Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism

[StrawberryBlond 13,459]

So, I just listened to it last night and it was actually ok, better than expected given how much hate it's getting here. My favourites were Houdini, These Walls, Whatcha Doing, Falling Forever, Anything For Love, Maria and Happy For You. But bear in mind by "favourites" I merely mean "they were halfway decent." The best ones were Falling Forever and Maria but they were just above average. I love summer albums and this definitely has that feel, great for a party this time of year. Really liking the 90's and sometimes even 80's vibe on a lot of the tracks to match the vibe of the album cover. And her vocals on Falling Forever surprised me with how good she was. The rumours that the best tracks were already released as singles was not accurate. The public liking These Walls is probably a sign it has potential as a future single and I'd say Falling Forever too. But if they don't take off, she'll probably release a deluxe edition for the fans (probably with no new single) and then do a very brief tour, call it a day and better luck next time.

I thought its good/bad track ration was actually pretty close to FN and I'd give it the same score (though I'd rate FN higher). But then, I'm someone who thinks that FN was a massively overrated album (partly because I hate disco with very few exceptions), that it had a few good bops and that was it, it was more "lightning in a bottle" for her rather than a consistent standard that she was always going to make. Didn't get why critics were all over it and saying "this is just scratching the surface of what she can do." I think they set her up for failure by saying things like that and hyping her up too much. I don't know if her team got too cocky and thought anything she'd put out would be a hit or if they genuinely thought these would be a hits (considering I was shocked at the underperformance too, I think it's a bit of both). I'm genuinely surprised none of her singles have been hitting, they sound like stuff that would be popular. It's a shame how this style seems to work out for some artists and not all. We'll see if she can dust herself off after this and come back stronger. 

[Anderson123 32,251]

41 minutes ago, StrawberryBlond said:

So, I just listened to it last night and it was actually ok, better than expected given how much hate it's getting here. My favourites were Houdini, These Walls, Whatcha Doing, Falling Forever, Anything For Love, Maria and Happy For You. But bear in mind by "favourites" I merely mean "they were halfway decent." The best ones were Falling Forever and Maria but they were just above average. I love summer albums and this definitely has that feel, great for a party this time of year. Really liking the 90's and sometimes even 80's vibe on a lot of the tracks to match the vibe of the album cover. And her vocals on Falling Forever surprised me with how good she was. The rumours that the best tracks were already released as singles was not accurate. The public liking These Walls is probably a sign it has potential as a future single and I'd say Falling Forever too. But if they don't take off, she'll probably release a deluxe edition for the fans (probably with no new single) and then do a very brief tour, call it a day and better luck next time.

I thought its good/bad track ration was actually pretty close to FN and I'd give it the same score (though I'd rate FN higher). But then, I'm someone who thinks that FN was a massively overrated album (partly because I hate disco with very few exceptions), that it had a few good bops and that was it, it was more "lightning in a bottle" for her rather than a consistent standard that she was always going to make. Didn't get why critics were all over it and saying "this is just scratching the surface of what she can do." I think they set her up for failure by saying things like that and hyping her up too much. I don't know if her team got too cocky and thought anything she'd put out would be a hit or if they genuinely thought these would be a hits (considering I was shocked at the underperformance too, I think it's a bit of both). I'm genuinely surprised none of her singles have been hitting, they sound like stuff that would be popular. It's a shame how this style seems to work out for some artists and not all. We'll see if she can dust herself off after this and come back stronger. 

I also believe Future Nostalgia is a bit overrated. It was an album that came with surprise because no one was expecting Dua to do that after her debut and she also carried that era HARD with promo, remixes, deluxe edition, virtual show, etc. I do remember people here being over it after a month but kept coming back to it because they truly extended the era so much.

I think the only 10/10 songs from Future Nostalgia are Physical, Levitating and Hallucinate but also has an average stuff in there like Love Again, Don't Start Now, Break My Heart, Cool and Pretty Please. Then the really bad ones at the end (Good In Bed, Boys Will Be Boys).

This general feeling of "meh" with Radical Optimism was to  be expected. She kind of set the bar high and then the comments of new sound, new looks, changing pop music landscape, etc. the pre-era hype became ridiculous.

[Sneaky Oliver 20,201]

This album sounds more like a follow-up for her debut than Future Nostalgia, I expected something really different but I love the summery chill vibe. FN became a pop classic, it’s hard to compare. Anything she could have released would feel like a letdown, especially for the more casual fans. 

[PopEmergency 2,192]

i ordered the Radical Optimism Cassette Bundle | Cassette with Choice of Format + Signed Insert × 1

It arrived today and guess what... the insert is unsigned 

[StrawberryBlond 13,459]

2 hours ago, Anderson123 said:

I also believe Future Nostalgia is a bit overrated. It was an album that came with surprise because no one was expecting Dua to do that after her debut and she also carried that era HARD with promo, remixes, deluxe edition, virtual show, etc. I do remember people here being over it after a month but kept coming back to it because they truly extended the era so much.

I think the only 10/10 songs from Future Nostalgia are Physical, Levitating and Hallucinate but also has an average stuff in there like Love Again, Don't Start Now, Break My Heart, Cool and Pretty Please. Then the really bad ones at the end (Good In Bed, Boys Will Be Boys).

This general feeling of "meh" with Radical Optimism was to  be expected. She kind of set the bar high and then the comments of new sound, new looks, changing pop music landscape, etc. the pre-era hype became ridiculous.

Yeah, I think the pandemic made a lot of people think that album was better than it actually was. I love Physical and Cool the most and Love Again and Pretty Please are good but the rest of it was just ok (though I actually like Boys Will Be Boys, guess I'm really in the minority here but the message is perfect). But if I separate my personal feelings about it, I can objectively say that a lot of people thought it was a really good album so being able to please everyone with the follow-up was going to be a huge undertaking. These eras are like chalk and cheese so far in terms of single success, critical reception, fan reception, promo, all of it. This must be jarring for those who had really started stanning her hard with FN. Agreed, she shouldn't have bigged it up as being totally different from FN, some sort of experimental piece of art that was going to cause a pop revolution. Seeing what happened to Gaga when she tried to do that with BTW was a cautionary tale and she never tried to sell an album as the album of the century ever again. 

52 minutes ago, PopEmergency said:

i ordered the Radical Optimism Cassette Bundle | Cassette with Choice of Format + Signed Insert × 1

It arrived today and guess what... the insert is unsigned 

Looks like it's not just Taylor's fans that are experiencing this. In addition to unsigned CDs, her fans were getting CD's with no discs inside, CD's with no music on them and got a replacement signed CD that arrived unsigned again. The only cherry on top would've been if the disc inside was Kanye West's new album! 

[King of the Fall 2,521]

I think Fantano really covered all the bases here, he gave it a fair shot and liked Houdini and Training Season as singles but felt the overall album was a letdown and said her songwriting has not evolved past very basic concepts around love and using dance as a metaphor. As someone who was on the Dua hype train pre album release, I am left feeling kinda gutted. There is nothing bad about RO, it is just very forgettable outside of a few highlights I have playlisted. So many pop girls have been letting me down this year, let's pray that Billie comes through 

 

Edited May 7 by King of the Fall

[Teletubby 121,281]

she finished writing songs for this album about a year ago.
she wrote 97 songs, but the first song that made it to the album was song #59.
the first six songs were written during the Future Nostalgia tour.

song no. 59  Illusion — July 11, 2022
#60 Happy for You — July 12, 2022
#61 Whatcha Doing — July 13, 2022
#64 Maria — July 18, 2023
#79  Training Season —  November 22, 2022
#80 Houdini — November 24, 2022
#83  These Walls — January 16, 2023
#85 End of an Era — January 24, 2023
#91 Anything for Love — February 15, 2023
#? French Exit — rewritten April 20, 2023
#97 Falling Forever — 2023

[ModernEcstasy 6,876]

After giving this a few tries, I can honestly say I now Love it!! 
Maria and Watcha Doin are my faves. 
The only track I don’t vibe with is French Exit. 
It’s definitely a departure from Future Nostalgia. Looking forward to see what comes next. 

Edited May 8 by ModernEcstasy

[ssslyboy 2,957]

45 minutes ago, Teletubby said:

she finished writing songs for this album about a year ago.
she wrote 97 songs, but the first song that made it to the album was song #59.
the first six songs were written during the Future Nostalgia tour.

song no. 59  Illusion — July 11, 2022
#60 Happy for You — July 12, 2022
#61 Whatcha Doing — July 13, 2022
#64 Maria — July 18, 2023
#79  Training Season —  November 22, 2022
#80 Houdini — November 24, 2022
#83  These Walls — January 16, 2023
#85 End of an Era — January 24, 2023
#91 Anything for Love — February 15, 2023
#? French Exit — rewritten April 20, 2023
#97 Falling Forever — 2023

wait where did the #s come from?

[Teletubby 121,281]

1 minute ago, ssslyboy said:

wait where did the #s come from?

her notebook dualipa.com/products/dua-lipa-radical-optimism-cd-zine

[ssslyboy 2,957]

6 minutes ago, Teletubby said:

her notebook dualipa.com/products/dua-lipa-radical-optimism-cd-zine

oh interesting

[thunderzap00 121]

its a soft 6 for me

[waterfall 716]

im kinda late but i still wanted to post my review: 

end of an era - 7/10; its a cute opening but i wouldn't add this to my playlist

houdini - 9.8/10; saur good idc... deserved to be a hit... why the baddies not support omg

training session - 7/10; i cant tell if i like this song or not

these walls - 10/10; omg the song gives me album closer... also last single of an era where its a reflective kinda song. cuz the lyrics are moving but the beat is chill.

whatcha doing - 4/10; i dont like this one... next

french exit - 8/10; its alright. could see this growing on me

illusion - 9/10; omg idk what i was on when i first listened to this cuz i luv it now

falling forever - 8.5/10

anything for love - 6/10; its not bad but kinda bland. her voice doesnt fit the kinda ballad ig. i put the score higher tho cuz the switch up.

maria - 9/10; her little western countryish serve

happy for you - 7.5/10; its alright

overall 7.8/10

[Fck I luv Art 363]

When It came out I thought the album would have been better received than that? 

Why did it flopped ? 

In my opinion it's a good summer album, Dua and Kevin Parker did a great job 

French exit is such a great song, I love how the instrumental sounds a bit Middle-Eastern or Spanish with the guitars and violin sounds. And the way she sings in french sounds fresh (And as Francophone I thinks that she pronounce it well) 

 

End of an era is so bossa-nova and house at the same the time, kiss chef 🤌

 

Watcha doing to me has the 90s vibes, it's  very funky and synth-popish, I love it. 

 

And Happy for you... Gosh, the goosebumps, this song sounds so much like her early releases, it has these psychedelic vibes and the lyrics are beautiful. 

 

[ModernEcstasy 6,876]

4 hours ago, Fck I luv Art said:

And Happy for you... Gosh, the goosebumps, this song sounds so much like her early releases, it has these psychedelic vibes and the lyrics are beautiful. 

 

I’m now fully appreciating Happy for You.

It’s such an emotional song and I really feel the lyrics