After the underwhelming reception of Radical Optimism compared to her previous attempt, the smash hit album Future Nostalgia, and her overall late 10's dominance with her debut Dua Lipa, is there a chance for her to course correct and save the MPG title she was just getting crowned with before what happened?

Edited April 16Apr 16 by Sours

Probably , but she needs to come for blood next time. RO has actually aged better over time for me (I barely used it when it first came out), but it still kinda feels like a less focused effort to capture the same magic that Future Nostalgia had

She can easily smash with the right material. RO wasn't a huge failure, I would call it a lukewarm era.

If this was the 2010s, I'd say she needs a LOUD, i.e. an album full of easy, surefire hits to follow an underperformance. The issue is, there's no such thing as a surefire hit in 2026. (except if she lands something as undeniable as Espresso, but that was lightning in a bottle). So I think she might need to just fast track her transition to niche pop girl over mainstream MPG and serve actual experimentation, like when we thought RO would be psychedelic or sound like Desire, I Want to Turn Into You.

Yes unlike forever flops like Katy, she still has the "cool" factor and the goodwill of the GP. She just needs better material that captures the audience's attention

Yes. However she'll suffer from ageism due to her age, she's 30+.

As long as she never releases something as unlistenable as Falling Forever again, she'll be fine

With the right material, sure. The problem is coming up with the right material. Houdini sounded like the right material last album, right? How do we predict?

absolutely. she just needs to return with a new, fully realised and well executed vision for her next project. she's got enough experience, shown her willingness to play the game while also trying to constantly evolve as an artist. hits and misses are part of the road, but not necessarily the end.

It depends the songs, the sound and the image. Female dance pop is still popular with the right artist and song (Tate's Sports car, Jennie's like Jennie, Gaga's Abracadabra, Katseye's Gnarly, PinkPantheress x Zara Larsson). She should stop trying to chase US market, let's smash in Europe and AUS first then the US comes find her imo.

The real question is if she wants to make music anytime soon. She seems to enjoy her time more so I don't think she wants to be put in the studio right now.

She keeps taking those long ass breaks as if she's Beyoncé and she might just fall behind.

Yeah, she's really loved by the GP. I was super surprised by the huge age range at her tour… but she's wasting a lot of time. She should've release something during the Radical Optimism Tour or right when it ended.

People were left thirsty and at least in Latam everyone was talking about her. It was the perfect moment to make more noise.

Relistening to the album for her discography rate. (Which is here people, y'all should join)

Admittedly it wasn't as strong as FN but it's aging way better than when it released. Personally having renewed love for These Walls and Happy For You.

1 hour ago, EnoughSaid said:

She can easily smash with the right material.

You probably jinxed her. Omg delete this.

Stans have been saying for the last 10+ years that Katy Perry (Dr. Luke) just needs the right song

1 minute ago, Opium said:

You probably jinxed her. Omg delete this.

Stans have been saying for the last 10+ years that Katy Perry (Dr. Luke) just needs the right song

Dua didn't even really flop, she will be fine.

She's over. She never became a household name during her peak. She's "faceless," as some of y'all say. And she sounds like a goat getting strangled.

I think she should forget about easy hits and use that sultry, deep tone of hers on sometrip hop and R&B infused left field pop music. Her '4'.

So exhausted of this question…. So unoriginal.

If Ava max could escape the khia asylum (avas own words) of course Dua can.

1 hour ago, Papi Juancho said:

Yeah, she's really loved by the GP. I was super surprised by the huge age range at her tour… but she's wasting a lot of time. She should've release something during the Radical Optimism Tour or right when it ended.

People were left thirsty and at least in Latam everyone was talking about her. It was the perfect moment to make more noise.

i think she is insecure right now about what to put next

34 minutes ago, MatiRod said:

I think she should forget about easy hits and use that sultry, deep tone of hers on sometrip hop and R&B infused left field pop music. Her '4'.

this

she should go for the critics from now on. Make her fans happy and maybe make a comeback with hits in 4 years, when she feels she has her own "espresso"

2 hours ago, Relampago. said:

Yes unlike forever flops like Katy, she still has the "cool" factor and the goodwill of the GP. She just needs better material that captures the audience's attention

that's what we thought about katy back in 2015

As long as she delivers the bops, she will be fine. Also, I read a lot of comparisons between her and Katy but as for Katy, besides the disappointing musical input, it's also her forced humor that made her uncool in the long run and contributed to her downfall. Dua has a more of a cool girl next door vibe.

26 minutes ago, Strawberry Bubble said:

that's what we thought about katy back in 2015

Katy had just come off of Prism which was a massive era so what does this mean, she had no goodwill to gain, only to lose dd

It would be more applicable if you said 2017 post-Witness but then you'd be delusional to think Katy was still cool atp

The closest pop girl era I can think of in regards to Dua is possibly Rated R by Rih which underperformed pretty heavily post-GGGB which was massive, ala FN -> RO, but she hadn't really tarnished her brand or anything, the music just didn't land as hard with the GP. I'm not saying Dua is gonna enter her LOUD era next but she could with the right material

Edited April 16Apr 16 by Relampago.

Dua needed a more sharply defined line between eras, and she didn't deliver on that. She needs to show another side to her. Or a side at all. I don't think the public really knows who she is yet, in terms of her personality.