Dua Lipa is growing up.
At least that’s what she’s telling listeners in her latest single, “Illusion.”
This track, from the 28-year-old Grammy-Award winner’s upcoming album Radical Optimism, finds Lipa admitting to some of her past mistakes while claiming she’s ready to move forward from them.
Almost.
See, Lipa may know a red flag when she sees one, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have fun while it’s waving.
To Lipa’s credit, she admits that she’s made some mistakes when it comes to former relationships (“I been known to miss a red flag/I been known to put my lover on a pedestal/In the end, those things just don’t last”).
But she’s done with that and ready to move forward (“It’s time I take my rose-coloured glasses off/…Now I’m grown, I know what I deserve”).
See, she recognizes all the questionable signs she never saw before (“I already know your type, tellin’ me the things I like/…Don’t you know I could do this dance all night?”).
And she’s letting this new guy know she’ll never fall for shady behavior again (“Don’t know who you think that you’re confusin’/I be like, ooh, it’s amusin’/You think I’m gonna fall for an illusion”).
Still, Lipa has no problem dancing and flirting with this guy she says she’ll never date (“I still like dancin’ with the lessons I already learned”). And in one line, Lipa uses the s-word.
The music video for this track features Lipa and other women in bikinis and other revealing outfits, dancing on a ship and sometimes against one another. It also features men in speedos and other suggestive outfits dancing with Lipa. And, on the cover for this single, Lipa sports a bikini top.
If you were to just listen to this track, you wouldn’t have too many issues to comb through (though they still exist).
Dua Lipa is claiming to have grown up and moved on from making questionable relationship choices. But she’s still OK with flirting and entertaining these bad choices, even if she doesn’t go home with them.
But the song isn’t on its own. The accompanying video has already gained 8.8 million views in just a few days. And it features Lipa and other women and men in revealing bathing suits, dancing together, pretty suggestively, on a ship. And she does say the s-word in one line of her song.
It’s nice to see Dua Lipa growing up and wanting healthier relationships, but this latest track still has hints of what has made Lipa so famous: dancing, lighthearted-vibes and love–or a lack thereof.
