‘Radical Optimism’ is Dua’s shortest era on US Charts

[AnnTakamaki 6,686]

it was a let down for me Houdini was good, Training Season was ok everything else was forgettable eventhough i like the snippet

[ryansamonster 1,489]

Houdini was released almost a year ago and the album just never gained real traction. As a big Dua fan, it was a disappointing album… I only listen to Houdini and Whatcha Doing really, TS and Illusion come on my playlists sometimes.

[bpmMonkey 3,892]

ngl, for me it’s one of my most replayed records as a whole this summer. It’s not revolutionary by any means, but it is very cohesive, it’s a nice one to just put on and ride your bike from point A to B, she has a very nice voice and it’s not too „heady“ - like records you actually need to sit down for and actively listen to (love them too, but sometimes it’s just not the vibe). Which again underlines my general hate for the chart system nowadays. She didn’t went crazy high for weeks and weeks and weeks, but it’s a really fun listen, compared to other dumpster fires that were touring this year

 

edit: my music taste is kinda all over the place rn. The other records that I actually enjoy listening to start to close have been Omar Apollo, Bring Me The Horizen and Paula Hartmann (German, I know) 

Edited August 27 by bpmMonkey

[Mirrion Rizzons 10,236]

I tried to listen to it but I just found it so boring - still love houdini and illusion though

 

I think she can bounce back hopefully sooner rather than later (i.e., 2025) 

[Wixson 4,924]

I had no idea Illusion charted for 18 weeks! Even if it was in the lower region of Hot 100, much better than I thought. Houdini deserved better, though, the album... not so much. 

[stevana229 1,856]

I don't understand why!!!! Houdini, Training Season and Illusion are FANTASTIC pop songs! great single choices. I wish it did better 

[chathonnete 393]

I love and respect Dua, but this is what happens when you're not creative or you don't take risks. 

[Jarvin 1,299]

I’m sorry but she is incredibly boring. Nothing special about that voice. She is not terrible, but no reason to be so big. She should be among the likes of Tove Lo, who exactly has some bops

[bowlsofbrett 362]

Does anyone else notice how the songs sound great in a live setting but totally fall flat on the album? “These Walls” is a great track. That lush bridge is everything! I’m not sure how they recorded these tracks but maybe they should’ve just recorded it as a live album and went in and made tweaks after. 

[Teletubby 132,798]

41 minutes ago, Wixson said:

I had no idea Illusion charted for 18 weeks! Even if it was in the lower region of Hot 100, much better than I thought.

more than half of "Illusion" points were from radio since June but a few days ago it started losing about 1M daily.

there was no other song that would have 30M airplays and chart so low on Hot 100

[Ashley 8,529]

I still listen to this album all the time, like at least once a week. I guess my streams were not enough.  I honestly still prefer Dua to most of the newer pop artists, I love her voice.

[Anderson123 35,142]

Such a shame that this album was not well received as they expected because it's a pretty good listen from start to finish. Expectations were way too high coming from Future Nostalgia, something this album didn't have to suffer because her debut was very standard generic pop (no offense, just seems like demos that could've gone to many other pop girls).

Even if Radical Optimism doesn't have Future Notalgia highs like Physical, Levitating and Hallucinate, at least it doesn't have lows like Good In Bed and Boys Will Be Boys or mid stuff like Cool, Pretty Please, Break My Heart and the title track.

It seems more like Radical Optimism was always planned as this chill album that would've been supported by the hype she created with Barbie and Future Nostalgia but the singles did just fine.

[Shyane 1,314]

3 hours ago, bionic said:

 

A lot like Katy, people were there because Teenage Dream/Future Nostalgia were so good. Not many were there for Dua herself like you'd get for other stars (i.e. Gaga)

some artists like Gaga have a hard core fan base and others don't like katy. For the latter, you need to always put out bangers. The moment you stop, you flop. 

[Wixson 4,924]

1 hour ago, Teletubby said:

more than half of "Illusion" points were from radio since June but a few days ago it started losing about 1M daily.

there was no other song that would have 30M airplays and chart so low on Hot 100

Makes sense!

[StrawberryBlond 13,932]

I predicted her next era wouldn't be as big but I'm genuinely shocked at how many people have moved on from her. It's not like her new work has been a massive drop in quality, it's pretty much the same level. I thought the album wasn't amazing but it was decent, just slightly below FN, so for fans to act like it was a snoozefest makes no sense to me. But I can't deny there was a severe lack of hit material on the album. The single choices weren't the best but what else would have been a better choice? The only viable choice left with any chance of being a hit is Falling Forever, it has "summer smash" written all over it. But summer's about to be over, her last single was released almost 5 months ago, the tour only has 19 dates left (with no sign of new ones being added) and the album's out the charts, so is another single even an option anymore?

I think she needs a whole new team next era if she wants to stick around. A downfall like this shouldn't have happened immediately after a smash album. At least Katy had Prism before Witness caused her to nosedive and it was a gradual decline to where she is now, but Dua's basically gone from MPG to where she was when she was just starting out.