I don't exactly remember when I first heard Dua Lipa's music, but I'm pretty sure the song was New Rules. Since then, she has become a force to be reckoned with in modern pop music with her neo disco sound and look. This is fun, catchy, pretty good dance music, and she is very clearly here to stay, so let's check out her discography together and see what she's done so far.
As anticipated, the fact dump (information current as of June 2024):
-28 years old (she's a Leo)
-Born in London, England (she has dual citizenship there and in Albania)
-Singer, songwriter
-Vocalist
-Primary genres are pop, disco, dance pop, synth pop, and R&B
-Has won 135 total awards, including 2 American Music Awards, 2 Billboard Music Awards, 3 Grammys, 3 iHeartRadio Music Awards, and set 2 Guinness World Records
-Has released 3 solo studio albums
As is traadition, we're going to focus on Lipa's solo albums for this post, not singles and no EPs this time around. Let's dive in!
Dua Lipa (2017)
Lipa's debut dance pop/electropop/R&B album was released June 2nd, 2017 by Warner Brothers when she was 21 years old. With a run time of 60:08 on the deluxe edition, the album had eight singles released: New Love (8/21/15); Be the One (10/30/15); Last Dance (2/9/16); Hotter Than Hell (5/6/16); Blow Your Mind (Mwah) (8/26/16); Lost in Your Light (4/2/17); New Rules (7/7/17); and IDGAF (1/12/18). Dua Lipa peaked at #27 on the Billboard 200, has been certified Platinum by the RIAA, and won Lipa 2 Grammys in 2019. This self-titled debut is high energy and fun, but not exactly where I would come for outstanding vocals. So many of these songs are super catchy, and while Lipa's vocals aren't the strongest on some of them I love seeing a woman with an alto voice get some serious love in mainstream music. Here's my Top 3 for this debut:
Track 5: IDGAF (written by D. Lipa, J. Dean, S. Stonestreet, J. Kirkland, L. Principato, U. Emenike)
This song's definitely a bop, and we love a middle finger anthem over here at Audio Aesthetics. I like the punchy guitar line, the no nonsense lyrics, and the beat that's so easy to clap or stomp along to. I definitely get why it was a single and really enjoyed it.
You call me all friendly, tellin' me how much you miss me/That's funny, I guess you've heard my songs/Well, I'm too busy for your business, go find a girl who wants to listen/‘Cause if you think I was born yesterday, you have got me wrong/So I cut you off, I don't need your love 'cause I already cried enough/I’ve been done, I've been movin' on since we said goodbye/I cut you off, I don't need your love, so you can try all you want/Your time is up, I'll tell you why/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
Track 10: New Rules (written by C. Ailin, E. Warren, I. Kirkpatrick)
This is the song I always think of first when Dua Lipa gets brought up. It was her first Top 10 song here in the States, and I get it: awesome beat, catchy lyrics, and full to the brim with girl power. It's a great dance song, and I also recommend Pentatonix's cover of it because it's also great.
Talkin' in my sleep at night, makin' myself crazy/Out of my mind, out of my mind/Wrote it down and read it out, hopin' it would save me/Too many times, too many times/My love/He makes me feel like nobody else, nobody else/But my love/He doesn't love me so I tell myself, I tell myself/One, don't pick up the phone, you know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone/Two, don't let him in, you'll have to kick him out again/Three, don't be his friend, you know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning/And if you're under him, you ain't getting over him/I got new rules, I count 'em/I got new rules, I count 'em/I gotta tell them to myself/I got new rules, I count 'em/I gotta tell them to myself
Track 12: Homesick (written by D. Lipa, C. Martin)
I got to work on a ukulele/vocal cover of this song with one of my students, so it's got a special little place in my heart. It's definitely different than my other two picks, being more of a sweet, stripped down love ballad instead of an energetic dance number meant for the club. It shows Lipa's vocals range the best of any song on this album I think, and it's absolutely worth listening to.
Here, where the sky is falling, I'm covered in blue/I’m running and I'm crawling, fighting for you/When the rain stops, then darling, what will I do/And I know I go all in, but why do I/You give me a reason, something to believe in, I know, I know, I know/You give me a meaning, something I can breathe in, I know, I know, I know/It's a bittersweet feeling, longing, and I'm leaving, I go, I go, I go/But I wish I was there with you, oh, I wish I was there with you
Future Nostalgia (2020)
Lipa's sophomore dance pop/electropop/nu disco/pop funk/synth pop album was released March 27th, 2020 by Warner when she was 24 years old. With a run time of 43:17 on the digital edition, the album had six singles released: Don't Start Now (10/31/19); Physical (1/30/20); Break My Heart (3/25/20); Hallucinate (7/10/20); Levitating (10/1/20); and Love Again (3/11/21). Future Nostalgia peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200, has been certified Platinum by the RIAA, and won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards. This album has way more of that nu disco feel to it that so much pop music has nowadays, but she really, really pulls it off. Dance music is a great genre for Lipa, and this album is chock full of it. Here's my Top 3 for this one:
Track 2: Don't Start Now (written by D. Lipa, E. Warren, I. Kirkpatrick, C. Ailin)
This track is a banger, with a super danceable rhythm and a catchy melody that easily sticks in your head. I end up humming the chorus to this one at least once a week, rarely annoyed that I'm doing so. It's a great start to this album, really setting the tone well.
Did a full 180, crazy, thinking 'bout the way I was/Did the heartbreak change me, maybe, but look at where I ended up/I’m all good already, so moved on, it's scary/I’m not where you left me at all, so/If you don't wanna see me dancing with somebody/If you wanna believe that anything could stop me/Don't show up, don't come out/Don't start caring about me now/Walk away, you know how/Don't start caring about me now
Track 5: Levitating (written by J. Kirk, D. Lipa, S. Hudson, S. Kozmeniuk, C. Coffee)
Sure, this song is good, I'm just still confused why this was Billboard's #1 song of 2021. It is catchy as hell, I'll admit that, and it's a great one to dance to. It's taken a while to grow on me, but it is for sure enjoyable.
If you wanna run away with me, I know a galaxy and I can take you for a ride/I had a premonition that we fell into a rhythm where the music don't stop for life/Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eyes, shining just the way I like/If you're feeling like you need a little bit of company, you met me at the perfect time/You want me, I want you, baby/My sugarboo, I'm levitating/The Milky Way, we're renegading/Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah/I got you, moonlight, you're my starlight/I need you all night, come on, dance with me, I’m levitating/You, moonlight, you're my starlight/I need you all night, come on, dance with me, I’m levitating
Track 9: Break My Heart (written by D. Lipa, A. Tamposi, J. Johnson, M. Hutchence, S. Johnson, A. Farris, A. Watt)
I struggle with the verses on this one, never really sure how exactly they go when I'm singing. Once the chorus starts, though, is when this song really picks up and gets fun. It's a bit of a wordy song, but it's definitely another one to have a lot of fun with.
I've always been the one to say the first goodbye/Had to love and lose a hundred million times/Had to get it wrong to know just what I like/Now I'm fallin’/You say my name like I have never heard before/I’m indecisive but this time I know for sure/I hope I'm not the only one that feels it all/Are you fallin’/Center of attention, you know you can get whatever you want from me/Whenever you want it, baby/It's you in my reflection, now I'm afraid of all the things it could do to me/If I would've known it, baby/I would've stayed at home 'cause I was doin' better alone/But when you said, "Hello,” I know that was the end of it all/I should've stayed at home 'cause now there ain't no letting you go/Am I falling in love with the one that could break my heart/Oh no, I was doin' better alone/But when you said, "Hello,” I know that was the end of it all/I should've stayed at home 'cause now there ain't no letting you go/Am I falling in love with the one that could break my heart
Radical Optimism (2024)
Lipa's third dance pop/neo psychedelia/electropop/Europop album was released May 3rd, 2024 by Warner when she was 28 years old. With a run time of 36:35, the album has had three singles released so far: Houdini (11/9/23); Training Season (2/15/24); and Illusion (4/11/24). Radical Optimism has reached #2 on the Billboard 200 since its release. This album feels a bit more laid back to me than Future Nostalgia, but it still retains that disco pop sound Lipa is working on perfecting. I think my biggest complaint is that Dance the Night didn't make its way on here, but that's alright, that's what the Barbie soundtarck is for. Here's my Top 3 for this fairly new release:
Track 2: Houdini (written by D. Harle, K. Parker, C. Ailin, D. Lipa, T. Jesso)
I'm starting to see a trend where a Dua Lipa album really begins with Track 2 for me. This one is definitely a bop, and she tries to add a little mystery to it in homage to the title's namesake. It's a really fun song, and I get why it was the lead single.
I come and I go, tell me all the ways you need me/I’m not here for long, catch me or I go Houdini/I come and I go, prove you got the right to please me/Everybody knows, catch me or I go Houdini/Time is passing like a solar eclipse/See you watching, and you blow me a kiss/It’s your moment, baby, don’t let it slip/Come in closer, are you reading my lips
Track 4: These Walls (written by D. Lipa, B. Walsh, A. Wyatt, C. Ailin, D. Harle)
This song almost sounds like a beachy summer bop until you really listen to the lyrics. It's one of those "happy when I'm sad" vibe type songs, and it works really well here. I can definitely see this one getting stuck in my head quite a bit.
Maybe we should switch careers/‘Cause baby, you know no one beats our poker faces/And when the night ends up in tears/Wake up and we blame it all on being wasted/Oh, this love is fading/So much we’re not saying/But if these walls could talk, they’d say, "Enough," they’d say,"Give up"/If these walls could talk, they’d say, "You know," they’d say, "You’re fucked"/It’s not supposed to hurt this much/Oh, if these walls could talk, they’d tell us to break up/They’d tell us to break up
Track 10: Maria (written by C. Ailin, D. Harle, J. Michaels, A. Wyatt, D. Lipa)
I love finding strong numbers later on the track list, and this one is a perfect example. This is a fun, catchy song, which I think is largely due to Julia Michaels being a credited writer. If you're one who has a hard time staying engaged through an entire album, definitely don't skip this one.
I’ve had love, but his is the deepest, yeah/Says he’ll never leave, he means it too, yeah/Ooh, I owe it to you/He was cold and now he’s the sweetest, yeah/‘Cause he knows how much there is to lose, yeah/Ooh, I owe it to you/Ooh, I owe it to you/Ooh, I owe it to you/Maria, I know you’re gone/But I feel ya when we’re alone/Even when I’m here in his arms/I know you’re somewhere in his heart/Maria/Maria/I know you’re somewhere in his heart
I hope you found some great music to check out here today, whether you're a long time Dua Lipaa fan or brand new to her music. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!
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