Dua Lipa Releases Highly Anticipated New Album 'Radical Optimism'

3x GRAMMY and 7x BRIT Award-winning global pop powerhouse Dua Lipa has released her highly anticipated third album, Radical Optimism. The album features 11 songs including the thumping, rave-up “Illusion,” “Training Season,” and euphoric club-ready “Houdini.” 

“I wrote this album during my singledom,” Dua says. “I always came into the studio with some funny story, and they all inspired different songs. There's a looseness and an honesty that I hadn't had before.”

In making the album, Dua worked with a team of core collaborators including Caroline Ailin, Danny L. Harle, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Kevin Parker.

Dua adds, “Everybody's backgrounds and ways of working all gelled so well, as friends and musically.” She continues, “We were just so open with each other, and I felt like in that room, I could be vulnerable and talk freely about my experiences. The musicality of it felt so rich and exciting, and I wanted to dive in and be a part of that.”

Dua describes Radical Optimism as “psychedelic pop” noting that “there are musical breaks and a mix of different sounds, and when you listen to it with your eyes closed, it opens up a very visual world.” The album was inspired by Dua’s own self-discovery and speaks to the pure joy and happiness of having clarity in situations that once seemed impossible to face.

Rolling Stone has called the album “pop bliss,” while highlighting it is “uniquely and utterly Dua Lipa: confident dance pop full of witty Instagram-caption-ready one-liners.”

On Saturday, May 4th, Dua will return to Saturday Night Live where she is set for double duty as both host and musical guest for the night. Dua was last on SNL in 2020 when she performed “Don’t Start Now,” “Levitating” and made her sketch debut as Marjorie.

Dua recently announced the first run of tour dates in support of Radical Optimism with shows in Berlin, Pula, and Nimes taking place in June, which sold out immediately. In addition, Dua will make her Pyramid Stage debut as the Friday night headliner at this year’s Glastonbury Festival on June 28th and will play a show at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall on October 17th, the latter of which also sold out immediately.

About Dua Lipa

3x GRAMMY and 7x BRIT Award-winning global pop powerhouse Dua Lipa has released her highly anticipated third album Radical Optimism. The album features the thumping, rave-up “Illusion,” “Training Season” and the euphoric club-ready track “Houdini,” which has become Dua’s longest running solo No. 1 on the UK Airplay charts and drew in over 12 million YouTube views within 24 hours of release. “Houdini” garnered immediate praise across the board from the likes of Billboard and Rolling Stone, who lauded the track as “a neo-psychedelic dance-floor rager," to Pitchfork and Vogue, who called it “a pop masterclass.” “Houdini” followed Dua’s hit song "Dance The Night" from the box office sensation Barbie, which landed on the Oscars shortlist and earned nominations at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards and the GRAMMYs.

Dua's certified platinum sophomore album Future Nostalgia solidified her position as both a critical success and top radio performer. The GRAMMY-nominated record was the longest running top 10 album by a female artist on the Billboard 200 in 2021, and spawned multiple worldwide hit singles, with “Levitating” earning certified diamond status and the title of Billboard’s No. 1 Hot 100 Song of 2021.

Dua has found superstar status on stage and off, thanks to her many passions outside of music. 2022 saw Dua launch Service95, a global style, culture and society editorial platform that now comprises a weekly newsletter, the Service95 book club and the Dua Lipa: At Your Service podcast, which has been lauded by The Sunday Times and The Guardian, and was named one of the Best Podcasts of 2022 by Spotify. Having graced every major fashion magazine worldwide from Vogue and Elle to W and Dazed, Dua added "designer" to her resume in 2023 when she co-designed Versace's "La Vacanza" collection alongside Donatella Versace herself, which Vogue deemed "the hottest collaboration of the summer."

Dua’s eponymous 2017 debut album is certified platinum, spawned six platinum tracks, and made her the first female artist in BRIT Awards history to pick up five nominations in a single year. Dua has a total of 10 GRAMMY nominations, with three wins for Best Pop Vocal Album, Best New Artist and Best Dance Recording. Across platforms globally, she has amassed over 42 billion streams and holds the record for having the top two most streamed albums by a female artist of all time on Spotify.

Photo Credit: Tyrone Lebon

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