# Houdini (Dua Lipa song)

"Houdini" is a song by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was released on 9 November 2023 through Warner Records, as the lead single from Lipa's third studio album, Radical Optimism (2024). The song was produced by Danny L Harle and Kevin Parker. Lipa co-wrote the song with Harle, Parker, Caroline Ailin and Tobias Jesso Jr.
"Houdini" was met with critical acclaim by music critics, who praised the sonic evolution from her previous album Future Nostalgia (2020). Commercially, the song peaked at number one in the Flanders and Wallonia regions of Belgium. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and the top 10 in various countries, including Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and France. In the United States, the song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Dance/Electronic Songs chart for 17 weeks. "Houdini" also peaked at number three on the Billboard Global 200. It became both a critical and commercial success.
The song and music video won multiple awards, including Top Dance/Electronic Song at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards, and Best Choreography at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

## Background and release

In 2023, Lipa announced that her upcoming third studio album would be released sometime in 2024. She shared that she had embraced 1970s-era psychedelia by working with Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, also hinting that the album would see a shift from the disco-influenced sound of Future Nostalgia. "Houdini" began as a demo produced by Parker sometime in or before November 2022. After hearing a snippet of the track, Lipa began writing the lyrics with Caroline Ailin before finalizing it with Parker in January 2023. Ailin, Lipa, Parker, Danny L Harle, and Tobias Jesso Jr. all share writing credits on the song.
In May 2023, Lipa released "Dance the Night" as the lead single from the soundtrack for Greta Gerwig's film, Barbie in which she also made her acting debut. The song peaked at number one in the UK and reached the top 10 in the US, Australia, Germany, France, Canada, and various other countries. After having deleted all of her Instagram posts in October 2023, Lipa posted a picture of herself with red hair captioned "miss me?". On 27 October, she shared a close-up picture of a key between her teeth, accompanied by the phrase "catch me or I go". In anticipation of the song, Lipa replaced the cover art of her previous albums with kaleidoscopic versions on streaming services.
Lipa posted a teaser of the song on her social media on 31 October 2023, hinting at the song title in the post. A rearranged combination of numbers would spell out the title "Houdini", named after escape artist Harry Houdini. Fans of Lipa also drew parallels to English singer Kate Bush's 1982 song of the same name, who also references Houdini by presenting a key in her mouth on the cover of her album The Dreaming (1982). The following day, she announced that the song would be released on 9 November 2023 and made it available for pre-order and pre-save via her website and various streaming services.

## Live performances

Dua Lipa released a live recording of the song titled London Sessions for digital download and streaming on 12 January 2024. A music video of the live performance was released on YouTube the same day.
She first performed the song on live television at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on 4 February 2024, along with "Dance the Night" and her then-upcoming single, "Training Season".

## Critical reception

"Houdini" was met with widespread critical acclaim from music critics. Helen Brown from The Independent gave the song five out of five stars, mentioning that although "there's some daftness in the lyrics, (...) pop is no place for pedantry —especially not when it comes to a singer whose lockdown hit, 'Levitating', saw her laughing in the face of gravity". Rhian Daly from NME gave the song four out of five stars, writing that "while she might be switching up her sonic palette, there's one thing you can rely on Dua to be consistent with —giving us confidence-filled bops that help us unlock the best versions of ourselves, even if just for three minutes".
Betsy Reed from The Guardian also gave the song four out of five stars, stating that "it's ferociously catchy without being bludgeoning, and does a more convincing job of combining her appreciation for vintage sonics with diamond-tooled pop songwriting than Future Nostalgia did. For Lipa, being a pop star clearly is still the main event, and 'Houdini' suggests no threat to her dominance". Variety's Jem Aswad declared the song a "banger" and "both a progression from and a continuation of Future Nostalgia", describing it as "more melodically nuanced" than her prior album's singles. Similarly, Kaelen Bell of Exclaim! shared that the song retained Dua Lipa's disco-pop sensibilities yet was "sweatier and grimier than the neon-lit enormity of 'Levitating' and 'Don't Start Now.'"
Writing for Clash, Robin Murray said that the song is "Dua Lipa doing what she does best —a gleaming, sun-drenched pop star who yearns to dominate huge spaces." Writing for Pitchfork, Shaad D'Souza mentioned that the song "doesn't reinvent the wheel: Lipa taunts a man into proving he deserves her attention, squarely in the brazen, invulnerable Future Nostalgia mode. But production from Kevin Parker and Danny L Harle provides some of the drive and loony spark that was missing from Lipa's club tracks thus far".

### Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings of "Houdini" :
| Publication | List | Rank |
| NME | The 50 Best Songs of 2023 | 31 |
| Rolling Stone | The 100 Best Songs of 2023 | 36 |
| USA Today | Best Songs of 2023 | — |

## Music video

The music video for "Houdini" was directed by Manu Cossu and released alongside the song. It is set in a dance studio, where a redheaded Lipa performs a choreography with a group of redheaded male dancers. According to Vogue, the video appears to be a reference to the video for "Hung Up" (2005) by Madonna. The music video won Best Choreography at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

## Credits and personnel

These credits are adapted from YouTube.
* Dua Lipa – vocals, songwriting, lyrics, melodies
* Kevin Parker – backing vocals, songwriting, production, arrangement, engineering, programming, bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, percussion, sound effects
* Danny L Harle – backing vocals, songwriting, production, arrangement, synthesizer, drum programming
* Caroline Ailin – backing vocals, songwriting, vocal production, lyrics, melodies
* Tobias Jesso Jr. – backing vocals, songwriting, melodies
* Cameron Gower Pool – vocal production, engineering
* Josh Gudwin – mixing
* Chris Gehringer – mastering

## Certifications

Certifications for "Houdini" :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | 2× Platinum | 140,000$^‡$ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria) | Gold | 15,000$^‡$ |
| Belgium (BEA) | Platinum | 40,000$^‡$ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | 3× Platinum | 240,000$^‡$ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | Gold | 45,000$^‡$ |
| France (SNEP) | Diamond | 333,333$^‡$ |
| Germany (BVMI) | Gold | 300,000$^‡$ |
| Italy (FIMI) | Platinum | 100,000$^‡$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 30,000$^‡$ |
| Poland (ZPAV) | 3× Platinum | 150,000$^‡$ |
| Portugal (AFP) | 2× Platinum | 20,000$^‡$ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | Platinum | 60,000$^‡$ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) | Platinum | 30,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Platinum | 600,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

## Release history

Release dates and formats for "Houdini" :
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Version | Label |
| Various | 9 November 2023 | Digital downloadstreaming | Original | Warner |
| France | 10 November 2023 | Radio airplay | Original | Warner |
| Italy | 10 November 2023 | Radio airplay | Original | Warner |
| United Kingdom | 13 November 2023 | CassetteCD | Original | Warner |
| United States | 13 November 2023 | Hot adult contemporary radio | Original | Warner |
| United States | 14 November 2023 | Contemporary hit radio | Original | Warner |
| Various | 1 December 2023 | Digital downloadstreaming | Extended edit | Warner |
| Various | 22 December 2023 | Digital downloadstreaming | Adam Port mix | Warner |
| Europe | 29 December 2023 | 7-inch singlecassetteCD | Originalinstrumental | Warner |
| United Kingdom | 29 December 2023 | 7-inch singlecassetteCD | Originalinstrumental | Warner |
| Various | 12 January 2024 | Digital downloadstreaming | London sessions | Warner |
| Various | 19 January 2024 | Digital downloadstreaming | Danny L Harle 'slowride' mix | Warner |
| United States | 2 February 2024 | 7-inch singlecassetteCD | Originalinstrumental | Warner |