Single of the Week: Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now”

By Lawson Wrigley

After an extremely busy 2017 and 2018 promoting 7 singles and a debut album, Brit Award and Grammy Award-winning breakout star Dua Lipa felt missing in 2019. This year, Dua released only one song, ‘Swan Song’, from the soundtrack of the film ‘Alita: Battle Angel’. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the same oomph her previous songs did, causing us to think the track was a leftover from her defiant self-titled, debut album. Nonetheless, the buzz had been building for Dua’s return, with her social media accounts mysteriously wiped out of all content, only a few weeks ago.   

Last Friday, she emerged with a thumping, bass-heavy, disco-tinged floor-stomper, aptly titled ‘Don’t Start Now’. In an effort to re-find her magic, she teamed up again with the same writing team and producer (Ian Kirkpatrick) who wrote and produced her worldwide hit ‘New Rules’. With ‘Don’t Start Now’  Dua leads us to a similar lyrical lane of ‘New Rules’ and other hit single ‘IDGAF’, however this break up anthem sees her explore new production, similar to her Diplo and Mark Ronson Grammy Award-winning collab ‘Electricity’. The result is electrifying.

Lauded in by a stereotypical music video, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but Dua sells it with her roaring energy. She moves scene by scene from the club, into a themed 19th-century ball (where paintings come to life) and back into the club with no fear in sight. It won't be as iconic as the ‘New Rules’ music video, but maybe it doesn’t need to be. As seen at the beginning she drags the camera out of the club onto the street, a double entendre, goodbye boyfriend, goodbye self-titled era.

In the end, the video acts as an excellent counterpart to a funky kiss-off radio-ready single. Although this new direction feels thematically reminiscent, almost overdone, Dua Lipa pulls it off with her smooth vocals which drip with confidence that distinguishes her as a pop star ready to take over the world, again. If this is Dua’s next stop, then she’s just getting started.