if this album wasn't following future nostalgia, people would be much more kind imo. i think that there was also some misreporting about what it would sound like that let people down, but it's a solid album with top notch production.
i don't understand the criticism that the lyrics aren't personal enough. i don't need everything i listen to to be revealing/vulnerable and littered with proper nouns, especially if it's dance music. there is a spectrum of emotions expressed that is relatable, that's enough for me.
Totally agree! I've given it several spins. Dua does not seem like an artist interested in putting out a personal album. I really don't know why anyone would expect that from her.
Tbh either release a pure pop album or release confessional stuff to create a parasocial/parasitic relationship with your audience to shill them multiple vinyls.
fr everyone now expects some sad personal information written directly by the singer in question. it seems the industry and the general public forgot/expect every performer to be not just a songwriter but a songwriter who writes about their personal life. my personal theory is it's a taylor swift-effect. ever since she blew up it became expected/common for all performers to either magically know how to write songs or for their record company to give their artists fake songwriting credits for just being in the room or changing 4 words while other songwriters wrote the song
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Yeah people are being way harsh on it to the point that I think people will look back and say it’s underrated. If Houdini had been a bigger hit (which it should’ve been!) I think people would feel differently too.
Also want to add, that even as a fan of Taylor’s music I’m kinda over the whole meta narrative with every pop star. Like you really can’t separate Taylor, Beyonce, Ariana from their media narrative and personal lives anymore so I kinda like that Dua isn’t trying to do that and also isn’t so fixated on an entirely new “era” or “sound.”
Honestly, to me it's a little surprising that Houdini wasn't bigger because I do still quite like that one. It was a cute choice as a first single. I'm totally with her being just a popstar without the personal music, but I do think she has to release music more frequently if she's gonna do that. And she's gotta find a sound that feels more definitive. Something that makes us think "Only Dua could do that."
She also needs to fire her dad and get a team smart enough to fight for her album to not be released between the biggest stars in pop. The comparisons to Future Nostagia haven't helped her but the comparisons that inevitably happen when your album is released between Ariana, Beyonce, Taylor, and Billie don't help either.
if this album wasn't following future nostalgia, people would be much more kind imo. i think that there was also some misreporting about what it would sound like that let people down, but it's a solid album with top notch production.
i don't understand the criticism that the lyrics aren't personal enough. i don't need everything i listen to to be revealing/vulnerable and littered with proper nouns, especially if it's dance music. there is a spectrum of emotions expressed that is relatable, that's enough for me.
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we've gotten so used to artists writing from a confessional perspective that we just expect it from all of them, i guess.
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Also want to add, that even as a fan of Taylor’s music I’m kinda over the whole meta narrative with every pop star. Like you really can’t separate Taylor, Beyonce, Ariana from their media narrative and personal lives anymore so I kinda like that Dua isn’t trying to do that and also isn’t so fixated on an entirely new “era” or “sound.”
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She also needs to fire her dad and get a team smart enough to fight for her album to not be released between the biggest stars in pop. The comparisons to Future Nostagia haven't helped her but the comparisons that inevitably happen when your album is released between Ariana, Beyonce, Taylor, and Billie don't help either.
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THIS!!
I quite like the album - it's giving me exactly what I wanted. I don't know what people were expecting.
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