walking upstream…
Dua Lipa
sourcesWikipedia2 · Billboard · Grammy.com
Born in London in 1995 to Kosovan-Albanian parents, Dua Lipa spent part of her childhood in Pristina before returning to London at fifteen to chase a music career through YouTube covers and modeling gigs. Her 2017 self-titled debut established her as a moody, streaming-era pop star, but it was 2020's 'Future Nostalgia' — a set of gleaming nu-disco and dance-pop songs built from her own childhood record collection — that turned her into one of the defining pop voices of the 2020s.
the sound in question
2019
Don't Start NowDua Lipa
walk the tributaries ↓
Nelly Furtado2000s · Pop / R&B / Worldbeat / Dance-pop
Lipa has said that discovering Nelly Furtado around age six was 'a wild change' — she wanted to be exactly like her, drawn to the 'bad bitch attitude' and lyrical directness. Years later, describing her own idea of pop outright, she named Furtado alongside P!nk, Christina Aguilera, and Destiny's Child as the artists who shaped it.
listen: upstream & heresource: Glamcult ↗
2006
ManeaterNelly Furtado
2017
New RulesDua Lipa
listen forPlay Furtado's swaggering 'Maneater' and then Lipa's 'New Rules' back to back — both ride a stomping, synth-driven beat under a cool, kiss-off vocal that turns bad romantic advice into a strutting anthem rather than a sob story.
Prince1980s · Funk / Pop / R&B / Rock
Lipa has traced 'Future Nostalgia's' warm, funk-pop feel directly back to the music her parents played at home when she was a kid — Jamiroquai, Blondie, and Prince among it — saying those songs still bring back a rush of the fun and happiness she felt growing up.
listen: upstream & here
1986
KissPrince
2020
PhysicalDua Lipa
listen forCue Prince's sparse, falsetto-led 'Kiss' and then Lipa's 'Physical' — both strip funk down to its playful essentials, letting a tight groove and a knowing vocal wink do the work instead of a wall of sound.
Madonna1980s-90s · Pop / Dance-pop / Dance / Electronic
Madonna was one of the artists Lipa has said she listened to as a teenager while shaping 'Future Nostalgia's' throwback dance-pop sound, and the connection went from admiration to collaboration when Madonna joined Lipa's 'Levitating' remix on the 'Club Future Nostalgia' project.
listen: upstream & here
2005
Hung UpMadonna
2019
Don't Start NowDua Lipa
listen forListen to Madonna's ABBA-sampling comeback single 'Hung Up' and then Lipa's 'Don't Start Now' — both revive four-on-the-floor disco for a new decade with the same unbothered, dancefloor-ready confidence in the vocal.