"New Love" is the debut single by English-Albanian singer

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

from her self-titled debut studio album (2017). It was written by Lipa and its producers

Emile Haynie Emile Haynie (born July 13, 1980), often credited simply as Emile, is an American music producer from Buffalo, New York. His range of production includes alternative rock, hip hop, indie and pop music. Haynie has worked with several prominent ar ...

and

Andrew Wyatt Andrew Wyatt Blakemore is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, he began his career playing in New York bands such as The A.M. and Black Beetle. He gained wider notability as the frontman ...

about the singer's struggle to find her place in the music industry. The song is a

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

with

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

and R&B elements as well as a stomping, tribal

drum beat A drum beat or drum pattern is a rhythmic pattern, or repeated rhythm establishing the meter and groove through the pulse and subdivision, played on drum kits and other percussion instruments. As such a "beat" consists of multiple drum strokes o ...

throughout. Several

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

complimented the song's showcase of Lipa's vocals. Despite receiving limited attention upon its independent release on 21August 2015, "New Love" became popular among music tastemakers and helped Lipa receive a longlisting in

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's Sound of... critics poll for 2016. Photographer Nicole Nodland directed the music video which is a montage of filtered footage of Lipa in Los Angeles doing activities she enjoys. The song was performed during three of the singer's concert tours, the most recent being the Self-Titled Tour in 2017 and 2018.

Background and composition

co-wrote "New Love" with

and

. At the time, Lipa went into many failed writing sessions trying to recreate her track " Hotter than Hell" and it was only after this transpired that she wrote "New Love". She wrote the song about being undecided on her sound and message in a music industry that "often seems to neither want nor need you." According to Lipa, the track is about "facing the fear of losing the only thing that matters to you." Both Haynie and Wyatt handled the production. The song was written in New York and the vocals were recorded at TaP Studio / Strongroom 7 in London. The mixing was handled by

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

at Larrabee North Studios in

Universal City, California Universal City is an unincorporated area within the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Approximately 415 acres (1.7 km) within and around the surrounding area is the property of Universal Picture ...

while it was mastered at London's

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor and Karin Clayton.Donald Brackett It is located in the Powerhouse, a Grade II listed building, at 70 Chiswick High Roa ...

by John Davis. Musically, "New Love" is a

with

and R&B elements. The song runs for 4minutes and 31seconds and has a structure of

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

, refrain,

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

, verse, refrain, bridge, chorus,

middle eight The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

, bridge, chorus. It is composed in time and the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

, with a syncopated pop

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 90beats per minute. The verses have a Dmaj7–E

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

, while the chorus follows an Amaj7–Dmaj7–Bm–E sequence. The song has a stomping, tribal

throughout and Lipa's deep, full-throated vocal is stretched in the production to feintly echo. The verses build to a climax before cutting to a simpler chorus. The singer cascades around the track's two-word title and uses

melisma Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referr ...

in the chorus. Her

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

spans from E₃ to C₅.

Release and promotion

"New Love" was premiered online by New York City magazine ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' on 20August 2015. It was released the following day for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

by the singer's

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Dua Lipa Limited, as her debut single. Recalling her decision to release the single, Lipa said: "When I showed 'New Love' to people, they'd say, 'Oh, I didn't expect that'. I loved that reaction, so I went with it." Remixes by Jarreau Vandal and

Para One Jean-Baptiste de Laubier (born 2 April 1979), known professionally as Para One, is a French electronic music producer and film director. Music career Laubier first came to prominence as one of the main producers of French rap group TTC, and ...

were released on 29January 2016. The latter's remix makes use of

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...

noodling and

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

streaks that give it a subtle

G-funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Characte ...

feel, while Lipa's vocals are converted into a

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

-style with R&B-pop hooks. "New Love" was first included on the Austria, Germany and Switzerland exclusive

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) for Lipa's single " Be the One" as the second track, released on 19February 2016.Citations regarding the "Be the One" digital EP release: * * * A live, shortened version of the song was released as the second track on Lipa's 8July 2016-released extended play ''Spotify Sessions''. It is also included on Lipa's

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland the United Arab Emirates, Kuw ...

-exclusive vinyl extended play ''The Only'', released on 21April 2017 serving as the fifth and final track. "New Love" serves as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from Lipa's self-titled debut studio album, released as the deluxe edition's fifteenth track on 2June 2017. It was originally intended to be placed as the seventh track on the standard edition of the album, and appears in that position on the Austrian, German and Swiss version of the album. Lipa gave her first live performance of "New Love" at

Eurosonic Noorderslag Eurosonic Noorderslag is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the festival (N ...

in the Netherlands on 13January 2016. It was included in the set lists for Lipa's 2016 UK Tour and Hotter than Hell Tour, accompanied by two keyboardists and a drummer. She also performed the track at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

on 30July 2016, her Mother Teresa Square concert in Albania on 10August 2016, and at the SWR3 New Pop Festival in Germany on 16September 2016. During the Self-Titled Tour in 2017 and 2018, Lipa performed the song backed only by a guitarist.

Reception

In contrast to her later singles, "New Love" received limited attention. However, it proved popular among music tastemakers and helped Lipa receive a longlisting in

's Sound of... critics poll for 2016. '' The 405'' named it "a contender for the strongest debut of 2015." Courtney Buck, a reviewer from the publication, found the production "strangely haunting", but cited Lipa's vocals as "the star of the show". Chris Martins of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' felt the production was "wisely restrained enough to cede the stage to Lipa's incredible pipes, capable of belting hooks and seeping seduction in equal measure." Caroline Sullivan wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' that the singer showcased a "smoke-darkened voice older and more disillusioned than her years." Jocasta Jones of ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' called Lipa's vocals "beautiful". For ''

'', Lindsey Weber saw "New Love" as "surprisingly heavy" and called the lyrics as "resentful, nostalgic, and always ready for a change". She went on to praise Lipa's "throaty and mature" voice, comparing it to that of

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

. ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

''s Catherine Elliott deemed it an "absolute blinding pop song" and "a welcomed relief to all of the over styled, plastic tackiness of mainstream pop." Writing for ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'', Laurence Day viewed the song as "a sizzling piece of rhythmic synthpop", while ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''s Thomas Smith named it a "trippy,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

-tinged ballad". In April 2020, Christopher Rosa of ''

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

'' ranked "New Love" as Lipa's seventh worst track criticizing its lack of longevity, but praising the song's showcase of Lipa's "robust" vocals.

Music video

Production and release

The music video for "New Love" was directed by photographer Nicole Nodland, who also shot the single's cover art. It was edited by Jackson Ducasse and filmed in

Super 8 film Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted 8& ...

format. The video was filmed in one day in Los Angeles. After Lipa expressed disappointment for a different track's postponed music video shoot, Nodland suggested to direct the clip for "New Love" during a dinner with the singer. As the video was a low-budget production, Lipa wrote her own treatment for it. Her styling was inspired by

1990s fashion Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a muc ...

and

vintage clothing Vintage clothing is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era, as recent as the 1990s. The term can also be applied in reference to second hand retail outlets, e.g. i''n vintage clothing store''. While the concept originated ...

. According to the singer, the concept involved activities she enjoys doing and alludes to "a life in the day of Dua Lipa". Some scenes were entirely improvised while Nodland and Lipa were driving through Los Angeles. Among these were the inflatable slide on

Melrose Avenue Melrose Avenue is a shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts at Santa Monica Boulevard, at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. It ends at Lucile Avenue in Silver Lake. Melrose runs north of Beve ...

which Lipa slid down before being charged to use it, and the white-suited men who were spontaneously asked to dance after Lipa spotted them taking pictures at

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

. The visual shortens the song's length to 3minutes and 59seconds. The music video premiered alongside the song on 20 August 2015 on ''The Fader''s website. It was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

the following day.

Synopsis and reception

The music video uses many colour and effect filters in the style of

psychedelic art Psychedelic art (also known as psychedelia) is art, graphics or visual displays related to or inspired by psychedelic experiences and hallucinations known to follow the ingestion of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and DMT. The word "p ...

. The video speed adapts to the tempo of the song with

slow motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use o ...

sequences playing during the chorus. Lipa is shown wandering carefree through a street and eating sweets that turn her mouth blue. At Tattoo Mania in Los Angeles,

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

drawings are tattooed on Lipa's thumbs as a tribute to New York City, her "favourite place in the world after London." In another scene, Lipa lights a cigarette from a candle on a birthday cake and swigs a jug of milk while shopping in a supermarket in a silk

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

. During other segments she is shown cycling in a red dress, blowing bubbles between two men, strolling with heart balloons, and twirling with sparklers. Writing for ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

'', Jamie Milton said the video "felt like a celebration in colourful, dynamic pop". Eoin Butler of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' described it as "like ''

The Big Lebowski ''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken i ...

'', just a little sexier."

Track listings

* Digital download and streaming # "New Love" – 4:31 * Digital download and streaming – remixes # "New Love" (Jarreau Vandal remix) – 4:01 # "New Love" (

remix) – 4:28

Personnel

vocals *

production *

mixing * Chris Galland mixing assistance * Ike Schultz mixing assistance * John Davis mastering

Release history

References

External links

* *
Lyrics of this song
at

MetroLyrics MetroLyrics was a website dedicated to song lyrics. It was founded in December 2002, and its database contained over one million songs by over 16,000 artists. Unlike other lyric websites, MetroLyrics places a warning on songs that contain expli ...

{{authority control 2010s ballads 2015 debut singles 2015 songs Dua Lipa songs Song recordings produced by Andrew Wyatt Song recordings produced by Emile Haynie Songs written by Dua Lipa Songs written by Emile Haynie Songs written by Andrew Wyatt Synth-pop ballads