latin reggaeton artists J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Tainy, and Belgian artist Angèle. Although Lipa stays true to singing in English, her ability to expand her music within new languages is what makes her music diverse and different.
The constant re-releases of the same album may become repetitive and exhausting, but Dua Lipa has found a way to keep “Future Nostalgia” alive, interesting and liberating. All one year after its initial release.
She has brought something different to the table in every release, which keeps fans wanting more and more. We probably wouldn’t be surprised if a fourth release is in the works, right? I know for a fact that it would be completely different than the rest.
Lipa has been finding her sound and her place in the industry ever since her first self titled album broke barriers, but Lipa has been experimenting with different sounds, and It seems like she has finally found it. She has embraced her inner creativity and captivates listeners with modernized disco pop.
She is making a name for herself at such a young age. The constant criticism in the industry and on social media does not stop her from blossoming into the musician she is becoming in the industry today.
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