Dua Lipa hit the ground running in 2020. After breakthrough 2019 single ‘Don’t Start Now’ returned disco to the forefront of pop, second album Future Nostalgia made her one of the most listened to artists in the world. The album, alongside several of its singles, have remained on top of pop charts across the globe ever since. Celebrating her reign of pop music’s eminent star Dua Lipa has now released Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) alongside new single ‘We’re Good’.
‘We’re Good’
With ‘We’re Good‘, Lipa amicably puts an end to a burnt-out relationship. “Not gonna judge you when you’re with somebody else,” she sings. “As long as you swear you won’t be pissed when I do it myself. Let’s end it like we should and say we’re good.”
The single is a darker take on Dua Lipa’s signature sound. It is a stark shift from her escapist party anthems of Future Nostalgia. In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Dua Lipa acknowledged she felt the move was risky.
“I think sonically, it felt the riskiest because I don’t even know what it is,” she shared, “it’s like pop with a little bit of a trap beat. It’s got an interesting Bossa Nova style. I don’t even know how you explain it or how you would start to describe what a song like that is. It just is… but I think the content of the song is really interesting.”
Cocaine Controversy
Risky beats may not be the only thing Dua Lipa is concerned with. The British star was recently subject to blowback after negative reactions to a leaked version of ‘We’re Good’. “We’re not meant to be like sleeping and cocaine,” Lipa sang in the alternative take. “So let’s at least agree to go our separate ways”.
These lyrics came as a surprise. Lipa has never directly sung about drugs before. In fact, the star previously revealed to The Sun she teetotals in order to protect her voice. “I’ve stopped drinking,” she shared, “and I don’t smoke, either, when I’m touring.”
This could be seen as Lipa beginning to transition from her can-do-no-wrong pop star phase into her controversial one. The small controversy ties in with another large one. Lipa recently came under fire for actively encouraging people to stay at home, before jetting to Mexico for a holiday mid-pandemic.
The success of Future Nostalgia skyrocketed Dua Lipa to unexpected heights of fame and fortune. It has also placed her under the intense scrutiny which accompanies it. Such attention tragically derailed the careers and personal lives of pop megastars Britney Spears and Whitney Houston. Could Lipa’s own honeymoon period soon be coming to a close?
Dua Lipa and Feminism
Despite her messages of empowerment and sweeping the Women In Music Awards in 2020, Lipa has also been accused of exploiting women and being anti-feminist. Most notably she received backlash after she was filmed attending a strip-club after the 2020 Grammy Awards. This is criticism she has actively fought against. “I just feel like, if you’re a feminist,” she recently told Rolling Stone, “you have to also support women in all fields of work.” (What male star would suffer a similar backlash?)
The leading women of pop are often subject to such criticism. Dua Lipa is well aware of her power as a pop star to influence others. “Being a role model,” she told ITV, “for me, I will do whatever is in my ability to be able to do what is right but at the same time, I am learning and I am not perfect.”
Dua Lipa Refuses To Be Held Back
The coronavirus pandemic has heavily disrupted the world of music. Having led to the near-total cancellation of touring and major music festivals in 2020, it has now put live music on pause until what is now looking like 2022. This makes the release of a major pop album a commercially difficult prospect. For Dua Lipa, this is no doubt frustrating. Given her circumstances, the appearance of ‘We’re Good’ alongside other unreleased tracks like ‘If It Ain’t Me’ and ‘That Kind of Woman‘ on Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) is a clever move. It allows Dua Lipa to maintain public interest while moving forward with her creative ambitions as a recording artist.
Dua Lipa poses for a 2021 YSL perfume campaign
Are Greats Hits Albums Back In Fashion?
With 2021 lacking in new music due to the disruptions of the pandemic, compilation albums appear to be making a comeback. Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) follows The Weeknd releasing Greatest Hits album The Highlights ahead of his 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Performance. Despite not including any new music on the album, The Weeknd’s album is projected to debut at #2 on The Billboard 200 US albums chart next week.
While streaming platforms like Spotify make it easy to access curated artist playlists and create one’s own, Dua Lipa and The Weeknd both prove that compilation albums and deluxe editions are enticing fans in 2021. Yes, revisiting a classic album less than a year after its release feels a little odd. The turmoil and tragedy of 2021, however, make them a welcome distraction.
Dua Lipa On Top
Despite what controversies might come there is little question Dua Lipa is still on top. In 2019 she broke through to massive international audience with ‘Don’t Start Now’. 2020’s Future Nostalgia proved her mettle as albums artist. The scarcity of new acts breaking through in 2020 then provided her time to take an extended victory lap.
What helped Dua Lipa stay centre of public attention in 2020 now runs the risk of working against her 2021. Dua Lipa’s triumphant World Tour remains postponed. It will likely not commence until September (at the earliest). Given the nature of album release cycle of major acts, this delay makes the prospect of a new Dua Lipa album – one which could rival the creative and commercial ambition of Future Nostalgia – something fans will likely not be heard until 2022, 2023 or even 2024. Until it arrives, Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) can certainly make do.
‘Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition)’
Track Listing
Future Nostalgia
Don’t Start Now
Cool
Physical
Levitating
Pretty Please
Hallucinate
Love Again
Break My Heart
Good In Bed [Explicit]
Boys Will Be Boys
Dua Lipa x Angèle – Fever
We’re Good
Miley Cyrus – Prisoner (feat. Dua Lipa)
If It Ain’t Me
That Kind Of Woman
Stream ‘Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition)’ here.
No new album in 2021?
Vacinations not vacations
No more coked-out pop stars, please
New material hits mark
Greatest Hits groovy again
Chance to revisit an exceptional LP