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Dua Lipa Teases Snippets of New Album ‘Radical Optimism’: ‘It’s the Beauty of the Chaos’

The pop star's upcoming LP arrives May 3.

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa

Tyrone Lebon

Dua Lipa is pulling back the curtain on her highly anticipated new album, Radical Optimism. In a dreamy Instagram video posted Wednesday (April 3), the singer showed fans clips from her studio sessions for the May-slated record, featuring snippets of her new music.

The video stitches together shots of Dua laying down vocals, writing lyrics in a notebook and jamming out to inaudible beats. “It’s the beauty of the chaos and trying to stay calm through it,” she says in a voice-over in between fragments of her new music. “Listening over and over and feeling like, ‘How do I want to tell this story?'”


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“I always go for the most upbeat ones to introduce people to the record,” she adds amid footage of her practicing choreography. “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.”

“Let’s take a deep dive shall weee, chapter one,” Dua captioned the clip.

The “Levitating” singer first announced Radical Optimism last month, unveiling the project’s serene cover art and 11-song track list on social media March 13. “A couple years ago, a friend introduced me to the term ‘radical optimism,’” she said in a statement at the time. “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.”

Radical Optimism has so far been preceded by the singles “Houdini” and “Training Season,” which debuted at No. 11 and No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Arriving May 3, it’ll mark her first proper LP since 2020’s Future Nostalgia, which bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

Watch Dua’s new video below.

This article originally appeared on Billboard U.S.

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Shhenseea, MOLIY, Skillibeng and Silent Addy
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Shhenseea, MOLIY, Skillibeng and Silent Addy

Awards

Here’s Why ‘Shake It to the Max’ Was Deemed Ineligible at the 2026 Grammys — And Why Its Label Calls the Decision ‘Devoid of Any Common Sense’

Representatives from the Recording Academy and gamma. CEO Larry Jackson comment on one of this year's most shocking Grammy snubs.

Few phrases define the year in music and culture like Moliy’s scintillating directive to “shake it to the max.” The Ghanaian singer’s sultry voice reverberated across the globe, blending her own Afropop inclinations with Jamaican dancehall-informed production, courtesy of Miami-based duo Silent Addy and Disco Neil. Originally released in December 2024, Moliy’s breakthrough global crossover hit ascended to world domination, peaking at No. 6 on the Global 200, thanks to a remix featuring dancehall superstars Shenseea and Skillibeng. Simply put, “Max” soundtracked a seismic moment in African and Caribbean music in 2025.

Given its blockbuster success, “Shake It to the Max” was widely expected to be a frontrunner in several categories at the 2026 Grammys. In fact, had the song earned a nomination for either best African music performance or best global music performance, many forecasters anticipated a victory. So, when “Shake It to the Max” failed to appear on the final list of 2026 Grammy nominees in any category earlier this month (Nov. 7), listeners across the world were left scratching their heads — none more than gamma. CEO Larry Jackson.

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