Dua Lipa has been having quite the year. In May, she released a brand new album, Radical Optimism. In June, she played an epic Glastonbury set to an audience of 100,000 people – and shortly after, she announced the start of a massive world tour (yes, she’s playing London, on June 20 and 21).
It has been seven years since Lipa first shot to pop culture stardom on the back of her single New Rules – and the fact she’s stayed there speaks volumes about her versatility, ear for a good hook and slick delivery. Accordingly, her back catalogue is surprisingly polished, despite only being three albums deep.
And it’s time to celebrate them. As she gets ready to set out on another world dominating trip, here are some of her best songs, ranked.
9) New Rules
When it came out in 2017, New Rules sent Dua Lipa stratospheric. Listening back to it now, its appeal is still obvious: packed with zinging one-liners, the song lacks melody but makes up for it with slinky percussion and the power of Lipa’s voice. The theme – telling the audience about her rules for getting over an ex (“if you’re under him, you’re not getting over him” being a standout) – is timeless. And Lipa’s ice-cool delivery – half chant, half sung – is still delicious.
8) Blow Your Mind (Mwah)
Another one from the debut album, Blow Your Mind (Mwah) is Lipa serving up confidence in spades. Less disco, more pop, the overall sound harks back to some of Charli XCX’s more mainstream tunes – a compliment, in case you were wondering. It treads the same sonic ground as Hotter Than Hell, but sharpens it up with a heavy dose of bubblegum-flavoured synths. A promise of things to come.
7) One Kiss
Dua Lipa has an excellent ear for a good collab – and this Calvin Harris one is no exception. This swirling deep house song brings to mind lazy summer days by the beach, or (judging by the lyrics) hazy summer flings. With Lipa’s smooth vocals layered over Harris’ looping beats and keys, the end result feels tailor-made for the club. It’s not subtle, by any means, but it’s impossible not to nod along to.
6) Be The One
This sweet track boasts an irresistible chorus and a lovely light, breezy sound that still makes it sound fresh, eight years on. Laden with hooks, the lyrics are simple (pleading with a lover to take her back) and the lovely way the synths blossom underneath the chorus evokes summer evenings in the car with the window down. Bonus points to the music video for putting a baby-faced Lipa in John Lennon-style sunglasses and purple fur on Hampstead Heath.
5) Houdini
By far the best song from her 2024 album Radical Optimism, Houdini puts Lipa in the shoes of a flighty lover. Less disco-flavoured than her previous music, it boasts a hard, insistent bass line and a skittering percussion that gives the whole song a nebulous, slinky quality. “I’m not here for long/Catch me or I go, Houdini” she sings over the fizzing synths, challenging her romantic partners to make her stay.
4) Levitating
A song to strut to. Another banger from the Future Nostalgia album, Levitating is heavily indebted to Seventies disco and sounds all the better for it. Bursting with synths, jazzy hand claps and “yeah yeah yeahs”, the lyrics tread fairly well-worn ground for Lipa (a new relationship, feeling out of this world), but damn, if it doesn’t sound good. Fun fact: the ‘sugarboo’ lyrics were the result of a doughnut sugar rush that occurred while Lipa and her co-writers were brainstorming. Who needs romance.
3) Don’t Start Now
A fizzy, effervescent song that hits the bloodstream from the first second. Careless and carefree, it’s an anthem to leaving behind no-good men in favour of moving on with another. Tonally, this is as good as she’s ever sounded: Lipa’s voice blends perfectly with the electro-violins, and the end result is an extremely glamorous piece of pop catharsis. If only all our nights out sounded like this.
2) Break My Heart
Clearly, Dua Lipa was born two decades late, because her best tracks are all rooted in the Eighties. Case in point: the dancefloor-shaking Break My Heart, which credits INXS’s Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss as co-writers, thanks to her sampling of Need You Tonight. There’s plenty else to like too, though: a bouncy opening bassline, disco violins and a smart funk base, for one. The only crime is that the song was released in Covid, when all the clubs were shut. A modern day pop classic: play it loud and proud.
And the winner is… Physical
A synth-pop masterpiece. Incorporating lyrics from Olivia Newton-John’s 1981 song of the same name, a Persian flute sample and some banging Eighties style synths, Physical is an absolute belter of a song. The music video gives us visuals of Lipa spinning around in a crowded room, and indeed – it’s best listened to in the club. Or at the gym. Anywhere where you can work up a sweat, really. It’s one of her most addictive tracks – and her snarling delivery of the lyrics gives it a rocket-boost lift off.
