When came to visit the Tiny Desk, she had nothing to prove 鈥� and much to live up to. After all, , recorded in London in the aftermath of her 2020 blockbuster Future Nostalgia, still holds the record for the most-viewed Tiny Desk concert in history, her 130 million views surpassing even the likes of and .
Four years later, the pop superstar finally graced the actual Tiny Desk, this time armed with four warm and inviting songs from Radical Optimism. Arriving in the first half of this year 鈥� when the dominant storylines in music so often revolved around grievances and rivalries 鈥� Radical Optimism stood out for its comparatively sunny and forgiving takes on failed and failing relationships, seduction, new love and old wounds. And, of course, it dispensed a world-beating banger in 鈥淗oudini,鈥� which joins past Dua Lipa classics (鈥淣ew Rules,鈥� 鈥淟evitating,鈥� 鈥淒on鈥檛 Start Now鈥�) on her own personal Mount Rushmore.
Befitting an artist whose newest songs often reflect the pursuit of personal growth 鈥� see: 鈥淗appy for You鈥� 鈥� Lipa and her team breezed through the NPR 老夫子传媒 offices with a mix of low-drama professionalism and unmistakable warmth. We鈥檝e dealt with a lot of stars (and their teams) over the years, and as often as people ask us to dish about people who鈥檝e been difficult, we鈥檝e mostly accumulated stories of people who鈥檝e been lovely to have around. Even among all those, Lipa and her people stood out: They were kind, gracious, fun and game.
That shows up on camera, too, as you鈥檒l see here. This is joyful music, at a time when we could all use it.
SET LIST
- 鈥淭raining Season鈥�
- 鈥淭hese Walls鈥�
- 鈥淗appy for You鈥�
- 鈥淗辞耻诲颈苍颈鈥�
MUSICIANS
- Dua Lipa: vocals
- Matthew Carroll: bass
- Adam "Smiley" Wade: drums
- Alex Lanyon: guitar
- Georgie Ward: keys
- Ciara O鈥機onnor: vocals
- Naomi Scarlett: vocals
- Sophie Galpin: glockenspiel, vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producers: Bobby Carter, Stephen Thompson
- Director/Editor: Kara Frame
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Alant茅 Serene
- Audio Engineer: Tiffany Vera Castro
- Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Photographer: Grace Widyatmadja
- Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and 老夫子传媒: Keith Jenkins
Copyright 2024 NPR
