2020: the year Dua Lipa finally won me over

2020 was a year of isolation, sure, but in a time where the world shrank to a room, the music of the year became expansive, willing to adventure sonically in ways the listener couldn’t physically. In the new world I tuned in this year to the current musicscape, and Dua Lipa was the first to greet me. 

My first memory of Dua Lipa was on my trip to see Santa Clara University. I had not spent much time in Silicon Valley or around it, and that summer day I couldn’t get “One Kiss” out of my head. It would be her one song to me, and I wouldn’t let anyone know I liked something so modern or so blatantly pop. She didn’t play her own instruments, and in the time where we young men had only unearthed the most well-respected gems of rock music’s past, that was enough to disqualify any authority in determining what was good. Driving through the grapevines and under the sun, this was the first noteworthy music from her. As far as I was concerned, she might fade away. Seeing her at the Grammy Awards performing an ode to Aretha Franklin and an erotic mashup with St. Vincent would be imprinted in my mind, but that would be it for her and I.

When I arrived home in a hurry the week that the coronavirus began its real grip on the country, I listened to her 2020 sophomore album, Future Nostalgia. There’s music that demands patience and more listens, and I suppose it’s my unfamiliarity with modern pop to blame for my surprise at the quality of instrumentals, samples, and writing. Her intelligent reworkings of INXS on “Break My Heart” and an echo of Al Bowlly on “Love Again” anchored my interest, and over the early months of the pandemic this album unfurled itself unto me. This album is a testament to her work ethic and a willingness to do her homework. Unlike her previous work, this album is a direct extension of her artistic will, so we actually get Dua Lipa.

It’s strange how nostalgia has changed our views. In December 2019, I came home to reunite with friends from high school, reminiscing on the new “old days” and comparing experiences from our adventures in the larger world. Now, I’m nostalgic for that last week in March. More than ever, that world ripped away so suddenly makes it easy to project that nostalgia into the future, when I can float alongside my friends to the Blondie-inspired breakdown on “Levitating” or the glamorous, swaggering title track. 

Dua Lipa did exactly that, releasing a well-constructed record that was the first of the COVID-19 era, written and recorded before, but perfect for the moment. As Animal Crossing allowed us to visit each other’s houses, we could see a little glimpse of the end of the tunnel from the start. As my first year at college shut off, suddenly the world closed up after seemingly being opened further than ever. Dua Lipa helped me keep my ears to the walls, hearing and remembering the world outside my little room.

Written by Stanley Quiros