Two words that took over modern-day pop icon Dua Lipa’s life for 2 years: Radical Optimism. After her 2020 album, Future Nostalgia, Lipa’s new album, Radical Optimism, was exactly what Lipa wanted to execute for the era she would be in, four years later. Radical Optimism is a record that taps into the pure joy and happiness of having clarity in hard situations and understanding that there is good, even when times are hard. While this record was an opportunity for Dua Lipa to reflect on her past experiences and the lessons learned from them, it was also an opportunity for fans around the world to feel connected to her ambition and reflect on their own experiences as well.
With major producers being involved—Danny L Harle and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker—it was easily understood that this album was going to be a pop hit. In November, Lipa released snippets of “Houdini,” her first single from Radical Optimism, which immediately took the world by storm through her comparisons to Harry Houdini. Specifically, about how she disappears in situations where she doesn’t feel comfortable. But, what significantly stands out about the pop star and this song is how she transformed the song to be a global phenomenon through one performance at the Grammy Awards show.
After countless amounts of criticism focusing on Lipa’s inability to dance, Lipa completely took control of this narrative and turned herself into a modern-day pop star through her choreography for “Houdini” which was loved by many. Shortly after this Grammy performance, “Houdini” and the future single, “Training Season,” was all that the world could talk about. But, there was also some criticism that Radical Optimism would sound just like a repeat of all her previous albums. This was because “Training Season” and “Houdini” sounded as if they were going to stick to the same genre: “Brit pop.”
After the record’s final release on May 3, minds were changed through Lipa’s pure vulnerability in each of her songs which ranged from emotions she didn’t know she could feel during a breakup to feeling as if this could be her happy ending.
This juxtaposition between “These Walls” and “End of An Era” completely shows and battles the differences between a pure and all-consuming true love to a toxic relationship that felt as if it was only being led up to a breakup and not a happy ending. “These Walls” describes the difficulty of coming to terms with the fact that a broken relationship is what it sounds like and that it is blatant to everyone but the people in the relationship. After controversy surrounding Lipa’s past dating life, this completely allows fans and people worldwide to connect through lyrics that may hit close to home and allow themselves to be vulnerable.
However, when talking about “End of An Era,” Dua Lipa enters a fast-paced, upbeat song about ending toxic, overbearing relationships that will now lead her into a new era of self-love and room for a love that will only add to her life. With lyrics like, “Is this my happy ending?”, it shows the evolution of the album in which she was going through a dark time and loneliness in an unhealthy relationship but can now come to see that there is room for a happy ending at the end of her story. Throughout Radical Optimism, the record portrays itself almost as a story throughout Dua Lipa’s evolution of her presence in relationships but also how she can reflect and learn from each one of them.
Dua Lipa is now in a new era of Radical Optimism and is in the process of setting down tour dates. Here at Charter, Lipa has the support of a student who didn’t think to enjoy this album. “I don’t usually listen to her music, but this album really shocked me, and I found myself enjoying it,” comments Blake Stewart, a sophomore.
With support from people worldwide, it is clear that Lipa is on the road straight back to success after a 4-year break from music. 
