Dua Lipa’s New Album Will Touch On Her Breakup With Anwar Hadid

Dua Lipa’s next era is fully underway. After months of Instagram teasers, hair color changes, magazine cover interviews, and the arrival of lead single “Houdini,” the pop star is finally gearing up to release her long-awaited third studio record — a project that still lacks a name or release date yet, but we still know plenty about.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Lipa revealed a bunch of new info about the record, including the little tidbit that she was working on it during her 2021 break-up with Anwar Hadid, which means there are some songs about it on the project. She also describes the record as her “psychedelic-pop” tribute to the U.K.’s infamous rave scene, citing influences like Primal Scream and Massive Attack for its songs — which has already gotten us hype for what to expect.

Lipa’s upcoming record will be her first since 2020’s Future Nostalgia, which means it’s already on track to one of 2024’s highest anticipated releases. Ahead, we rounded up everything we know about project so far, including what songs are rumored to be on it, the people she’s working with, and more.

Does DL3 have a title?

While Lipa hasn’t revealed the official title yet, she does have one in mind. “It has a vision,” she told The Wall Street Journal in 2022. More recently, she told Rolling Stone she wasn’t “quite ready” to reveal it just yet, which means there’s a chance it’s already been changed.

What will the music sound like?

In early interviews, Lipa vaguely teased the sound of the album as “lightness” and “optimism,” though she’s now specified that the record will feature “psychedelic-pop-infused tribute to U.K. rave culture,” per RS. She cited U.K. trip-hop and rock bands Massive Attack and Primal Scream as major inspirations behind the record’s sound. “This record feels a bit more raw,” she said. “I want to capture the essence of youth and freedom and having fun and just letting things happen, whether it’s good or bad.”

RS writer Brittany Spanos, who’s heard the album, revealed that there are no ballads on the project, and that its sound channels Lipa’s upbringing in London going to British clubs and listening to rock radio mixes from Oasis and Blur to Moby and Gorillaz.

What are the themes of the record?

Like much of her oeuvre, dating and relationships will be major themes across the record.

According to Lipa, she was already working on the album during her 2021 break-up with Anwar Hadid, and though doesn’t write about him directly, does sing about moving on from a relationship and gaining closure with an ex. On one song, per RS, she calls her an ex’s new girlfriend “pretty” and even sings the lyrics, “I must have loved you more than I ever knew.… I’m not mad/I’m not hurt/You got everything you deserve.”

Per her collaborators, it seems like Lipa largely pulled from her everyday life to write the album. Songwriter Caroline Ailin, who’s helped co-write “Don’t Start Now” and “New Rules,” told RS that studio sessions with Lipa “always started with the truth.”

Who is Lipa working with for the album?

According to RS, Lipa reconnected with longterm collaborators and several new names to create the new album. One of those new names is Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, who worked on lead single “Houdini” and a slew of other tracks on the album. Parker ended up joining three more songwriters — Ailin, Danny L Harle (who frequently works with Charli XCX and Caroline Polachek), and Tobias Jesso Jr. — in the studio, where, together, they wrote eight of the record’s 11 tracks.

“After a while, we all just loosened up together,” Lipa told RS about being in the studio with her “band,” as she called them.

When is the album’s release date?

There’s no release date for the project (yet), but Lipa confirmed to the New York Times that album will drop sometime in 2024 — hopefully sooner rather than later.