Dua Lipa’s 10 Best (and Worst) Songs of All Time

Dua Lipa released one of the best pop albums in recent memory on March 27—Future Nostalgia, a nonstop ode to the disco era that will have you dancing for a straight hour. (And who doesn't need that boost of serotonin right now?) Each song on the record is just rich: textured and nuanced, all with an unyielding dedication to the groove. "Physical" and "Don't Start Now" are already dance-floor classics, destined for club rotation for the next 10 years. Save for a few notes, the album is just flawless.

Which is why many of the Future Nostalgia tracks appear on my list of Lipa's best songs of all time. This was a tricky list to put together because her two-album discography is full of so many highs and only a few lows. (And those lows aren't really lows, just filler tracks with not-so-exciting structures. They're perfectly fine songs.) But I think I've compiled a top 10 that shows the best of what she can do—and, by extension, what pop music can do, because she's the now the gold standard as far as I'm concerned. Her "worst" ones are included as well, but only the ones at the top of that list are true misfires. The rest any pop star would be lucky to have on their albums. But Dua Lipa isn't just any pop star.

Best

10. “Hallucinate”

Coproduced by disco-pop deity Stuart Price (who worked on Madonna's acclaimed Confessions on a Dance Floor album), "Hallucinate" is pure adrenaline from start to finish, with a chorus that explodes like a cannonball.

9. “Hotter Than Hell”

Lipa released so many singles off her debut self-titled album that it's hard to keep them straight. But "Hotter Than Hell" stands out. Sensual and steamy with a beat drop you feel in your bones, it was our first glimpse at the dancing queen she'd become.

8. “One Kiss” with Calvin Harris

This song was everywhere in summer 2018, and for good reason. This shimmery ode to ’90s house is why people install outdoor speakers in their homes. It's the perfect pool day in music form.

7. “Last Dance”

There's something almost poetic about "Last Dance" being the final track off her first record. It really is your last time to dance, and what a blast you'll have. The glitchy, tribal production here has remnants of Justin Bieber's sublime "Where Are Ü Now," but Lipa's cool-girl personality gives it a unique twist.

6. “Love Again”

Arguably the most overtly disco song on Future Nostalgia, "Love Again" is a grandiose ode to falling in love against your better wishes. And its melodramatic production matches that theme to a tee.

5. “Pretty Please”

"Pretty Please" is where you can most clearly see on Future Nostalgia that Lipa did her dance-floor homework, particularly around the 2:10 mark. All those bell-bottom-tinged beeps and whistles? It's like I'm in Studio 54.

4. “Don’t Start Now”

This is Lipa's highest-charting song in the U.S. for a reason: It's pure, funky, fun, with sticky verses and an even stickier chorus.

3. “Be the One”

This ethereal midtempo track is a nice reprieve from the ruby-red snap, crackle, and pop of Lipa's other singles. It almost sounds Florence and the Machine–inspired: airy and bright, with a chorus that still slaps.

2. “Physical”

This isn't a cover of the Olivia Newton-John song, but the inspiration is absolutely there. Dark and brooding but still fiery as far as tempo goes, the only place to hear this song properly is while bumping and grinding against strangers you'll never see again. (But wait to do that until after social-distancing restrictions are lifted, please!)

1. “New Rules”

There's only one song that could top this list. "New Rules" is excellent on a sonic level: tropical-pop-infused with a dance break that makes your entire body move. But beyond that, "New Rules" became a cultural phenomenon. The "rules" Lipa lists in the prechorus (arguably the best prechorus of any song ever) are now social media canon, something she herself has referenced. "New Rules" is stitched into the fabric of the late 2010s, and for that it rules all.

Worst

10. “Good in Bed”

Lipa gets creativity points for shaking up Future Nostalgia's sleek electro vibes with this Lily Allen–esque track, but it's just too jarring in the album's context to fully enjoy.

9. “Thinking ’Bout You”

There isn't anything wrong with this raspy acoustic slow jam, per se; it's just not as emotive or memorable as the highlights on Lipa's first record.

8. “Dreams”

Same goes for "Dreams," which has an adequately energetic vibe but nothing compared to, say, "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)."

7. “New Love”

One of the first songs Lipa ever released, "New Love" does a great job at showing off Lipa's robust vocals but a not so great job at sticking in your head.

6. “No Goodbyes”

"No Goodbyes" is a pretty song, sure, but, again, I just have a hard time remembering it when Lipa has so many slammers in her catalog.

5. “Boys Will Be Boys”

Like "Good in Bed," "Boys Will Be Boys" is also jarring on Future Nostalgia—not for its sound but its sentiment. It's a very serious song about the innate differences between men and women. That's a great, powerful statement to make, but it's a bit off in the context of this album, which up until "Boys Will Be Boys," is a full-on dance party about frothier topics.

4. “No Lie” with Sean Paul

Lipa adopts a bit of a reggae-tinged accent on this tropical pop track, which in itself is just off.

3. “High” with Whethan

This sexed-up song from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack never really takes off and has a beat drop that's too muffled to properly enjoy.

2. “Room for 2”

"Room for 2" is one of the few songs Lipa didn't perform on her 2017 tour, and there's a reason for that. It's simply too damn sleepy, with a chorus that, sorry, sounds like a creepy children's nursery rhyme.

1. “My Love” with Wale, Major Lazer and Wiz Kid

The biggest crime here is that Lipa gets lost in the shuffle of her collaborators. That, and the fact the track is generic unz-unz fare. She has far better club songs. (Please see: My entire "best" list.)

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Originally Appeared on Glamour