Dua Lipa revealed she had a surprising realization during a breakup that ended on good terms.
The 28-year-old pop singer spoke to Brittany Spanos for Rolling Stone’s February cover story and previewed new music from her upcoming third studio album.
Although Lipa might be one of pop music’s more elusive stars when it comes to talking about matters of the heart, her Rolling Stone interview does provide some new glimpses into her love life. Despite a reported two-year romance with Anwar Hadid (Bella and Gigi Hadid’s brother) and another brief relationship last year, Lipa confirmed she was single again during a call with the magazine in December.
“Dating, I think overall, is just a little confusing. It’s either through friends of friends or people you trust where you can meet new people, because [dating] is not really so straightforward when you are, I guess, a public person,” she said.
Spanos describes one of Lipa’s newest album cuts as a “dreamy, midtempo track [that] plays out like an updated take on Gwen Stefani’s ‘Cool.’” In the lyrics, Lipa sings, “I must have loved you more than I ever knew… I’m not mad/I’m not hurt/You got everything you deserve.”
“When you have a feeling like that one, you feel really grown because you’re like, ‘Oh, whoa, I’m such an evolved human being that I can see my ex move on and feel good about it,’” said Lipa. “I think I’ve had breakups in my life where I felt like the only kind of breakup you could have was when things just ended really badly. Things ending in a nice way was such a new thing.… It taught me a lot.”
Lyrically speaking, the new cut is already a departure from Lipa’s previous hits, including “New Rules,” “Don’t Start Now,” and “Break My Heart,” which all speak on relationships gone sour.
The yet-to-be-titled album will feature 11 new songs, including her latest single “Houdini,” and is the follow up to Lipa’s blockbuster sophomore effort, Future Nostalgia, released in 2020.
Lipa is up for two Grammy Awards next month for her Barbie soundtrack smash, “Dance The Night.” Her nominations include Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media. She currently has three Grammys to her name, including Best New Artist, Best Dance Recording (“Electricity”), both earned in 2019, and Best Pop Vocal Album (Future Nostalgia) in 2021.
