Catch Her Or She’ll Go: A Closer Look at Dua Lipa’s “Houdini”
Written by Taylor Gabrovic
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
Since Dua Lipa released her 2020 sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, she has taken the world by storm. With a hit single with Rocketman, Elton John, and a Grammy-nominated song from Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” Lipa has been breaking records and making headlines consistently. But for Lipa, “just being a popstar isn't enough,” as The New York Times asserted in August of 2023. Lipa currently has a podcast for the BBC, a lifestyle newsletter, and a book club. She also had a minor acting role in Barbie. She has become known for her captivating disco goddess persona and pop anthems. Videos from her record-breaking world tour took platforms like TikTok by storm, but ever since the tour concluded, fans and onlookers have been yearning for Lipa’s third album. And on November 9, 2023, the world finally got a taste of what is to come for Lipa’s new era. Through collaborating with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Danny L Harle, Lipa has released a single that has not wholly rejected her previous brand and sound but refreshed it.
When explaining the story and inspiration behind the single, Lipa said, “This track represents the most light and freeing parts of my singledom.” She also stated that it is “very tongue in cheek, exploring the idea of whether someone is really worth my while or if I’ll ghost them in the end. You never know where something may take you, that’s the beauty of being open to whatever life throws your way.”
From the first few seconds of the song, it is clear that “Houdini” is a stronger, harder continuation of Future Nostalgia, especially with its powerful driving beat. Parker’s influence on the song’s production is abundantly clear, primarily through its emphasis on the 80s synthesizer. Some have even noted the similarities between the single and Tame Impala’s “Let It Happen.” However, the lyrics of the song are quintessentially Dua Lipa. With the alluring taunting, “Prove you got the right to please me/Everybody knows/Catch me or I go Houdini,” Lipa creates a powerful anthem. She also knowingly or unknowingly flips the eye-roll-inducing, stereotypical male line of “here for a good time, not a long time” by singing, “I’m not here for long/Catch me or I go Houdini/I come and I go.”
In tandem with the song's release, Lipa released a music video directed by Manu Cossu that perfectly matches the aesthetics and sound of the song. Cossu also worked alongside cinematographer André Chemetoff. The video opens in a grayscale mirrored dance studio where Lipa flaunts red, sweaty hair, a Dion Lee fishnet corset top, navy Martine Rose track pants, and Puma sneakers. While the video opens with Lipa dancing alone, background dancers appear and disappear throughout the video, perfectly aligning with the song's lyrics. All the while, Lipa is producing stunning visuals with her movements. Towards the video's conclusion, the lighting begins to strobe, and Lipa can be seen crowd surfing above the background dancers, which aligns well with the 80s nightclub aesthetic of the song. In the last seconds of the video, Lipa is shown alone in the studio attempting to catch her breath. Overall, the video is hugely evocative of the iconic ‘Maniac’ scene from the 1983 movie, “Flashdance.”
While no title or release date has been given for her third studio album, from this single alone, it is clear that while it will be reminiscent of her sophomore album, it will not be a copy but an evolution.