Dua Lipa reflects on “Houdini” lyrics 1 year after its release

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To celebrate the magic of “Houdini”—which was created alongside Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, Caroline Ailin, Danny L. Harle, and Tobias Jesso Jr.—Dua is reflecting on the song and its inspirations in the latest installment of American Express’s Story of My Song series.

“This song is about the act of disappearing when something no longer serves you,” the Grammy winner explains in the video, where she breaks down each verse. “The first lyric was ‘Catch Me or I Go / Houdini,’ and the story was built on the basis of that.” Dua dished that she was “fed up” with her dating life when she laid down the track in the studio, so naturally, a “little gossip” turned into a “therapy session.”

As for the motive behind “Houdini”—and the rest of Radical Optimism—Dua wanted to dance. “This song has allowed me to have the dance break of my dreams that I’ve always wanted,” she says. “I guess because I’m always thinking quite visually in terms of what the video is going to be like, I knew that to try to carry this video on my own and do a lot of the dancing on my own, which again is something I probably would never had done in any previous point in my career.”

“When talking about manifestation or writing things down I think the songs that I like to perform onstage, I always like to make sure there’s a positive twist,” Dua shares. “Because if I’m going to get up onstage and sing that song over and over again, it kind of becomes a mantra. I’ve got to be careful with what I’m saying, because then it starts to ring true.”

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Houdini is a good song but I think Tame Impala’s production is way too calm for what the song should have been. At least that’s my unsolicited opinion