Dua Lipa is looking for love. Not some sort of toxic fling or fleeting romance — she wants real, old-school love. “We all got too many options/ Remember when we used to do anything for love?” she asks on “Anything for Love,” her mid-tempo breakdown track that appears toward the end of Radical Optimism, Lipa’s third studio album, which arrived at the stroke of midnight on Friday (May 3).
Love has always been at the core of Lipa’s being, stretching back to the conflicting feelings on heartbreak she expressed on her 2017 self-titled debut album with songs like the apologetic “Be the One,” the instructional “New Rules” and the carefree “IDGAF.” When 2020’s Future Nostalgia arrived, Lipa was 24 years old, and love was all about fun and relationships made her feel like “Levitating,” just like the enduring hit single captured.
However, it’s been four years since Future Nostalgia, and the pop superstar is older now. At 28 years old, she knows what she wants in a relationship and she’s ready to settle down. As she playfully put it on Radical Optimism‘s second single, “training season’s over.” She told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that, for her, maturity in love means that you learn your “non-negotiables” and how to healthily move on. “You have to be in the act of forgiveness and growing and learning, and being okay with the past in order to move on with what’s to come next,” she explained.
In many ways, Radical Optimism feels like the older sister to Future Nostalgia. She’s smarter and knows better than to let a relationship get the best of her, but she’s still a hopeless romantic that’s holding out for that forever love she’s looking for — all while making fans dance with an infectious disco-pop beat.
While all of Radical Optimism is worth listening to, there are some clear early standouts. Here is a ranking of all 11 tracks on Dua Lipa’s latest album.
