Dua Lipa won’t be fooled as she drops ‘Illusion’ and its action-packed music video.
The 28-year-old pop star is back with another infectiously catchy bop from her upcoming album, ‘Radical Optimism’, which she has explained is about “playing someone at their own game” and not falling “for an illusion”.
She said of the track: “‘Illusion’ was the first song Caroline, Danny, Tobias, Kevin and I worked on together, and it really broke the ice for the record.
“It’s about knowing what you’re getting yourself into, but staying for the hell of it. The joke’s on them, it’s the fun of playing someone at their own game because ultimately you won’t fall for an illusion.”
She sings on the shimmery psychedelic tune: “Don’t you know I could do this dance all night? Ooh, what you doin’? / Don’t know who you think that you’re confusing / I be like, Ooh, it’s amusing / You think I’m gonna fall for an illusion.”
In the promo clip, Dua is joined by dancers, high divers, and synchronised swimmers at the Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain – which will look familiar to pop fans as Kylie Minogue filmed her ‘Slow’ music video there. The ‘Argylle’ star channels her inner Bond girl as she scales a castell-inspired tower, a reference to the infamous Catalonian tradition.
The ‘Don’t Start Now’ singer recently revealed she felt like she was in a band working on the LP.
Sharing a “deep dive” into the process of her eagerly awaited follow-up to 2020’s ‘Future Nostalgia’, she revealed she listened to the songs “over and over” again to ensure she knew exactly how she wanted to tell the story.
Previewing the record in a behind-the-scenes video clip shared on social media, she said: “It’s the beauty of the chaos and trying to stay calm through it. Listening over and over and feeling like, ‘How do I want to tell this story?’
“I always go for the most upbeat ones to introduce people to the record.
“I can just keep on dancing and keep people dancing.
“We’re trying to create a world in a different way, and sonically it was about experimenting. Thematically, it was always about resilience.”
Dua worked on the record with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, Danny L. Harle, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Caroline Ailin in a secluded cabin and said it very much felt like a band mentality.
Announcing the LP, which is out on May 3, she said: “A couple of years ago, a friend introduced me to the term ‘Radical Optimism’.
“It’s a concept that resonated with me, and I became more curious as I started to play with it and weave it into my life.
“It struck me – the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm.
“At the same time, I found myself looking through the music history of psychedelia, trip-hop, and Britpop. It has always felt so confidently optimistic to me, and that honesty and attitude is a feeling I took into my recording sessions.”
Other tracks on the record include ‘French Exit’, ‘Maria’, and ‘Falling Forever’, as well as the previously released singles ‘Houdini’ and ‘Training Season’.
Dua previously explained her new record “captures a period of major changes in her life, including the end of a relationship and her forays into dating.”
She told Rolling Stone magazine: “This record feels a bit more raw.
“I want to capture the essence of youth and freedom and having fun and just letting things happen, whether it’s good or bad. You can’t change it. You just have to roll with the punches of whatever’s happening in your life.”