Dua Lipa on how her second album, Future Nostalgia, took her out of her comfort zone with songs of hope, equality and vulnerability

Singer’s debut was the most streamed album by a female artist in Spotify’s history and led to a number of big-name collaborations

Dua Lipa co-wrote every song on the second album, a more personal collection that reveals her vulnerabilities

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After her first album broke Spotify records, Dua Lipa has released her second album, Future Nostalgia.

Published: 11:45pm, 4 Apr 2020Updated: 11:45pm, 4 Apr 2020

Put on Dua Lipa’s second album and you’ll experience a party – a collection of upbeat, dance-flavoured, power-pop gems that could brighten your day.

But take a closer look, and you’ll also find songs brimmed with messages of hope, equality and vulnerability.

Lipa closes her 11-track Future Nostalgia release with Boys Will Be Boys, a song with clever, sharp lyrics about life as a woman: “I’m sure if there’s something that I can’t find the words to say / I know that there will be a man around to save the day / And that was sarcasm, in case you needed it mansplained / I should’ve stuck to ballet.”

“I wanted to really show another side of me,” the 24-year-old said. “I always speak up about female equality and gender equality in general and female rights, [but] it was very important for me to put something in that’s very close to my heart, that I feel would make other women feel seen and feel heard.”

Future Nostalgia comes three years after Lipa dropped her self-titled debut, which featured the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit New Rules . Outside the US, she’s had even more success, racking up top 10 hits and collaborating with powerhouses such as Calvin Harris, Mark Ronson, Diplo and K-pop girl band Blackpink . It has become the most streamed album by a female act in Spotify’s history.