Future Nostalgia


Future Nostalgia is the second studio album by English singer Dua Lipa, released on 27 March 2020 by Warner Records. Lipa enlisted writers and producers such as Jeff Bhasker, Ian Kirkpatrick, Stuart Price, The Monsters & Strangerz, in order to create a "nostalgic" pop and disco record with influences from dance-pop and electronic music, inspired by artists such as Kylie Minogue, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Moloko, Jamiroquai, Blondie, Olivia Newton-John and Outkast.
The album generated five singles, along with title track, which was released as a promotional single. "Don't Start Now" was released on 31 October 2019, as the album's lead single, attaining both critical and commercial success. The song became her first top three entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Physical" and "Break My Heart" were released as the second and third singles, respectively, and both reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. "Hallucinate" was released as the fourth single on 17 July 2020, and "Levitating" will serve as the fifth single, being released on 14 August 2020. The album was originally scheduled to be released on 3 April 2020, but was moved forward after leaking in its entirety two weeks earlier. To promote the album, Lipa is scheduled to embark on the Future Nostalgia Tour, commencing in January 2021.
Upon its release, Future Nostalgia received widespread acclaim from music critics, many of whom praised the production and its cohesiveness. Commercially, the album topped the charts in thirteen different countries and reached the top ten in thirty-one different countries. In the United Kingdom, it peaked atop the UK Albums Chart for four nonconsecutive weeks, becoming her first album to do so.

Background and production

After the release of ' in October 2018, the expanded deluxe edition of Lipa's debut album, Lipa announced a new single titled "Swan Song". On 24 January 2019, the song was released for the film ', and was met with moderate commercial success. In the same month, Lipa stated that she had been spending the past year in the writing process for an upcoming second studio album. Whilst discussing the sound of the album, Lipa commented that it would be a "nostalgic" pop record that "feels like a dancercise class".
Following the release of its lead single "Don't Start Now", Future Nostalgia and its accompanying arena tour were announced in December. Lipa stated that the album was inspired by artists including Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Moloko, Blondie and Outkast. She added that the album would feature "a lot more of a live element" inspired by touring with her band, but "mixed together with modern electronic production". On 29 January 2020, the singer revealed the album's cover art, along with its release date of 3 April 2020. On 23 March, an earlier release date of 27 March 2020 was announced by Lipa, who expressed her concern about releasing music during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement also came following a leak of the album. The artwork for the album cover was shot by French photographer Hugo Comte.

Recording

Lipa began recording for an album project in January 2018, after the conclusion of the first leg of her Self-Titled Tour. She originally intended to name the album Glass House. In the early days of the album's recording, Lipa worked with producers such as Max Martin and Mark Ronson as well as working at Geejam Studios in Jamaica. After working on the album for nearly a year, Lipa came up with a new album title, Future Nostalgia, while on the way to a radio show in Las Vegas around the time of the 2018 American Music Awards. After figuring out the title, Lipa worked backwards from there, figuring out the sound and lyrical content she desired. "Levitating" was recorded shortly thereafter, which was the first track recorded that appears on the album's final track listing. "Glass House" was later used as a lyric in the album's title track. In 2019, Lipa worked with producers such as Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams. The album was finished in February 2020 after Lipa recorded upwards of nearly 60 songs.
Future Nostalgia was produced by Lipa's previous collaborators Koz, Ian Kirkpatrick and TMS, as well as first-time collaborators Jeff Bhasker, Jason Evigan, SG Lewis, Lindgren, The Monsters & Strangerz, Stuart Price, Take a Daytrip and Andrew Watt. Lipa previously worked with Koz, Kirkpatrick and TMS on her self-titled debut album. Koz was the most frequent producer on the album, producing four of its songs and co-writing two. Price, who is known for co-producing Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor, does not have any writing credits on the album, however, he produced three songs and serves as an additional producer on one of the album's songs. Evigan produced one song and co-wrote two whereas Kirkpatrick, who is known for producing Lipa's "New Rules", co-wrote and produced two songs. Bhasker, TMS, Lewis, Watt, The Monsters & Strangerz, Lindgren and Take a Daytrip all only have one production and writing credit. Other artists with writing credits include Julia Michaels, Tove Lo and Emily Warren.

Music and lyrics

Musically, Future Nostalgia is as a dance-pop, disco, funk-pop, and synth-pop record, with house, new wave, and R&B influences. The album's production consisits of lush strings, house-influenced piano chords, "rubbery" bass lines, "sticky-sweet" choruses and "party-ready" beats. Described by Lipa as a "dancercise class," she took inspiration from music in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s to create a "timeless modern-retro dance sound." Critics noted similarities between the sound of Future Nostalgia and works by various other artists including Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Madonna, Moloko, and Jamiroquai. Pitchfork described the album's sound as "sophisticated, hard-bodied pop-funk that gives way to slick, Minogue-inspired disco" whereas The Independent stated that the album "channels the zingy, electro-ambitions of the 1980s with remarkable freshness." The Guardian also wrote about the album's sound saying it is a fusion of disco and contemporary pop. AllMusic said that "Lipa channeled the best of past decades: '70s disco, '80s dance-pop, and '90s club jams to create her own joyous, sweat-glistened vision of bliss." Lyrically, the album has themes of moving on, empowerment, equality and emancipation.

Songs

Future Nostalgia opens with its title track, a playful and fun synth-pop and electro-funk song, with hip hop, disco and 1980s elements. It has an electronic production that includes electroclash synths and a disco beat. The song deals with themes of feminism and self-reflection, as well as name-dropping its producer, Jeff Bhasker, and American architect, John Lautner. The following track and lead single, "Don't Start Now", is a retro nu-disco track with elements of Eurodance and dance-pop. It sees Lipa addressing an ex-lover about moving on from a relationship, using direct bullet point instructions, over a production consisting of a rhythm guitar loop, crowd noises, cowbells, laser weapon sound effects, and a funk baseline. "Cool" is a new wave and synth-pop song, with R&B vocals and Prince influences, co-written with Tove Lo. One of the few vulnerable moments on the album, it is about the initial rush of falling in love, while painting the picture of a summer romance, with glitter gel noises, a drum line and a thick baseline. "Physical" has themes of female empowerment and is about when "you're in honeymoon phase and it's all just exciting and fun," according to Lipa. A power pop and synth-pop song, it includes dark wave and Italo disco elements, with a synth flute and an analog modeling synthesizer. The song shares a chorus line with Olivia Newton-John's 1981 single of the same name and Lipa makes use of deadpan and spoken-word deliveries.
The dancefloor-ready fifth track "Levitating" contains 1990s R&B elements, and blends multiple genres including electro-disco, space rock, dance-rock and power pop. Its production includes syncopated handclaps, talk box vocals, synth-beats, and disco strings. A starry-eyed love song, it is about the first blushes of love and includes a Blondie-influenced rap in its bridge and many outer space references. "Pretty Please" is a 1970s disco, 1990s/2000s dance-pop, electro-R&B and pop-funk song, with a stripped-back production, emphasizing its bass, guitars and synths, while also including gum-popping sound effects. Lyrically it sees Lipa attempting to be really chill at the beginning of a relationship, but then realizing that is unlike her. "Hallucinate" uses Kylie Minogue's euphoric dance formula to create a 2000s electronic-influenced, beach pop, synth-pop, disco-house and psychedelic song. Described as a festival opener and club closer, it sees Lipa wrapped up in an addictive love, through lyrics shared with Lady Gaga's "Poker Face", with a synth-baseline and a thumping bass. "Love Again" samples Your Woman by White Town, which in turn samples "My Woman" by Al Bowlly and includes orchestral strings and disco beats. It is a nu-disco, electro, and dance-pop song, that sees a faithful Lipa offering her heart to a new partner after an upsetting breakup.
The retro-futuristic ninth track "Break My Heart" is a disco and dance-pop song, with funk and 1980s elements, that follows a Europop and dance beat. It interpolates the rhythm guitar melody from "Need You Tonight" by INXS and includes a funk guitar line and disco guitars. The song sees Lipa questioning whether a new love will leave her broken hearted and its lyrics were compared to the COVID-19 pandemic social distancing measures. "Good in Bed" is a pop-funk and hip hop song that was widely compared to the works of Lily Allen. It has a jazzy piano refrain and bubbly sonic effects, and Lipa describes it as "when good sex is the only thing that was holding two people together." Future Nostalgia closes with "Boys Will Be Boys", a euphoric baroque pop and chamber pop ballad turned power anthem, that sees Lipa taking aim at sexual harassment, double standards and what it is really like to be a woman. It has a disco beat with an orchestral melody and a kids choir. The song was additionally noted for its difference from the rest of the album.

Release and promotion

Distribution

The album was released on 27 March 2020, by Warner Records, Lipa's second to be released under the label. The standard edition was released on CD, cassette, vinyl, digital download and streaming. The vinyl was released on both a coloured vinyl and a picture disc and the cassette was released in gold, pink, blue and yellow colours. The album was also released with a boxset that contains a yellow 12" vinyl, a photography book from the album's photoshoot, an art print, a thank you note from Lipa, a tattoo replica of Lipa's "Future Nostalgia" tattoo, stickers and one of five polaroid images. The Japanese edition of the album was released on CD on 3 April 2020, the album's intended release date. It contains three additional tracks, two remixes of "Don't Start Now" and a remix of "Physical". Lipa confirmed there would be a deluxe edition of the album with previously unreleased songs.

Tour and live performances

Lipa headlined the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on 29 February 2020, where her set included the first live performance of "Physical".
She also announced the Future Nostalgia Tour in support of the album. The tour is scheduled to begin on 3 January 2021 in Newcastle, England, consisting of 21 announced shows. The tour was postponed from its original 2020 spring-summer date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During self-isolation, via a live stream from her house, Lipa performed "Don't Start Now" on 30 March 2020 on Homefest: James Corden's Late Late Show Special; and on 8 April 2020, she performed "Break My Heart" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Also on 30 March 2020, "Break My Heart", "Love Again" and "Pretty Please" were performed in a livestream for Amazon Music UK. On 29 May 2020, Lipa performed "Love Again", "Pretty Please" and "Don't Start Now" in a charity livestream for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Singles

"Don't Start Now" was released as the album's lead single on 31 October 2019. It received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its disco influences and Lipa's vocals. The song was also a commercial success, becoming her seventh top 10 entry on the UK Singles Chart and her first top 3 entry on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also certified gold in Belgium, Italy and Spain, platinum in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and double platinum in Brazil.
"Physical" was released as the second single from the album on 30 January 2020. The song was acclaimed by music critics for its catchiness and production, as well as its accompanying music video based upon a conceptual diagram by Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss. It was also commercially successful, becoming her eighth top 10 entry on the UK Singles Chart and her ninth song to appear on the US Billboard Hot 100.
" Break My Heart" was released as the album's third single on 25 March 2020. It has since peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also has since peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. The song entered the top ten in many other countries and was praised by music critics. It received a music video, directed by Henry Scholfield that was released on 26 March 2020.
"Hallucinate" was announced as the fourth single on 3 July 2020, along with its artwork and 10 July release date.

Promotional single

The title track was released on 13 December 2019 as the first and only promotional single from the album.

Critical reception

Future Nostalgia received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 88 based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Album of the Year collected 28 reviews and calculated an average of 86 out of 100. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
Writing for NME, Rhian Daly wrote that "Future Nostalgia is a bright, bold collection of pop majesty to dance away your anxieties to… if only for a little while". Chris Taylor of The Line of Best Fit praised Lipa's direction for the album, saying "Future Nostalgia is an artist in total control. It's built on such an addictive carefree spirit that it's hard not to let loose and go with it. The greatest pop star of this generation? That's for you to decide. But Future Nostalgia makes a very convincing argument that Dua Lipa just might be". Chris Willman of Variety praised the album's musical direction, writing "after calling it a great disco record, we might also call Future Nostalgia a great MTV-era album that just happens to be not of the MTV era". Writing for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos also praised the album's musical direction, writing "Future Nostalgia is a breathtakingly fun, cohesive and ambitious attempt to find a place for disco in 2020".
Writing for DIY, Elly Watson wrote "this album has proved: Dua will be going down in pop history as one of the best". Laura Snapes of The Guardian complimented Lipa's choice of songs, writing "The 11-track Future Nostalgia offers neither features nor filler, and makes a strident case for Lipa as a pop visionary, not a vessel". Michael Cragg of Crack summarised the album as "packed with full-throttle choruses, supple melodies and lashings of attitude, Future Nostalgia is a neon-hued sound of one of the world’s biggest pop stars smashing it out of the park". Similarly, Craig Jenkins of Vulture commended the "sturdy" songs, also writing that Minogue and Madonna are their "predecessors" sonically. Jenkins concluded that Lipa has "only scratched the surface of what she's capable of".

Accolades

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Future Nostalgia is the 12th most acclaimed album released in 2020, so far.
YearCeremonyCategoryResult
2020Mercury PrizeAlbums of the Year

Commercial performance

Future Nostalgia debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart with 34,390 units, only 550 units behind 5 Seconds of Summer's Calm. In its second week, it reached the summit of the chart, making Future Nostalgia Lipa's first UK number one album. The album would go on to top the chart for three more non-consecutive weeks. In addition, the album topped record charts in Australia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Slovakia. On April 17, the album was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for selling over 60,000 units in the UK.
Future Nostalgia debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 dated 11 April 2020, with 66,000 album-equivalent units, including 18,000 pure album sales. Future Nostalgia became Lipa's first top 10 album on the chart and a major improvement over her self-titled debut album, which peaked at number 27. The following week, the album dropped to number 8, with sales declining by 43% to nearly 38,000 units. It remained within the top ten in its third week.

Track listing

Samples

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Vocals

Certifications

Release history