Dua Lipa is a multi-talented singer and actress that has done anything but take time off. By not releasing an album since 2020, she has kept her old and new fans anticipating her next musical project. With her summer smash hit, “Dance the Night”, featured in the 2023 movie of the summer, “Barbie”, and her work as a leading role in 2024 action-comedy movie, “Argylle”, Lipa has shown her talent in more ways than one.
Lipa surprised fans when she returned to music by releasing her new album, Radical Optimism, on May 3. This is Lipa’s 3rd studio album, with her last album coming out 4 years ago, Future Nostalgia.
The album opens with a love filled track, “End Of An Era”, which is the perfect introduction to the album. In this track, Lipa sings of her love life and wonders if her current romantic interest is the right one. Using a metaphor “End Of An Era”, Lipa is explaining that her era of being single is now over and she is finally in love. The song describes the start of her relationship with her significant other and the story of how she fell in love with them. Lipa’s singing style perfectly encapsulates the emotions that someone may feel as they are starting to fall in love.
Lipa started to tease her newest album late last year when she released her first single, “Houdini”, on November 9, 2023. “Houdini” ended up being the second track on the album and was a great insight to the fun upbeat vibe the album was going to bring. The background sounds and vocals perfectly flow along with the lyrics to create a funky energetic song to dance to.
Three months later on February 15, Lipa released her second single, “Training Season”, and she hooked her listeners from the first beat. A different kind of vibe from “Houdini”, this track starts out with a calm but upbeat instrumental and draws her listeners into the song with a question to her lover. As the song progresses, the beat starts to quicken as Lipa goes into the chorus. Lipa’s choice of singing style for this song goes perfectly along with the instantly catchy beat.
Shifting from the first three tracks to the fourth track on the album, “These Walls”, Dua sings about the fading love between her and her partner and how if the walls around them could talk they would tell them how they should abandon their relationship:“But if these walls could talk/(They’d say) ‘Enough’/ If these walls could talk / (They’d say) ‘Give up’”. This contrasts the last three tracks where Lipa sings about finally finding love and falling for someone. This track could connect with many people because of the way Lipa writes her lyrics singing about staying in a bad relationship. The catchy beat mixed with the different vocal techniques Lipa uses throughout the song creates a memorable song with a deeper meaning.
The third and final single, “Illusion”, was released on April 11, 2024 and is the seventh track. This song was the final tease to get fans even more excited about the album’s upcoming release. “Illusion” has a perfect fun beat that doesn’t change much throughout the song. However, the continuous beat paired with the repetitive lyrics is actually the perfect mix. Even though it may seem boring and strung out, the pairing really makes the song one to jump and dance to.
Another song that stood out is the eighth track, “Falling Forever”. At first the beat in the beginning makes it sound like just one instrument is playing the same four or five notes over and over as Lipa is holding out a note over it. However it is then accompanied by a lower octave guitar that makes the beat feel dark, which is vastly different from the other pop songs on the album. Once Lipa finally starts the lyrics of the song, a drum is played to create a beautiful light beat. This track also stood out because of Lipa’s exceptional vocal abilities as she belts multiple held out notes and showcases her remarkable talent.
My least favorite part of the album was the tenth track, “Maria” because it didn’t fully captivate me. I felt like the electric and futuristic background instruments paired with Lipa’s vocals were not the best choice. The beat felt like it had a lot going on and could not stick to one vibe or sound. However, even with that, the song was not even close to being bad because of Lipa’s vocal ability to make anything sound amazing. Her vocals were soft and raw at certain times and then full out in others which created a flow for the song.
The eleventh and final track of the album, “Happy For You”, was a fantastic way to close out the album. The calming bird noises in the beginning differentiates from other tracks. This track is much more calm and laid back than other tracks even with the chorus having more of an upbeat sound. The song closes out both the album and Lipa’s era of being in love and hurting. In the song she sings, “You got everythin’ you deserve / I’m happy for you”, creating closure and happiness for both Lipa and the person she is singing about.
Other songs that deserve an honorable mention are “Whatcha Doing”, “French Exit”, and “Anything For Love” due to their captivating lyrics and beats.
Radical Optimism overall is the perfect album to hit shuffle on while doing homework, chores, or driving. The flow and progression of the album creates a very captivating story line and is perfectly told throughout Lipa’s lyrics. All of these songs could resonate with many different people and can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the listener’s situation.
If you loved Radical Optimism, then go check out Eternal Sunshine by Ariana Grande for both love and heartbreak filled songs, and also check out emails i can’t send by Sabrina Carpenter for lively beats and beautiful vocals.
9/10
