Dua Lipa is Rewriting the Pop Genre

By Gregory Sams

Dua Lipa could be on the way to securing her spot in the pop star hall of fame. At age 24, the English singer is on her way to releasing her second studio album, “Future Nostalgia,” that is predicted to be a smash on the charts by Billboard.

With her first album titled “Dua Lipa” being such a huge success as a debut album, Lipa has a lot to live up to. Spending 27 weeks on the Billboard Hot 200, Album of the Year from the BBC Music Awards, British Breakthrough Act, and British Female Solo Artist from the Brit awards, Best New Artist from the Grammy’s and NME Awards, Lipa has already built up a reputation for herself.

Keeping up the same momentum, Lipa began rewriting the rules of modern day pop for her second album. She is now taking notes from Madonna’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” and is creating her own unique sound. In addition to this major influence, Lipa is also taking bits from Gwen Stefani, Moloko, Blondie and Outkast. With the three lead singles already being released, the album lives up to its title of “Future Nostalgia” bringing back hints of bubble gum disco pop, slick synth pop and modern electric pop.

Her lead single “Don’t Start Now” released in Oct. 2019 and is where fans first got to hear a fresh sound from the artist. The track was fresh, fun and disco pop. It’s follows the tale of a poet relationship break up but instead of being sad about it, she’s happy that she can move on and enjoy her life. The track was a solid choice for a lead single and left existing fans excited for what was next while also bringing new fans in and excited to see where this could go.

The next track on “Future Nostalgia” laid out exactly what to expect for the new album in its lyrics. Lipa sings, “You want a timeless song, I wanna change the game…You wanna turn it up loud, future nostalgia is the name.” It’s a self aware title track and it’s just satisfying overall. With a slick beat of modern electric sound and a twist of 80’s pop, it’s a good track to be a promotional single.

The arguably strongest track of the three, “Physical,” released Jan. 31 has been stuck in fans heads for weeks. It’s a high energy synth pop song with an 80’s sound that finds itself to be obnoxiously catchy in the best way possible. It’s a breath of fresh air into pop and she could be reviving the genre. It seems like an almost effortless bop that keeps on giving.

The best part of it all? These tracks are aging extremely well.

Many are starting to call the breakout artist “2020’s Queen of Pop” and “the reviver of pop.” Nobody is doing it like she is right now and it’s extremely impressive to see such a substantial amount of growth from an artist who is only on her second studio album. As a fan of the genre, it’s beyond exciting to see what Dua Lipa is going to do next.

Her sophomore album “Future Nostalgia” will hit streaming services and stores April 3.