Since last March, the English pop star has released not one, but three albums. There was so much to mourn in 2020: The last time we hugged our families, traveled to new places and swayed among sweaty strangers on a dance floor. Today, we honor Dua Lipa, who's currently nominated for six GRAMMYs.

(Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.For Women's History Month 2021, is celebrating some of the women artists nominated at the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show.

What should be heartfelt and meaningful-a song to contrast Lipa’s aloofness and demonstrate her range-instead undermines what Future Nostalgia does best: proud, flawless bravado. Layered choral arrangements soften the ultra-literal writing, but as a closer, it brings the party to a screeching halt, with a serious tone that feels at odds with everything preceding it. Which is why it’s a disappointment when the album’s confident strut falters, first with the “bad/mad/sad” rhymes on “Good in Bed” and finally with the awareness anthem “Boys Will Be Boys,” a funk-free flip of the sexist trope (“…but girls will be women”). “No matter what you do, I’m gonna get it without ya/I know you ain’t used to a female alpha,” she proclaims on the title track. The thrill of Future Nostalgia-the title itself a claim to modern classic status-is in hearing her tailor the retro-funk form to suit her commanding attitude. It’s Lipa’s strongest stance: all-in on self-determination. When Lipa proclaims, “You got me losing all my cool/’Cause I’m burning up on you,” on the Tove Lo cowrite “Cool,” she rhymes it with, “In control of what I do.” Future Nostalgia is nonstop, no ballads for 10 tracks, the closest it comes to feeling vulnerable or revealing is “Pretty Please,” a plea for stress-relief sex with an ultra-thick bassline. Her brand is style, competence, taste-this is, in a way perhaps not obvious to those who actually remember the ’80s, entirely tasteful pop music-and the sultry low voice that makes her the star of even a middling Martin Garrix collab. “I’m a bit too far down the line for anyone to try and tell me something,” she said of her creative autonomy in 2017, even before the release of her first record.īut where many of pop’s most recent stars are emphatically emotionally available, Lipa radiates blithe coolness. Her sly swagger and fashion-plate style gave her the presence of someone who’d achieved diva status already. She leveraged her talent as a songwriter, developing an early Dua Lipa single, “ Hotter Than Hell,” in the first session with her prospective management team. A false start in modeling impressed the importance of going where you’re wanted in Lipa’s case, to Warner Records, who sought a female pop icon to compete with the Rihannas and Lady Gagas of the world. Like all classic dance music, it’s more concerned with the thrill of new passion than with what happens after the sun rises.Īt 24, Lipa has been working towards this moment for almost 10 years, and her sights are set higher still. Future Nostalgia sounds like three Madonna eras at once, like Giorgio Moroder making blog house. Capitalizing on a love of ’80s pop and ’90s club culture, Lipa and a team of career producers (Stephen “Koz” Kozmeniuk, Ian Kirkpatrick, Stuart Price, Jeff Bhasker) tunnel deeper into retro-pop revival, a flashy dancefloor timewarp aimed at the type of pop fan who can’t hear Olivia Newton-John’s original 1981 hit “ Physical” without imagining what it might sound like with the string sample from “ Hung Up” chopped and layered on top. Anchored by lead single “Don’t Start Now,” an instant staple of pop DJs and barre classes, Future Nostalgia is a collection of sophisticated, hard-bodied pop-funk that gradually gives way to slick, Kylie Minogue-inspired disco.

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