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The 11 best Dua Lipa songs
Dua Lipa is coming to the UK. As we get ready to enter Dua's new era, it’s time to take stock of her best tracks so far
Everyone might still be talking about Usher’s rollerskating, abs-revealing, greatest hits rollcall of a Super Bowl show, but quite frankly we’re not over Dua Lipa’s opening GRAMMYs performance. With a choreographed routine making use of a giant cube of scaffolding and a star jumping, crunching troupe of men resembling the ones in Olivia Newton John’s ‘Physical’ video rather than the guys you get over to check your roof tiles, it was the best way for Dua Lipa to drum up excitement for her new single ‘Training Season’.
Dua’s path to becoming one of the biggest popstars of the moment has taken us down many roads, though. From singing Sister Sledge while hanging the washing up in X Factor adverts to breaking the US, creating one of the best modern disco albums around with Future Nostalgia, and taking on Hollywood – it’s been a journey.
And with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker at the production wheel, Dua is set to deliver another slant on her brand of new-nostalgic pop with album three. While we wait to see what form that takes, we’ve rounded up eleven of her best songs to tide you over.
11. ‘Blow Your Mind (Mwah)‘
Don’t look for meaning in it, there’s just something about a well-produced kiss sound that makes an excellent pop song. ‘Blow Your Mind (Mwah)’ was the fifth single from Dua Lipa’s debut album and her first to chart in the US thanks to its audaciously confident, middle finger flaunting approach to an unnamed antagonist insisting she’s changed but continuing to come back. Commiserations thumbs up emoji, you’ve been replaced with ‘Mwah’ as our favourite passive aggressive retort.
10. ‘Pretty Please‘
Straight out the gate ‘Pretty Please’ isn’t messing around with its funk-fuelled ode to the special horny delighted misery of being unable to resist someone despite trying to be chill about it. Grinding to a near halt before the chorus is one of the many production tricks employed by the geniuses behind this ‘Future Nostalgia’ track. See also: cowbells, a ticking clock, and some very chirpy tambourines.
9. ‘Hotter Than Hell‘
The revenge bop that helped get Dua signed to major label Warner, ‘Hotter Than Hell’ might not be the crème de la crème of the singer’s discography, but it’s damn sure responsible for the launch of a global star. With tropical licks, seductive lyrics flipping the script on a bad relationship, and a huge chorus showcasing her trademark raspy vocals, it’s no surprise this became Dua’s first charting UK song all the way back in 2016.
8. ‘New Rules‘
Before ‘One Kiss’ gave us the famed memeable ‘pencil sharpener dance’, Dua was serving interpretive dance on her sage anthem for getting over an ex. Originally created as part of a writing camp for Little Mix, it’s hard to believe that Dua’s first UK No.1 was a near tragedy of the cutting room floor. With the hard truths everyone needs to hear (“Don’t pick up the phone/You know he’s only calling ‘cause he’s drunk and alone”) ‘New Rules’ became the pop version of a best friend and changed the trajectory of Dua’s career in the process.
7. ‘We’re Good‘
Breaking pace with the rest of her second album, ‘We’re Good’ blends reggae and tropical influences to slow things down and transport us to a sleepy beach after a few rum cocktails. While the production is still slick as ever, it’s a track that shows Dua doesn’t need dance breaks aplenty and furious pacing to make a banger. With a cocaine metaphor planted smack bang in the first line of the chorus, ‘We’re Good’ is also a statement that the singer isn’t afraid of being a little bit of a provocateur.
6. ‘Don’t Start Now‘
When Dua released her Future Nostalgia album in 2020 it was the height of Covid and a collective lingering misery. Lead single ‘Don’t Start Now’ provided the nation with a much-needed shot of nu-disco while giving us something to soundtrack doing ten laps of the garden or fuelling our short-lived skipping habits. Truly, the fact it’s just missed out on the top five shows just how incredible ‘Future Nostalgia’ was from top to toe – a rare feat in pop.
5. ‘Break My Heart‘
You guessed it, another Future Nostalgia banger to see us into the top five, delivering yet another funk masterclass. With a beat that demands more than a casual stroll, ‘Break My Heart’ compels you to strut. The smart interpolation of the riff from Aussie rock band INXS’ 1987 hit ‘I Need You Tonight’ juxtaposed with the futuristic manipulation of synths and shiny production gives the track an interesting friction, solidifying it as one of Dua’s best tracks.
4. ‘IDGAF‘
Back to Dua’s debut to pay tribute to the best song on the record. ‘IDGAF’ was originally written by MNEK before Dua picked it up and reworked it with the singer, songwriter and producer to make it more authentic to her. The result? A wink and a nudge to the slimy ex hitting up her phone in ‘New Rules’ (who certainly won’t be waking up in her bed this time), rallying drums leading us into battle against anyone who calls Dua’s f*cks into question.
3. ‘Levitating’
Choirs of synths, remastered instruments straight out the 70s, and the futuristic womps that sound like some kind of strangely beautiful disco creature you’d find suckered up on a disco ball, ’Levitating’ is a buffet of weird and wonderful sounds both old and new. As for Dua’s vocals, with tempos verging on rap and high notes as well as her usual smoky tones, it’s fair to say everything is turned up to the max.
2. ‘Love Again‘
It’s nothing short of a crime that ‘Love Again’ only charted at 51 in the UK charts back in 2021. With gorgeously dramatic strings giving way to a sample of 1930s jazz classic ‘My Woman’ (also remixed as White Town’s 1997 hit ‘Your Woman’…) and an ABBA-esque disco hook, it somehow only manages to get progressively better as it zips along. A festival of vibes, ‘Love Again’ is the only rightful runner-up to the crown.
1. ‘Physical‘
What do a Persian flute sample, Olivia Newton John and ‘Flashdance’ all have in common? Oh, only being part of the origin story for Dua Lipa’s best ever song. Shrugging off her crown as queen of breakup bangers and replacing it with neon spandex and manifestation-inspired lyrics with the mantra: “Common love isn’t for us, we created something phenomenal/Don’t you agree?”, ‘Physical’ cemented the fact that Dua is the leader of nu-disco. The pulpit is an 80s aerobics class and the church is a planet from the future. All who observe repeat after me: Let’s get physical.
