- 2024-10-26
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MUSIC
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Dua Lipa Performs at NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
British singer-songwriter Dua Lipa appeared on NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert to perform four songs, “Training Season”, “These Walls”, “Happy for You”, and “Houdini”.
This marks her first appearance in four years since performing remotely during the pandemic in London in 2020.
Her 2020 show still holds the record for the most-viewed Tiny Desk concert in history, at 130 million views.
Four songs are featured on her third studio album “Radical Optimism”, which was released back in May via Warner Records.
The album reached No. 1 on the UK Albums chart and No. 2 on the US Billboard 200.
Dua Lipa said, “I've always wanted to come down and be by the desk. We did an at-home Tiny Desk in 2020, so this feels really special. Did anyone see that one by the way? All right well we've got a lot to live up to so hopefully we can top that one up. The songs that I want to perform for you guys today are from my new record 'Radical Optimism'.”
She continued, “I've loved watching 'Tiny Desks', and I love the way that artists come in and reimagine their songs and their music, and it's always really inspiring.”- Dua Lipa explained about four songs when she release them.
“Training Season” via press release
“I had been on a string of bad dates, and the last one was the final straw. The next morning I arrived to the studio to Caroline and Tobias asking me how it all went and I immediately declared 'TRAINING SEASON IS OVER,' and like the best 'day after' debriefs with your mates, we had a lot of laughs and it all quickly came together from there. And while it is obviously about that feeling when you are just absolutely done telling people, men specifically in this case, how to date you right; it is also about my training season being over and me growing with every experience. I have never felt more confident, clear or empowered. And while it may be that training season is never over for any of us, you start to see the beauty in finding that person to experience it with. You stop looking for the trainees and become more interested in having someone where you are and someone to grow with.” -
“These Walls” via Apple Music
“This was [written on] 16th of January 2023. It was a good day. It was actually on the 15th of January, the day before, we were talking about these walls [in the studio] like if these walls could talk. But it also felt like maybe it was a thing that was said so many times, you know, it's such a cliché. But I think you can feel that energy. I think if you know when you walk in a room and there have been two people who have been arguing or there's been upset, there's an energy, there's a feeling, there's a heaviness that you feel whether you like it or not. And a lot of the time, it's almost something that you can feel it in the studios touch, whoever's been in there before, whatever their feelings. These rooms capture things and they hold on to things. I think this song is a really good example of addressing the inevitable, it's that conversation that no one really wants to have, but you have to do it. Someone has to just pull the plug and as painful as it is, it's usually for the right reasons. You know for sure what's meant for you is meant for you and your gut instinct will always tell you when something's right. We just don't want to listen sometimes.”
“Happy for You” via Apple Music
“I love this song because it's about seeing someone who you were with move on and be really happy for them. And I probably wouldn't have been able to write this song, you know, on my first or second record cause I don't feel like I probably would have grown as a person or as an artist, to be able to see someone that you loved move on or I would have found it like difficult. And so yeah, you write as a form of therapy, whatever it is in the moment. But I felt like I've definitely changed so much from who I was in my first album to who I am now emotionally. And I've grown and I've matured, and I think you just find the sense of happiness and optimism, and this kind of carefree energy of 'what's meant for me is for me'. I think perspective is something that I guess just keeps coming back. I didn't know it was going to end the album so it could have been the center of the it. It feels like a real 180. Maturing, seeing almost like my ghost on the other side and being like “Wow you've grown so much from an experience to be able to to see things from that perspective”. But I think also in terms of relationships, I needed to get to this place in order to find what I really needed. You have to be in the act of forgiveness and growing and learning and being okay with the past in order to move on with what's to come next. So “Happy For You” is a beautiful happy song because it's so reflective of my journey.”
“Houdini” via Apple Music
“Houdini” embodies the energy of a good night out. This was the first track I wrote about that fun and freeing time of being single. The lyrics are a bit cheeky, but there is a real underlying message of understanding yourself deeply and having no guilt about knowing your self-worth. Sometimes you just have to pull a Houdini and leave a situation that's no longer serving you.” - source : NPR
