Numb on the Dancefloor

### Producer

Dua Lipa (exec.) • SG Lewis (exec.) • James Ford • Nile Rodgers • Gorgon City • Madison Beer

## Singles from Numb on the Dancefloor

1. "Night Moves"
Released: November 5, 2021

2. "Love is the Language"
Released: November 19, 2021

3. "Freed from Desire"
Released: November 26, 2021

4. "Echoes"
Released: December 3, 2021

5. "Won't Waste Another Tear"
Released: April 8, 2022

6. "Feel You More"
Released: April 15, 2022

***Numb on the Dancefloor*** is the debut studio album by English singer Dua Lipa, released on December 3rd, 2021 through Universal Music Group and Atlantic Records. Inspired by club music from the 1990s, Lipa enlisted writers and producers such as SG Lewis and James Ford in order to create a throwback house record with influences from electronic music, inspired by the music that Lipa enjoyed during her childhood. The album debuted at number 1 on the *Billboard Top Albums Chart* as well as all minor charts, making it Lipa's first to do so.

## Background

After the release of her debut EP *Overdrive*, Dua Lipa wanted to do something completely different for her first full-length album. Taking inspiration from club music and the 1990s, Lipa began working on *Numb on the Dancefloor* in early 2021. She confirmed the new era with the release of "Night Moves" in November.

Due to *Overdrive* being comprised of demos from 2016, Lipa was able to begin work on *Numb on the Dancefloor* in early 2021. The first thing she figured out for the record was its sound and title, creating a solid base to later write songs on. She challenged herself to make timeless music could sit alongside hits from the 1990s. The majority of the album was written and recorded in a six-month period, having sessions with executive producer SG Lewis weekly.

## Composition

*Numb on the Dancefloor* takes musical inspiration from the 1990s club music, borrowing elements and influences from house, deep house, and future house, as well as funk and dance-pop. The album is mixed as a full-length non-stop experience, with each track flowing into the next seamlessly.

### Songs

The album's opening track "Limelight" is a house song packed with heavy beats and synths throughout. It takes its time as it flows from one section to the other, introducing new elements slowly. It breaks away from the general structure of a pop song, it's a stream of consciousness that sees Dua thriving as the center of attention. It fades down before the track flows seamlessly into "Feel You More", featuring an intro with Dua's layered vocals and ambience sounds. This quickly changes into an upbeat track, bouncy and flirty. The track speaks of desperation for being near someone else, to stop her from feeling numb on the dancefloor, earning the album its title. "Echoes" twists the album's sound, grabbing elements from the previous track and distorting them. It's filled with processed vocals that echo Dua and Jennie as they sing interchangeably. The track is loosely inspired by greek mythology, speaking of a relationship where one half is so self-involved they can't pay attention to the other, only catching glimpses. It samples “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” by Eiffel 65.

"Pressure" finds Dua in a playful state, teasing her partner in a sensual, flirty manner. It's the first track on the record to feature a deep house production, with its signature piano and dry beats. It transitions into "Won't Waste Another Tear", where Dua reminisces on a past relationship gone badly, promising herself to avoid that at all costs. It's a bright house track, with a catchy melody and chorus. As the song comes to its end, it suddenly speeds up and transitions into "Freed from Desire", featuring an extended intro that then flows into the signature synth melody of the song. It's the danciest moment on the record, with a live sound to its production as a reference to the original track.

It follows into "Pure Emotion", which continues the euphoric state of the previous track and drives it to the maximum. The song is minimal in lyrics, focusing its entirety on the instrumental section in between Dua's short verses. It sees her in a state of bliss, completely uncaring of anything around her. Slowing things down but not taking any energy away, "Surrender" is a dark future house song, featuring elastic, metallic production. Dua and Madison sing in unison, switching places between lead and backing vocals, as they command their subject to give into their desires. "Echoes, Pt. II" is a reprise of the same track, chopping vocals from it to turn the narrative of the relationship into a look of the narcissistic side of it. Instead of hearing clear vocals, we hear distorted echoes of the original track.

"Love is the Language" is similar to its single edit, but extends various sections of it to create an anthemic version of the track. It features added vocals and choirs behind Dua, adding depth to the song. Its extended outro features elements of the following track, "With Every Beat", a sensual song that finds Dua on the dancefloor, boasting about her synchronization with her dancing partner, moving like one body. The final track of the album, "Night Moves", is heavily changed from its single edit. In this version, the second half of the song is completely new, featuring unique elements from all the previous tracks including chopped vocals. It takes the energy of the song to unheard places, giving the record a truly worthy ending. The track finishes with a fade-out that morphs into noises from outside the club once again, as Dua exits it.

## Art direction

The cover artwork of Numb on the Dancefloor was shot by French photographer, Hugo Comte, who also handled the creative direction associated with the album's campaign. The photoshoot for the album was held inside a packed club, for a truly genuine feel. Comte had the record on repeat during the shoot and let everyone dance, taking candid shots of Lipa and the scene, giving the entire shoot a hazy look. Lipa wanted the record's artwork to reflect the feeling of the record, perfectly capturing the blissful chaos of dancing in a crowd. The album's booklet extends on this philosophy, containing various shots of Dua in the crowd, but also outside the club, and performing for an audience.

## Release and Promotion

*Numb on the Dancefloor* was first announced with the release of "Night Moves", as Lipa confirmed it to be the lead single for her upcoming album. The record had an extensive promotional campaign through its singles, before she announced an "album reveal" happening on November 29, 2021 on her social media accounts. She revealed the title and artwork together, and the tracklist later in the day, track by track. Throughout the week she promoted the record by revealing the physical editions, including a double vinyl, a cassette, a hardbook CD, and a signed poster. Exclusive to physical editions, "Ghosts" acts as a hidden track mixed into "Night Moves".

On April 1, 2022, Lipa announced the album would be reissued with the "Unmixed Edition", opting out of a seamless experience and instead mixing each track individually. Previously available exclusively as a hidden track, "Ghosts" was released digitally as part of this edition. As part of the promotional campaign, Lipa partnered with Spotify to create an artist hub dedicated to the record in both of its edition.

### Singles

The album has spawned four singles so far. Single edits of all singles have been issued to radio as the album tracks can be long, usually with shorter length and sometimes a different production on select tracks. "Night Moves" was released on November 5, 2021, as the album's lead single, attaining both critical and commercial success. It's Lipa's biggest hit, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot Singles Chart. "Love is the Language" acted as the album's second single, releasing on November 19, 2021. It became Lipa's first number-one single. "Freed from Desire", a cover of the song by Gala, was released on November 26th, 2021 as the album's first promotional single. The record's third single, "Echoes" with Jennie was released along with the album on December 3rd, 2021. The album's fourth single, "Won't Waste Another Tear" was released on April 8th, 2022 and reached #4 on the charts. As the second promotional single, and the album's final single, "Feel You More" was released on April 15th, 2022.

"Night Moves""Love is the Language""Freed from Desire"
"Echoes""Won't Waste Another Tear""Feel You More"
## Critical Reception

Upon release, *Numb on the Dancefloor* received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised the art and sound direction inspired by the 1990s. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from publications, the album has a weighted score of 77 based on 3 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim", this made *Numb on the Dancefloor* the third highest rated album of all time in the platform at the time of its release. Critics pointed singles "Night Moves" and "Echoes" out as a highlight.

## Commercial Performance

*Numb on the Dancefloor* debuted at number 1 on the *Billboard Top Albums Chart,* also topping all minor charts on release, making it Lipa's first album to do so. Its lead single, "Night Moves", debuted at number 3 in the *Billboard Hot Singles Chart* and stayed in the top 10 for two following weeks, it has accumulated 288.07 chart points, which makes it Dua's biggest single. "Love is the Language" debuted at #2 before rising to #1, becoming Lipa's first number-one single. The record's third single "Echoes" debuted at #2.

## Track Listing

***Numb on the Dancefloor*** - Mixed Edition

***Numb on the Dancefloor*** - Unmixed Edition

### Notes

* "Echoes" samples elements from "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" from Eiffel 65
* "Freed from Desire" is a cover of the song of the same name by Gala