It's not by chance that Dua Lipa chose to title her third studio album "Radical Optimism." At 28, she embraces positive thinking as a guiding principle, advocating for maintaining optimism despite life's challenges.
"I always try to be more optimistic with everything," says Lipa in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) in London. "It's not the easiest thing. Sometimes things can just be going badly and you have to keep going."
From the outside, at least, everything is going well for the British-Albanian singer. With her perfectly produced disco-pop album "Future Nostalgia," she rose to global stardom.
In addition to her pop career, this multiple Grammy winner is also active as a model, podcaster and, more recently, in supporting roles in Hollywood films like "Barbie" and "Argylle."
Dua Lipa had collected almost 100 songs – many of them before she went on tour with "Future Nostalgia."
"I just had to keep writing until the idea presented itself to me where I was heading next," she says. It was through working with Kevin Parker, better known as the frontman of Tame Impala, that the new album began to take shape.
Producer Danny Harley, songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. and songwriter Caroline Ailin, who wrote the hit singles "New Rules" and "Don't Stop Now" with Lipa, were also involved.
"In 2022, when I worked with Kevin, that was kind of the 'eureka' moment," says Lipa.
"In the first session, where it was me, Kevin, Danny, Tobias and Caroline, we wrote the song Illusion, and the day after, we wrote Happy For You, and the day after, we wrote Whatcha Doing and I was like, 'Oh, now I feel like I know exactly where I'm heading.'"
The first of three pre-released singles – "Houdini" – suggested a slightly different, darker sound with analog synthesizers and striking keyboard riffs.
The second single – "Illusion" – was then almost the expected Dua Lipa club hit and, with its hints of French house, seemed like a remnant of the polished "Future Nostalgia." However, the progressive synthesizer solo of "Illusion" hinted that she could try new things.
The moody Latin house number "End Of An Era" is a lively introduction to Dua Lipa's third studio album. Like most of the songs that follow, it's instantly catchy.
The 28-year-old singer says she processes experiences from her love life – which she doesn't want to discuss – and sings about jumping to conclusions and being "hopelessly romantic."
Is she really a hopeless romantic? Lipa's answer: "I'd like to think that I'm hopeful."
