To celebrate the release of Dua Lipa’s highly anticipated third album, Radical Optimism, Audacy had itself a very special airing of the brand new project. Dua Lipa's Journey into Radical Optimism, featuring Dua talking about the making of the album, discussing the inspiration for it’s title and sound, sharing some stories behind her favorite songs, and more.
LISTEN NOW: Dua Lipa's Journey into 'Radical Optimism'
Having already heard 3 out of the album’s 11 tracks before it dropped, with singles “Houdini,” “Training Season,” and “Illusion,” the 8 other songs are now also ours to hear. During our album special, Dua clued us in on the symbolism behind the album's title.
“So, the theme of the album is the album title which is Radical Optimism and that's just about resilience and picking yourself back up when you fall down and when things aren't going your way, to kind of see things with an optimistic flair, that things will get better and that, you know, you don't have to shy away from the moments that aren't good because that's where you're going to learn the most about yourself.”
Delving into some of “main inspirations when putting this album together,” Dua said, “I guess, energetically, rather than sonically, it was more of a feeling that I wanted to convey. Was very similar to the feeling I get when I listen to the Primal Scream album, Screamadelica, when I listened to Massive Attack or Portishead. There’s just like a real freedom, and free flowing melodies throughout, that I was just really inspired by. And I think it was that essence of freedom that I was trying to encapsulate in the record."
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Dua also gave us some deets about the album’s three singles, discussing the first Radical Optimism track to arrive, “Houdini.”
“So, ‘Houdini’ was a title that I had just written in my notebook that… was a song that I always wanted to write,” Dua shared. “And it's just about knowing your worth. It’s about knowing when you see a red flag and knowing when to dip. Something that I probably didn't have the confidence to do before. But now I'm like, OK, Houdini is a very empowering song, it’s like catch me or I'm dipping.”
Jumping to the most recent single, Dua offered up that “‘Illusion’ was the first song that I made with what we like to call the band, which is Kevin Parker, Danny Hall, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Caroline Ailin.” Going on to note the song came together on “our first day all together in the studio, and it all just starts with a conversation. Kevin and Danny got on the production, me, Caroline and Tobias were making melodies and writing. And it was the first song where it was that eureka moment where I was like, ‘OK, I think I know the direction where I'm going with this album.’ And yeah, it really kick started everything for us.”
Opting to share the story behind the “Training Season” music video, since she’s already shared the meaning behind the song’s lyrics, more than once, Dua explained that it’s “pretty much what it says on the tin, which is like a lot of chaos. There's a lot of men in there, it’s chaotic, there's a lot of testosterone and I'm just like trying to keep my cool. I'm just trying to stay graceful in the midst of the madness, and that's the ‘Training Season’ video in a nutshell.”
Revealing that “Happy For You” is “the song that I'm most excited about that isn't a single.” Dua said, “well, it's the album closer,” adding, “it’s also the song that when I listen to it, I see how far I've come, how much I've grown, and matured emotionally in the process of writing this whole album. So it was like a perfect way to end it for me.”
Offering up her final tidbit, Dua expressed that “the biggest takeaway that I want people to have,” from listening to the album, “is the idea that you know we can all be radically optimistic. That we just have to go through the bad things to get to the good stuff.”
Also part of her big Radical Optimism release day celebration, Dua checked in with Audacy’s Mike Adam at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York to talk about getting the album's cover shot, her Service95 platform, and more. Listen to that entire conversation — HERE.
Radical Optimism is now available everywhere. Listen to the entire album below.