[Dua Lipa] Maybe at some point in my career,
I'll be able to play a character
and come up with scenarios that allude somewhat to my life
but maybe aren't completely true.
But I have to write from things I know.
It's the only way I can truly express myself
and truly get a song that's very honest and real.
And so, for as long as I have stories,
then I'll be telling them.
[Hirway] Dua Lipa is a singer and songwriter from London
who started her music career when she was still a teenager.
In 2018, she won the BRIT Award for British Female Solo Artist,
and the next year, she won the Grammy for Best New Artist,
and her debut album went Platinum.
For her second album, Future Nostalgia,
she brought back collaborators she'd worked with before
to create a song set that looked back at where she'd come from
and looked forward to where she was headed.
But with the song "Love Again," the inspiration began
with how she was feeling right at that moment.
I'm Hrishikesh Hirway.
This is Song Exploder.
[intro theme music playing]
-Okay, well, we're rolling. -We are?
-We're ready to go. -Let's go.
So, okay…
Can you tell me about the day you began working on this track?
I was going through, like, a bunch of personal shit.
I don't know if I can swear on this.
[laughs] I was going through personal shit.
I was, like, running late and in such a kerfuffle,
and I just got into the studio, and I was like, "Okay,
maybe, you know, some things need to end,
and I need to manifest a new positive energy in my life."
Does it sound like I'm talking in code?
Because I'm clearly talking about a relationship and about love.
I was at a point in a long-term relationship with…
someone who was dishonest with me.
And I was, like, "I need to release from this, and this isn't, like…
healthy for me."
I see myself as such a strong woman.
But there were many moments where I found myself in positions
where I didn't even recognize myself.
When you're with someone and the relationship is so close
and you're together so long and then it's done,
it's like this is going to be impossible for me to find or get to a space
where I can say, "I'm in love again."
And Dua felt like she had lost her power.
[Dua] Coffee is an amazing songwriter who I've worked with
since I've really started writing songs.
Coffee is like my spiritual guiding light. We've always been there for each other,
especially when there's crazy love situations involved.
-[both singing] -She's family to me, so…
She was definitely going through some personal things,
and she really wanted to express it.
[Dua] Coffee was like, "Maybe we need to start putting that into a song."
-It just spilled itself out into the room. -[Dua] Yeah.
[playing synth sounds]
I went in early that morning,
and we hadn't really gotten anything the last couple days.
I said, "We need to get something cool."
Koz is always, like, my number-one man
that I love to have in the studio.
I feel we nailed the idea of what the record would sound like together.
And then we bring the bridge twice round, which I love.
We'd been talking about getting stuff that was a bit old.
♪ She's just a cosmic girl ♪
[Dua] Jamiroquai, Prince, Blondie…
♪ The tide is high But I'm holdin' on ♪
[Dua] A lot of my childhood influences are really songs and music
that my parents listened to.
I wanted to play on that feeling and create something
with, like, a fresh modern twist.
I was like, "Could I create a record
that builds on that memory, and I can make people feel
what I feel every time that I hear, like, 'Cosmic Girl' by Jamiroquai."
[Koz] I started playing with analog synths and came up with this chord progression.
It was pretty rudimentary.
And then the guitar riff on top and just a drum break throughout the song.
[drum beat playing]
This was kind of our initial track and how it all began.
[playing "Love Again" instrumental]
[Koz] And then acoustic guitars.
[imitating guitar rhythm]
Okay.
♪ I never thought That I would find a way out ♪
[Dua] Every time I work with Chelcee, songs always start on a guitar.
And Chelcee's so funny.
She's like, "Come on, let's do this song and go have a pint at the pub."
But more in a, like, Liverpudlian accent.
I'll just knock him when…
For me, any chance there is to get a drink,
I'm like, "Come on, let's have a break."
It doesn't sound good…
[Dua] I came in,
and they were mucking about on the guitar and going…
♪ Hot damn, think I'm in love ♪
[both] ♪ But hot damn ♪
♪ You've got me in love again ♪
I don't remember why we said it,
but I know she quick…
Dua quickly, quickly…
She was like, "No, we're not doing 'hot damn.'"
I was like, "We've gotta lose the 'hot damn.' It can't be that."
She's like, "No, fam, no. It's 'goddamn.'"
-♪ But goddamn ♪ -[man] That's way better.
♪ You got me in love again ♪
Yeah, I think so. I love the new verse as well.
[Grimes] My respect and my love for Dua
comes from the fact that she is a boss bitch.
Like… [laughs]
All right, let's do this.
-[Grimes] She's completely in control. -[Dua] ♪ Show me ♪
She's not closed off at all.
[Dua] For me, I love that energy,
when you know people that you feel comfortable around,
that I can be honest and talk about things that are very personal to me.
And I know it won't leave those four walls
unless it's in the form of a song.
…and then goes middle eight and then that post comes back.
Dua comes from a place of honesty.
She does wear her heart on her sleeve, so to speak.
It's a confusing line, but I love it.
"You've got me in love again," like everyone feels that.
You know, you have a breakup…
You think, "I'll never feel that way again."
We started the song, and the conversation was the song.
[Dua] It was about, "You got me in love again
at times when I felt like I couldn't even be myself."
I didn't know whether I was talking to myself,
whether I was talking to someone else, but it was very much an invitation.
I thought that if I write about it, it might just happen.
But I guess to begin with, we had one verse.
♪ I never thought That I would find a way out ♪
♪ I never thought I'd hear my heart beat so loud ♪
♪ I can't believe there's something left In my chest anymore ♪
Then it went into…
♪ I can't believe I finally found someone ♪
♪ I can't believe, I can't believe I finally found someone ♪
♪ I'll sink my teeth in disbelief ♪
♪ 'Cause you're the one that I want ♪
♪ I can't believe there's somethin' left Inside my chest anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
I immediately knew I wanted it on the record.
But it wasn't in your…
classic song format,
which is like verse, pre,
hook, verse, pre, hook, middle 8 hook, you know?
It was all jumbled up, but it felt good at the time.
I was like, "Maybe it doesn't need to be in that format. Fuck it."
[Koz] I was reading the Studio 54 book at the time.
I was picturing back to Donna Summer,
where it had the drama off the top of the song.
It builds, and then it has one of those… [imitates melody]
And then it goes into the song.
So, luckily, my neighbor is an amazing violinist
and all-around good guy,
-Drew Jurecka. -[playing sorrowful melody]
[Dua] Koz sent me a version with the strings.
I said, "My God, it's so dramatic. I love it."
[plays exciting riff]
[Dua] Strings give a song such a richness and so much elegance behind it
that, when you're about to begin such a funk-driven song,
it's almost unexpected.
It felt like it would be a great moment on the record.
I was like, "Okay, this is perfect. This is really fun."
[playing fast melody]
It still needed a little bit of work, but I couldn't quite tell what it was.
-It's pretty tough. -[Grimes] Yeah.
[Koz] We were in the studio one night,
and Coffee started singing that riff over top of it, right?
Like… [imitates riff]
[vocalizing melody]
[laughs] Like, "Is this Star Wars or something?"
[continues vocalizing melody]
[playing same melody]
[Dua] It's a 1930s trumpet track by Al Bowlly.
[Grimes] The sample, classic.
Classic.
A bit haunted also, that's what I loved about it.
Bit of eerie, kind of spooky…
I loved it. I said, "We should put it in."
I was just like, "Oh, that fits like a glove."
It's a great idea to go, "We'll throw a sample in the song after the fact."
But the song is a completely different key.
So when you put it in, it doesn't work because it sounds completely out of tune.
It was such a nightmare to put that in the song, to make it work.
I just tried every different pitch correction thing.
I was just pulling my hair out.
I was like, "Oh, my God." [groans]
But, I made it work.
["Love Again" melody playing]
The sample was actually used in 1997…
["Your Woman" playing]
…by White Town on their song, "Your Woman."
It's a great sample. It takes me to two different eras.
[melody playing]
Like this '20s, '30s glamour, art deco, kind of thing.
Then also like on a '90s slacker vibe.
I love when music constantly reinvents itself.
So the song was done, but I think we did spend quite some time
trying to get the structure of it right.
[Koz] This song, in particular, was not obvious.
We were changing arrangements right up to the final mix. [laughs]
Putting this here, putting that there.
It's hard 'cause it's a weird…
It's one of those where the parts are quite undefined, you know?
-We don't really know-- -When we wrote them, they were just parts.
-I was like, "I don't know." -It was…
[Dua] For some reason, I had this crazy idea.
I was like, "You know, maybe we should just completely re-jig it and do…"
♪ I can't believe, I can't believe ♪
I said, "Why doesn't that become our chorus?"
I was like, "This will be great. This will be amazing."
There were so many versions. She'd be like, "Put it back to the demo."
[Dua] I was so adamant that was gonna work.
I was like, "Let me live with it."
After three days, I called him, "This definitely won't work."
♪ So many nights My tears fell harder than rain ♪
♪ Scared I would take my broken heart To the grave ♪
♪ I'd rather die Than have to live in a storm like before ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
For my first record, I felt like the easiest thing for me to do
was draw from sad feelings
or things that made me upset.
Moody.
Moody as fuck, mate. [chuckles]
When I first started writing, I was like, "Heartbreak, I can write about that."
But I never wanted to just write ballads or slow songs
or just, like, cry or whatever. I love dancing.
["Love Again" playing]
It was like putting the two together.
Then I was like, "It's dance-crying."
[song continues]
[Koz] The Future Nostalgia idea…
She wanted it to feel like two worlds blending together.
Kind of sad but hopeful at the same time.
[Dua] I think that's got a lot to do with my upbringing
and feeling like I belong in two places but, at the same time, nowhere at all.
I moved around so much. Born and raised in London.
I moved to Kosovo at the age of 11 and then back to London when I was 15.
I'm so grateful for my dual nationality.
It's probably why I'm so obsessed
-with juxtaposition and duality. -[cheering]
Making happy sad songs or dance-crying songs.
I thrive the most when I'm playing with two emotions at the same time.
Where did you record your vocals?
I did my vocals at RAK Studios in London.
So we will start…
at the very beginning.
I went in with my vocal producer, Lorna.
-I just got that melody-- -Mary Poppin queen.
Mary Poppins queen.
She helps me visualize emotions.
There are parts, although they're sad, she's like, "Sing it with a smile."
♪ Goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
[Lorna] Yes.
♪ I used to think That I was made out of stone ♪
♪ I used to spend so many nights On my own ♪
♪ I never knew I had it in me To dance anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
Can you hear the smile in your voice?
I can, because the "goddamn" is more like "God damn."
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
[Lorna] Good…
So the smile helps you get to that point.
♪ I never thought That I would find a way out ♪
[Koz] Dua has the most amazing timbre.
♪ Never thought I'd hear my heartbeat so loud ♪
It's just so instantly recognizable.
♪ I can't believe there's somethin' left In my chest anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn… ♪
[Koz] It's just so deep.
I love when it gets high too. It breaks up.
[on recording] ♪ Show me That Heaven's right here, baby ♪
It's not too nice, not a perfect pop voice,
but it is a perfect pop voice. [laughs]
[vocalizing]
My talking voice, even in, like, little kids videos,
it's almost like I smoked cigarettes my whole life.
Just like from a kid's…
-[Dukajin Lipa] Who's Dua P? -Dua Lipa.
[singing in Albanian]
When I was about nine years old,
I'd go to a theater school every Saturday.
[continues singing]
My singing teacher was like, "Whoa, your voice is really low."
[continues singing]
You know, as a kid, sometimes you'd get bullied or picked on
or "man voice" or whatever.
But that was fine, and it made me stronger.
[backup singers] ♪ Show me That Heaven's right here, baby ♪
♪ Touch me so I know I'm not crazy ♪
♪ Never have I ever met Somebody like you… ♪
That's the trifecta.
You can hear a bit of Chelcee's voice and a bit of Coffee.
[both] ♪ You got me in love again ♪
[Dua] Always great to sprinkle vocals in.
♪ You got me in love again ♪
-♪ And again, and again ♪ -♪ And again, and again, and again ♪
-Oh, my God. -Yes.
[Dua] It's what makes the song so special.
["Love Again" playing]
There's a lyric in there, "I sink my teeth in disbelief."
♪ I sink my teeth in disbelief 'Cause you're the one that I want ♪
I felt so many emotions at that point
that I really felt like I was taking a bite.
It was so visual for me.
Like the crust of the universe, and I was like, "This is so tasty,
and I can feel everything and every emotion,"
and my body was, like, ringing.
I describe moments before I go onstage
almost like that.
Because you're so excited, and you can't wait to go out,
and you're almost, like, so nervous that you might be sick.
It's so fun, and it's, like, that whole rush of adrenaline.
-["Love Again" playing] -♪ I can't believe, I can't believe ♪
♪ I finally found someone ♪
♪ I'll sink my teeth in disbelief ♪
♪ 'Cause you're the one that I want ♪
♪ I can't believe there's somethin' left In my chest anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn ♪
♪ You got me in love again ♪
[audience cheers]
Coffee and Chelcee were a bit questioning me on my decision for this.
Can't remember exactly who was fighting against this line.
But… [chuckles]
Yeah, uh, Dua fought really hard for that line.
I said, "I'm really sorry."
"I don't know if you love it or hate it,
but this is one thing I have to keep because it was a feeling."
When Dua hears something that, like, gives her that feeling,
Dua's gonna go with it.
♪ I never thought That I would find a way out ♪
Right at the end of the bridge, we added two extra beats.
We wanted to build that moment where you could suck the energy out…
♪ something left in my chest anymore… ♪
…and then have that big string run back in…
♪ You got me in love again ♪
…and let it explode again, that dramatic hit.
It's all about the drama, babes. [laughs]
It's one of the cool things about working with Dua,
is you're allowed to do that.
It's a pop project with real artistic ambition.
[song continues playing]
[Hirway] Tell me about these vocals.
♪ You got me in love again ♪
The last thing I kind of do on tracks is ad-libs.
♪ Again, and again And again, and again, and again ♪
Sometimes I get nervous, like, "I'm gonna go off-pitch."
I get scared to just, like, let my voice go.
But when I'm in the booth with the headphones on,
and I've got all that reverb, it's like in a school bathroom.
You're like, "The acoustics are amazing in here!"
And whatever you sing will sound great.
♪ You got me in love again Again ♪
Having written this song, has it served a purpose in your life
beyond the context of music?
To be able to go into the studio and be that vulnerable
and open up about that experience was hard in itself.
But I felt so much strength in myself
that I was able to use music in a way to aid me to feel better.
This was a moment in my life that I thought I could never break out of.
I feel like during the whole process of creating this song,
I went through so many different chapters in my life.
I learned so much about myself.
It was important for me to be able to put it down onto paper
and tell myself the things that I needed to hear.
Find, like, the dance in me when I thought that I could never dance again.
["Love Again" playing]
It's finally finding that…
person, that thing, that moment in your life
that fills you with so much pride, strength, and confidence
that you're like, "I can do this."
Finally, I'm in love again.
It's all those endorphins, that excitement, the butterflies.
[song continues playing]
♪ You got me in love again ♪
♪ Again, and again, and again And again, and again ♪
[audience cheers]
[Dua] "Love Again" is very much a testament to the strength and the fire
that I feel like I had that needed to be found again.
And for that, I'm really grateful.
[Hirway] And now, here's "Love Again" by Dua Lipa, in its entirety.
["Love Again" playing]
♪ I never thought That I would find a way out ♪
♪ I never thought I'd hear my heartbeat so loud ♪
♪ I can't believe there's somethin' left In my chest anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
♪ I used to think That I was made out of stone ♪
♪ I used to spend so many nights On my own ♪
♪ I never knew I had it in me To dance anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
♪ Show me that Heaven's right here, baby ♪
♪ Touch me so I know I'm not crazy ♪
♪ Never have I ever met Somebody like you ♪
♪ Used to be afraid of love And what it might do ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
♪ You got me in love again ♪
♪ Again ♪
♪ So many nights My tears fell harder than rain ♪
♪ Scared I would take my broken heart To the grave ♪
♪ I'd rather die Than have to live in a storm like before ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
♪ Show me that Heaven's right here, baby ♪
♪ Touch me so I know I'm not crazy ♪
♪ Never have I ever met Somebody like you ♪
♪ Used to be afraid of love And what it might do ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
♪ You got me in love again ♪
♪ Again ♪
♪ I can't believe, I can't believe ♪
♪ I finally found someone ♪
♪ I'll sink my teeth in disbelief ♪
♪ 'Cause you're the one that I want ♪
♪ I can't believe, I can't believe ♪
♪ I'm not afraid anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
♪ I never thought That I would find a way out ♪
♪ I never thought I'd hear my heartbeat so loud ♪
♪ I can't believe there's somethin' left In my chest anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn ♪
♪ You got me in love again ♪
♪ I can't believe, I can't believe ♪
♪ I finally found someone ♪
♪ I'll sink my teeth in disbelief ♪
♪ 'Cause you're the one that I want ♪
♪ I can't believe there's somethin' left Inside my chest anymore ♪
♪ But goddamn, you got me in love again ♪
♪ You got me in love again ♪
♪ Again, and again, and again And again, and again ♪
[song ends]
["Love Again" instrumental playing]