Dua Lipa has returned for a new era! On Nov. 9, the British pop star released her new lead single, “Houdini,” for her upcoming third album, co-produced by Kevin Parker of Tame Impala. The song debuted at #2 on the Global Spotify Chart with 5.4 million streams, her biggest debut on the platform. She also broke her own debut record on YouTube with 12 million views in just 22 hours.
Suspicion from fans began when Lipa archived all of her posts on instagram, followed by a long awaited profile picture change. Following that, all of her album and single covers had changed to add a kaleidoscope effect to the art on all streaming platforms. The singer then teased a lead single with cryptic photo posts and captions. Her first post on Oct. 12 was to show off her new red hairstyle with the caption “miss me?”; a phrase she had first coined in 2020 to kick off the Future Nostalgia era.
Fans who subscribe to Dua’s text community received a puzzle of numbers that corresponded with the alphabet, making a word scramble that spelled out “Houdini” when solved.
While the name of the new album has yet to be revealed, Lipa has said in a New York Times article that though it will still be pop, it has “it’s own unique sound” and will be less disco-influenced as her record-breaking sophomore album “Future Nostalgia” was, and more so by 1970s-era psychedelia.
“Future Nostalgia” released in March 2020, featuring hits such as “Levitating,” “Break My Heart,” “Don’t Start Now” and “Love Again.” The album currently stands as the #2 most-streamed album by a female artist on Spotify, just behind her own debut, self-titled album at #1 (#5 and #6 all time overall). The album won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2021, and received nominations for Record of the Year (Don’t Start Now), Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. She is the only female artist with two albums above 10 billion streams on Spotify.
In the three years between eras, Dua started her own podcast; Dua Lipa: At Your Service, where she has conversations with people who inspire her. She has also recorded the Billboard and American Music Award-winning Cold Heart (Pnau Remix) with Elton John, co-designed the “La Vacanza” fashion collection with Donatella Versace, recorded “Dance the Night” and played a mermaid in the Barbie movie, and will star in spy thriller “Argylle” alongside Henry Cavill in February 2024.
Lipa said she wrote 97 songs for her third album according to Rolling Stone, which is expected to be released in 2024. “Future Nostalgia and DL3 are vastly different,” she said in an interview with Capital, a UK-based radio station. “The more that I write, the more that I’m in the studio, the more confident I get in my craft, and being vulnerable and honest and not being afraid to put myself on blast. It’s my favorite album yet.”
You can stream “Houdini” on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your music.
