There’s purpose in Dua Lipa’s euphoric pop. “For me, it’s about championing women and putting ourselves in the position of power,” the singer told Apple Music in 2020, ahead of the release of her second album, Future Nostalgia. “I have been inspired by the female alphas that have shown me that we can do it. And that we can wear the pants, you know? We need more of that in music.” Forcing the world to get a little more comfortable with female alphas has been a mission statement for Lipa (born in London to Kosovar Albanian parents in 1995) since her 2017 self-titled debut. It housed the triumphant breakup smash “New Rules,” the self-love anthem “IDGAF,” and the assured “Hotter Than Hell”—songs which made it clear that this was no ingénue, but rather an outspoken, effortlessly cool face of pop’s future. Indeed, that status was cemented a year later when Lipa made history as the first female solo artist to receive five BRIT Award nominations. She won two and, in 2019, added two Grammys to her mantelpiece.
Despite the success of her debut, Lipa wasn’t interested in recreating its hits. “People always say, ‘The second album is really scary,’ but for me, it’s more scary to go back into the studio and try to create something like ‘New Rules’ or ‘IDGAF’ over and over again,” she said. “I feel like I’d end up in a vicious cycle of trying to get somewhere but never being able to mature as an artist.” And so, to move forward, she pivoted to the past, drawing on disco and funk—and filtering it through her ahead-of-its-time pop—to arrive at Future Nostalgia. Decadent and every bit as empowering as those early hits, it brought Lipa her first Mercury Prize nod, multiple Grammy nominations, and a rightful place in pop’s upper echelons. And with it, too, came Lipa’s new purpose. Released just as the world went into lockdown amid the coronavirus crisis, Future Nostalgia became an urgent tonic for tough times—danced to in living rooms across the world. Yet Lipa wasn’t done there: Five months later, she unveiled Club Future Nostalgia, a thrilling remixed version on which the singer teamed up with club queen The Blessed Madonna, and guests including Madonna, Missy Elliott, Gwen Stefani, and Mark Ronson, to bring lockdown-fatigued listeners another dose of escapism. “I didn’t think I’d be putting albums out during a global pandemic,” added Lipa. “But it’s just about creating experiences for everyone at home. That’s the most important thing for me now.”
All of this, of course, is only just the beginning. “I really feel like I’m finding my feet,” said Lipa. “I feel so proud of Future Nostalgia as a whole and the most confident and the most myself making it. But I’m already planning the next move.”