Dua Lipa (album)
Dua Lipa is the debut studio album by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was released on 2 June 2017 through Warner Records. The album is a dance-pop, electropop, and R&B record with elements of disco, hip hop, and tropical house. It includes a sole guest appearance from Miguel, as well as additional vocals from Chris Martin of Coldplay.
Dua Lipa
2 June 2017
2013–2017
- Atlantic, Comic Sands, Paramount, Pulse, Rocket Carousel, The Synagogue (Los Angeles)
- Eg's, HyGrade, The Music Shed, Sarm, TaP / Strongroom 7, Wendyhouse (London)
- KasaKoz (Toronto)
- Modulator Music (Canada)
- NRG (North Hollywood)
- Sony/ATV[note 2]
- Woodshed (Malibu)
- Zenseven (Woodland Hills)
40:43
The album was supported by eight singles, including the UK top-ten singles "Be the One" and "IDGAF", as well as "New Rules", which became Lipa's first number-one on the UK Singles Chart and top-ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. Lipa promoted the album with appearances at several award shows, television programs and festivals, as well as embarking on a series of concert tours from 2016 to 2018. She also supported Troye Sivan, Bruno Mars and Coldplay on their respective tours. In October 2018, Lipa reissued the album, subtitled the Complete Edition, adding seven additional tracks including "One Kiss" with Calvin Harris, which was Lipa's second number-one song and the best-selling song of 2018 in the UK, and the UK top-ten single "Electricity" with Silk City.
Dua Lipa was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. Many praised Lipa's vocals as well as the lyrics and production. It appeared on numerous year-end lists, including ones published by Billboard and Rolling Stone. The album was nominated for British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards, whilst "New Rules", "IDGAF", and "One Kiss", were all nominated for British Single of the Year, the latter of which won. The album also helped Lipa win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Despite being released in 2017, the album reached peak popularity and became commercially successful in 2018. It reached number three in the UK, and reached the top 10 in thirteen other countries. The album is certified multi-platinum in the UK and five other countries. As of February 2021, Dua Lipa has sales figures of six million units worldwide, and it is the most-streamed album by a female artist on Spotify.
Music and lyrics[edit]
Overview[edit]
Musically, Dua Lipa is a dance-pop, electropop and R&B album,[54][55][56] with disco, hip hop and tropical house elements.[36][57][58] Lipa describes the album's sound as dark pop, progressive pop and "dance-crying".[4][59] She explained that the sound embodied hip hop-influenced verses with heavy flow and raw, truthful lyrics, alongside a big, simple pop chorus.[18][32][60] Several of the songs stem from sad experiences;[59] Lipa desired to mix darker lyrics with pop music one could dance to.[35] She stated that listeners were often surprised when looking at the lyrics due to the dance sound of the songs.[60] The singer concluded by mentioning that honesty is the key to the sound.[4] The album is very diverse and explores several different genres.[31][35] The album balances between upbeat empowerment songs and stripped-back songs about real emotion.[36]
Dua Lipa avoids overproduction and uses electronic instrumentation alongside thick synthesizers, detailed percussion and complex melodies.[61][62][63][64] The beats used on the album are influenced by clubby pop and have a soulful deep house pulse.[65] Lipa uses husky and powerful rock vocals.[59][66] The lyrics deal with themes of female empowerment, relationships, heartbreak, love and loss, all of which are inspired by sadness.[23][38][67] Lipa never wanted the lyrics to come off as submissive or weak rather empowering. She described vulnerability as something different that is included in the album.[68] Additionally, it has themes of self-identification and using Lipa's experiences and realizations to brave the universal portents and predicaments of love. She also sings about the depressing and imploring qualities of a breakup.[57] Several songs on the album contain biblical references and religious imagery to showcase the ups and downs of relationships.[69]
Accolades[edit]
Lipa received numerous accolades for Dua Lipa, including a nomination for Album of the Year at the BBC Music Awards,[237] a nomination for Foreign Pop/Rock Album or Soundtrack of the Year at the Hungarian Music Awards,[238] and a win for International Album of the Year at the LOS40 Music Awards.[239] In 2017, Lipa was nominated for the Critics' Choice award at the 2017 Brit Awards.[240] At the 2018 Brit Awards, the album was nominated for British Album of the Year whilst "New Rules" received nominations for British Single of the Year and British Music Video of the Year; she won British Breakthrough Act and British Female Solo Artist at the ceremony.[241] The following year, "IDGAF" and "One Kiss" were nominated for British Single of the Year and British Music Video of the Year; "One Kiss" won the former award.[242] Lipa won Best New Artist at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards and "Electricity" won Best Dance Recording.[243] Billboard ranked Dua Lipa as the 43rd best album of 2017 and it placed at number 35 on Complex's year-list.[244][245] In Pitchfork, the album was placed at number 20 on their best pop and R&B of 2017 while Rolling Stone named it the year's ninth-best pop album.[56][65]
Commercial performance[edit]
Dua Lipa was a commercial success.[11] It was a sleeper hit, reaching success internationally in 2018.[246] In June 2017, Dua Lipa debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart with first week sales of 16,223 units.[247] In its 38th week, the album reached a peak of number three on the chart selling 9,518 units; it was boosted by the singer's appearance at the 2018 Brit Awards.[248] Following the October 2018 release of the Complete Edition, the album jumped from number 56 to number nine on the chart with 7,651 units sold.[249] In April 2021, the album spent its 200th week on the chart and it has not left it since its debut.[152] Of that time, the album spent 179 weeks in the chart's top 40, making it the seventeenth album with the most weeks in the region.[250] Dua Lipa was awarded gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2017, followed by Platinum in 2018, double platinum in 2020 and triple platinum in 2022.[251] As of April 2021, the album has sales figures of 720,505 units in the country.[252] On the UK Singles Chart, the album is tied in fifth for an album with the most top-10 singles with six.[253] Nine songs on the album have been certified platinum or multi-platinum in the United Kingdom, while three songs have been certified silver.[254]
In the United States, Dua Lipa debuted at number 86 on the Billboard 200 chart dated 24 June 2017.[255] It departed the chart the next week, however, it re-entered at number 162 four weeks following.[256] In February 2018, the album spent its 32nd week on the chart where it reached a peak of number 27 with 15,000 units sold.[257] With boosting from the Complete Edition, the album jumped from number 129 to 42 on the chart in October of the same year. This resulted in it being awarded the "greatest gainer" accolade on the chart for that week.[258] The album spent a total of 97 weeks on the chart.[259] In June 2019, it was awarded a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million album-equivalent units in the US.[260] In Canada, the album reached number 14 and was awarded a quadruple platinum certification from Music Canada for sales of 320,000 album-equivalent units in the country.[261][262]
In Australia, Dua Lipa debuted at number 16 on the ARIA Albums Chart in June 2017, before reaching a peak of number eight the following April. It has spent over 100 weeks on the chart and was awarded a gold certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling 35,000 album-equivalent units in the country.[263][264] In New Zealand, the album reached the 7th position and had 30,000 album-equivalent unit sales, resulting in it being awarded a double platinum certification from the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).[265][266] Additionally, the album has reached the top 10 of charts in the Flanders region of Belgium,[267] Croatia,[268] the Czech Republic,[269] Denmark,[270] the Netherlands,[271] Greece,[272] Ireland,[273] Norway,[274] Poland,[275] Scotland[276] and Sweden.[277] It was also certified quadruple platinum in Norway and triple platinum in Brazil.[278][279] In October 2018, Dua Lipa became the most-streamed album by a female artist on Spotify,[280][281] and has been streamed over eleven billion times.[282] As of February 2021, the album has sold six million units worldwide.[283]