Dua Lipa is back and ready to be the soundtrack of the summer with her third studio album, “Radical Optimism.” With the success of her first two albums, “Dua Lipa” and “Future Nostalgia,” fans were pumped to see what the artist had in store for this new era in her career.
In anticipation for the album, Lipa released the lead single, “Houdini,”which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and secured the No. 1 spot on the Dance/Electronic Songs charts for 17 weeks straight. After the single release, Lipa followed up with two other singles, “Training Season” and “Illusion,” both reaching the top 10 on the United Kingdom’s Singles chart.
As the three singles rise on the charts and are beloved by fans, can Lipa succeed with the full-length album? Will she top her previous album in sales and chart positions? Let’s hit play on the record and see what Lipa has in store.
Lipa knocks it out of the park with this album. By comparing this album to her other work, it definitely lands in the No. 2 spot ranking of her three albums (“Future Nostalgia” being No. 1 and “Dua Lipa” being last.) While some songs still have the sound of her previous albums, Lipa branches out and shows her range with slower and powerful songs.
Lipa begins the album with an upbeat track called “End Of An Era.” Throughout the song, Lipa explains how she has fallen for someone new and hopes this person will be her “forever.” She wishes that he could be the one and Lipa will finally be leaving her “single era,” which calls for the end of an era.
The upbeat sound of the track reflects on the new chapter of Lipa’s life and how this new person brings to life the emotion Lipa feels with this song.
Lipa continues the upbeat sound throughout the album with “Houdini,” “Whatcha Doing,” and “Illusion.” She brings back the funk and disco sounds she used in her previous album, “Future Nostalgia,” with these three songs.
Although the lyrics in “Illusion” talk about being deceived and going through heartbreak, Lipa masks that hurt with upbeat sounds. The cheery sound sort of tricks the listeners into thinking it’s a fun and happy song, but once you listen closely to the lyrics, the whole concept of the song changes.
Heartbreak isn’t the only emotion Lipa goes through in this album; she talks about falling for a new man in her life. Lipa has been romantically linked to actor Callum Turner since January. So fans of Lipa believe the song, “Maria,” is about thanking Turner’s ex-girlfriend for shaping him into the person he is today. Fans theorize Lipa could be thanking actress Vanessa Kirby in the song since Kirby and Turner dated prior to his relationship with Lipa.
Lipa closes the album with a heartfelt song dedicated to her ex-boyfriend, Anwar Hadid, called “Happy For You.” In the song, Lipa wishes nothing for the best for her ex. Despite feeling hurt and sad about the relationship ending, she’s glad her ex-boyfriend has found someone new and sings about how happy they look in their new relationship.
“Radical Optimism” doesn’t hold the same impact “Future Nostalgia” brought to fans and listeners, but this album tells more of Lipa’s story from the past couple of years more than her two previous albums ever did. “Radical Optimism” felt more personal and raw compared to the fun and cheery sounds of “Future Nostalgia.”
Overall, this album is the perfect sound for this upcoming summer with the range of disco-beat songs and slow ballads.
Altogether, this album’s storytelling, lyrics and sound was beautifully done. It brings to life the emotions Lipa went through during the past year and shows her fans a different side of her. This is definitely one of Lipa’s best albums, and she deserves all the support for her work.
