After setting the Nîmes Arena alight in June 2024, Dua Lipa unveils the dates of her next world tour and reveals three concerts in France. She will be defending her latest album, Radical Optimismreleased on May 3, 2024. The opportunity to hear the gleaming hits – Houdini, Training Season et Illusion en live.
One of the visuals of the album Radical Optimism by Dua Lipa by Tyrone Lebon.
In recent months, the talented Dua Lipa has been on all fronts. The British-Albanian singer who lit up the Cannes Film Festival of her presence in 2023, before appearing last summer as a mermaid in the blockbuster Barbiefor which she signed the hit Dance the Nighthas not been idle.
The singer-songwriter notably collaborated with Versace on a collection of colorful and sexy clothing called La Vacanza and played, at the beginning of 2024, in the film For Argyalongside Henry Cavill.
But the one who is at the head of a newsletter, Service95a podcast and a book club, also took the time to release his new album at the same time as these multiple adventures: Radical Optimismin May 2024.
Dua Lipa par Tyrone Lebon.
A musical shift for Dua Lipa’s new album, Radical Optimism ?
The perfume muse ofYves Saint Laurent Beauty had changed, just before the release of Radical Optimismthe photos of her posted on YouTube, Facebook and streaming platforms – opting for kaleidoscopic visuals – and deleted all her old photos from her Instagram account.
Dua Lipa also shared, in October 2023, a stunning image of herself taken by the English photographer and videographer Tyrone Lebonto whom we owe the video clip of Nikes of Frank OceanShe appeared as a redhead, wearing Helmut Lang’s Bowie top from 1994.
We then saw signs of a more independent, rock, experimental and cutting-edge musical turn, and above all, less mainstream? Her new hair color worthy of Julia Foxvery bold, suggested that Dua Lipa is ready to take risks in the manner of Doja Cat, who recently made a real aesthetic and artistic revolution.
Dua Lipa – Training Season (2024).
Radical OptimismDua Lipa’s new “optimistic” album
Dua Lipa had managed to build up the excitement around her new project. As time went on, she revealed clues, photos, singles and her title: Radical Optimism. On the cover, the singer is immersed in the ocean, a shark at her side. A parable of the music business ? The image seems in any case to contradict, with irony, the title and to transcribe the mixture of euphoria and worry/sadness (dance crying) defended by his music.
She explains about the album title: “A few years ago, a friend introduced me to the term “radical optimism.” It was a concept that resonated with me, and I grew more curious about it as I began to play with it and integrate it into my life. It struck me: the idea of moving through chaos with grace and feeling empowered to weather any storm..” Dua Lipa’s album is therefore intended to be optimistic and from its first seconds, we feel the desire to offer a perfect object for the summer.
Also in a press release, Dua Lipa notes about her new album: “A lot of this album was written in those joyous moments of absolute chaos and how I moved through the world with lightness and optimism, no matter the outcome.”
A record in collaboration with Tame Impala
Dua Lipa worked for months on the successor to the excellent and very danceable Future Nostalgia (2020) accompanied by a crack team. The 29-year-old pop superstar has indeed worked with Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, in Malibu and London as well as with Danny L Harlea figure of the PC Music label and close collaborator of the singer Caroline Polachek.
Kevin Parker wrote the majority of the album’s tracks, which suggested a record inspired by indie, synthpop and electro-pop.
Dua Lipa had also announced that the album would be infused with the spirit of Britpop, trip-hop and psychedelic music. We therefore expected the singer to give a facelift to the retro-futuristic disco-pop universe defended by Future Nostalgia to make it even more lyrical, under the impetus of Kevin Parker.
First disappointment: Dua Lipa preferred to be more pop than radical. And we don’t find the “psychedelic and pop tribute to British rave culture” promised by the singer in the columns of the magazine Rolling Stone. But you will also have to get up early to find the references cited by the singer (Primal Scream, Massive AttackOasis, GorillazBlur, Moby) in the fairly classic electro-pop titles of Radical Optimism. There are rather notes of funk and flamenco as well as sounds reminiscent of the English girl groups of the 2000s, Moloko (Maria) and Eurovision (Falling Forever).
Dua Lipa – Houdini (2023).
Houdini, Dua Lipa’s summer hit
Singles already revealed by Dua Lipa before the release of Radical Optimism remain the best tracks of the album. There is the hit Houdiniwhich was written by Kevin Parker of Tame ImpalaTobias Jesso Jr., Danny L Harle and Caroline Ailin, who has previously worked with Dua Lipa (notably on the hit New Rules). “Houdini” is also the title of a song by singer Kate Bush, in addition to being that of a famous illusionist who, during his escape numbers, kissed his wife who then passed a key into his mouth. But Kate Bush is not one of the major inspirations for the new title of the British-Albanian.
Very electro-pop/synthpop, Houdini sounds more like a successful mix between the magical retro-futuristic disco-pop universe of Dua Lipa, the synthetic and cosmic one of Tame Impala and that of Daft Punk (at the end of the song). The addictive singer’s voice turns this song into an instant classic, one of those that stays in your head for a long time after listening and that you want to play over and over again, so that the party doesn’t end. As for the lyrics full of sexual double meanings (I come and I go), they are eyeing the not very wise Madonna.
“This title represents the lightest and freest moments of my celibacy.“Dua Lipa
Pour Dua Lipa, Houdini is a transcription of “that feeling at 4am when the night is coming to an end, you’re a little sweaty but you don’t want the party to end”.
She added in a press release: “This title represents the lightest and freest moments of my celibacy (…) Houdini explores with a certain irony the idea of whether or not someone is worth my interest or whether or not I should ignore them. You never know exactly where things are going to take you, but that’s the beauty of it, being open to whatever life throws at you. I’m really looking forward to sharing that feeling with my fans.”
The athletic and sexy clip, released at the same time as the song, was directed by Manu Cossu and director of photography André Chemetoff and produced by Romain GavrasDua Lipa’s ex-boyfriend. It shows the pop star dancing – as Dion Lee, Martine Rose and Puma – in a gym, in an atmosphere reminiscent of the film Flashdance and the clip Hung up by Madonna. Mocked at the beginning of her career for her not very elaborate hip movements, the pop star proves that she has nothing to envy Beyoncé or Rihanna in terms of exalted choreography.
Dua Lipa – Illusion (2024).
An uneven album, carried by the songs Illusion et Training Season
Another flagship piece of Radical Optimism ? Training Seasonco-written with Kevin Parker of Tame Impalawhich Dua Lipa sang at the 2024 Grammy Awards, during a fiery performance, where she clung to a metallic-looking cube.
Dua Lipa explains about this catchy single: Training Season : “This song is about the end of my training period and the fact that I came out of all my experiences bigger. I have never felt more confident, clear or independent. And although our training periods never really end, we begin to find beauty in meeting the person to live them with. We stop looking for beginners and we are more interested in the possibility of having someone who is a better match for us, to grow with.”
As the melody looks towardsABBAthe clip of Training Season shows Dua Lipa sitting at a cafe, dreamy and worried, while a horde of men try to get her attention. A parable of dating sites. With Training Season, the star proves that you can make pieces that are both effective and demanding, mainstream and cutting-edge.
Dua Lipa par Tyrone Lebon.
A record that’s too sweet?
We also remember the potential summer hit Illusion. An effective synthpop single accompanied by a sensual video, filmed in Barcelona, where we meet high-level divers and synchronized swimming pros. The colors and light evoke a cult video: that of Slow by Kylie Minogue. Dua Lipa thus joins the lineage of pop singers who know how to offer songs that are adventurous enough to seduce demanding music critics.
For the rest, Radical Optimism struggles to seduce, with a few exceptions (the superb and sunny End of an Era). Sure, Dua Lipa’s sound universe is more organic than usual and offers more ballads than in the past, but the whole thing is far too sweet, sunny and formatted to seduce for long after listening. We find Kevin Parker’s signature on a few tracks, but we are far from the lyrical verve and heady synth loops of Tame Impala.
As for the lyrics, which talk about break-ups, hedonism and love, they don’t always have the strength and immediacy of those on the previous albums of Dua LipaOn May 3 and this Saturday, May 4, a food truck in the colors of the album circulated in Paris to distribute free cotton candy and to play the album.
That’s what the singer offers in this opus: fun, sugar, pleasure. But this is an instant pleasure, a holiday love. And given our long-standing love for the artist, who we charged with the mission of saving pop from mawkishness and hackneyed formulas, we expected much better than sweets. Even if the latter have offered us a certain comfort since the album’s release…
Dua Lipa on tour in France in 2025
However, we are very eager to see the singer defend this album on stage. Indeed, live, Dua Lipa is a real beast on stage, equally at ease singing and dancing. Good news: the star has just announced the dates of her world tour Radical Optimism Tour.
The tour will begin this fall with shows announced in Asia, then it will continue with a first date in Melbourne in March 2025 and will end in October 2025 in Seattle. Concerning France, Dua Lipa will perform three concerts, including two in Lyon and one in Paris at La Défense Arena (on May 23). The date is already set…
Radical Optimism Tour: Pre-sale registration is now available on DuaLipa.com and tickets will go on sale on September 20, 2024 at 10 a.m. on DuaLipa.com
