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Houdini (Dua Lipa song)

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"Houdini"
Single by Dua Lipa
Released10 November 2023 (2023-11-10)
Genre
Length3:05
LabelWarner
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)
  • Danny L Harle
  • Kevin Parker
Dua Lipa singles chronology
"Dance the Night"
(2023) 		"Houdini"
(2023)
Music video
"Houdini" on YouTube

"Houdini"[5] is a song by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was released on 10 November 2023 as the lead single from the singer's upcoming third studio album.

Background

Earlier in 2023, Lipa announced her upcoming third studio album would be released sometime in 2024 with a new sound that sees her moving away from disco, embracing more of 1970s-era psychedelia.[6] After having deleted all of her Instagram posts in October 2023, Lipa posted a picture of herself in red hair captioned "miss me?".[7] On 27 October, she shared a close-up picture of a key between her teeth, accompanied by the phrase "catch me or I go".[8] In anticipation of the song, Lipa replaced the cover art of her previous albums with kaleidoscopic versions on streaming services.[9]

Lipa posted a teaser of the song on her social media on 31 October 2023, hinting at the song title in the post.[10] A rearranged combination of numbers would spell out the title "Houdini",[11] named after the illusionist who passed away on 31 October 1926.[12] Fans of Lipa also drew parallels to a song of the same title (1982) by English singer Kate Bush, whose album cover also references Houdini by presenting a key in her mouth.[13]

Critical reception

Helen Brown from The Independent gave the song 5 out of 5 stars, mentioning that although "there's some daftness in the lyrics, (...) pop is no place for pedantry —especially not when it comes to a singer whose lockdown hit, 'Levitating', saw her laughing in the face of gravity".[14] Rhian Daly from NME gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "while she might be switching up her sonic palette, there’s one thing you can rely on Dua to be consistent with —giving us confidence-filled bops that help us unlock the best versions of ourselves, even if just for three minutes".[15] Betsy Reed from The Guardian also gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "it’s ferociously catchy without being bludgeoning, and does a more convincing job of combining her appreciation for vintage sonics with diamond-tooled pop songwriting than Future Nostalgia did. For Lipa, being a pop star clearly is still the main event, and 'Houdini' suggests no threat to her dominance".[16]

Writing for Clash, Robin Murray said that the song is "Dua Lipa doing what she does best —a gleaming, sun-drenched pop star who yearns to dominate huge spaces."[17] Writing for Pitchfork, Shaad D'Souza mentioned that the song "doesn’t reinvent the wheel: Lipa taunts a man into proving he deserves her attention, squarely in the brazen, invulnerable Future Nostalgia mode. But production from Kevin Parker and Danny L Harle provides some of the drive and loony spark that was missing from Lipa’s club tracks thus far".[18]

Credits and personnel

These credits are adapted from YouTube.[19]

  • Dua Lipa – vocals, songwriting
  • Kevin Parker – backing vocals, songwriting, production, arrangement, engineering, programming, bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, percussion, sound effects
  • Danny L Harle – backing vocals, songwriting, production, arrangement, synthesizer, drum programming
  • Caroline Ailin – backing vocals, songwriting, vocal production
  • Tobias Jesso Jr. – backing vocals, songwriting
  • Cameron Gower Pool – vocal production, engineering
  • Josh Gudwin – mixing
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering

Charts

Chart performance for "Houdini"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Netherlands (Tipparade)[20] 28

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Houdini"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 10 November 2023
Cassette Single (unreleased yet as of 13/11/23)

CD Single (unreleased yet as of 13/11/23)

Warner
[2]
France Radio airplay
[21]
Italy
[22]

References

  1. ^ Lipshutz, Jason. "Dua Lipa's 'Houdini' Song Is Elevated Nu-Disco Magic". Billboard. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b Hess, Liam. "Dua Lipa's "Houdini" Is a Pop Masterclass—With a Slick, Stylish Video to Match". Vogue. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ^ Boisvert, Lauren. "Dua Lipa's New Single "Houdini," From Upcoming Album". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal. "Dua Lipa Drops Infectious Neo-Psychedelic Single 'Houdini'". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ^ Pilley, Max (31 October 2023). "Dua Lipa teases new single 'Houdini' with cryptic messages to fans". NME. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  6. ^ Gonzalez, Rebekah (27 October 2023). "Dua Lipa Returns To Instagram With Cryptic New Photo". IHeartMedia. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  7. ^ Merrett, Robyn (12 October 2023). "Dua Lipa Unveils Moody Red Hair After Wiping Instagram: 'Miss Me?'". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  8. ^ Geraghty, Hollie (27 October 2023). "Dua Lipa hints at imminent new music with social media teaser". NME. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  9. ^ Duncan, Charlie (8 November 2023). "All Your Questions Answered About Dua Lipa's Highly-Anticipated Pop Comeback". HuffPost UK. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  10. ^ "🔑✨sign up dualipa.com". Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023 – via Instagram.
  11. ^ Pointer, Flisadam (31 October 2023). "Dua Lipa Shared A Snippet Of A New Single Alongside A Coded Message, Which Fans Believe Reveals The Song's Title". Uproxx. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  12. ^ Gonzalez, Rebekah (31 October 2023). "Dua Lipa Teases Fans With First Listen Of Her New Music". WASH (FM). Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  13. ^ Dailey, Hannah (31 October 2023). "Dua Lipa Shares Cryptic Video Teasing New Music: 'Tell Me All The Ways You Need Me'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  14. ^ Brown, Helen (9 November 2023). "Dua Lipa's tendon-twanging, hit-making formula remains unchanged on Houdini – review". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  15. ^ Daly, Rhian (9 November 2023). "Dua Lipa's 'Houdini' hints at a Tame Impala-influenced era you won't want to escape from". NME. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  16. ^ Snapes, Laura (9 November 2023). "Dua Lipa: Houdini review – vanishing-act anthem destined for total ubiquity". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  17. ^ Murray, Robin (9 November 2023). "Review: Dua Lipa - 'Houdini'". Clash. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  18. ^ D’Souza, Shaad (9 November 2023). "Dua Lipa: "Houdini"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  19. ^ Dua Lipa (6 November 2023). "Houdini (snippet)". Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 45, 2023" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  21. ^ Citations regarding the radio airplay release of "Houdini" by Dua Lipa in France:
  22. ^ Daniele, Sara (10 November 2023). "Dua Lipa – Houdini | (Radio Date: 10/11/2023)" (in Italian). Radiomonitor. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
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