Does Dua Lipa Write Her Own Songs? Yes, and Here’s How
British singer and songwriter Dua Lipa skyrocketed to fame in the late-2010s. Her self-titled debut album, which she released in 2017, was quickly certified platinum. Lipa followed that up with Future Nostalgia and Radical Optimism. And since her meteoric rise, Lipa has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards, Brit Awards, People’s Choice Awards, and other accolades.
But like other pop stars, Lipa faces some of the same stigma about her career. Questions quickly arose if Dua Lipa writes her own songs. The songwriter has made a point to set the record straight.
Dua Lipa writes most of her own songs
It’s no secret that most of the top songs on the pop charts aren’t written by the artists themselves. Dua Lipa is an exception.
The artist has a writing credit on every single song on her second album, Future Nostalgia. “For a pop artist, people can see you as manufactured, and that you just get a writing credit for turning up,” Lipa tells the BBC. “But, for the songs I did write, I was in those sessions and they are my personal experiences. And that’s something I wanted to get across in every interview I did.”
In contrast, some of the biggest hits on her first album, such as “New Rules,” were penned by her collaborators. Yet even those bear the mark of Lipa’s experience.
In an interview with GQ, the artist admits that the hit track from her first album wasn’t written by her. “I did not [write it],” she says. Lipa adds that even though she didn’t write “New Rules,” it is a “song that I felt like I had been in the room and written.” The singer also notes that she’s very close to the writers who penned the track.
“I feel like it was a song they had written with me in mind,” she explains. “I’m proud of it as if I had been in that room. I just feel so closely to it. […] But like I said, I still love writing everything. And I’m still going to do it. But [“New Rules”] a song that I feel like I can relate to on a personal level, that I also feel that when I do perform it, it becomes mine and I embody it in a different way.”
All 11 tracks on 2024’s Radical Optimism credit Lipa as a writer. These include the hit singles “Houdini” and “Training Season.”
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Lipa provided more insight into her songwriting process. She brought on her notebook containing pages and pages of song lyrics. And while the singer admitted that many of the ideas weren’t impressive, the book did highlight her dedication to writing her own songs.
Industry insiders praise Lipa’s songwriting process
Ben Mawson and Ed Millett are founders of Tap Management, who were involved in Lipa’s award-winning entry into the music industry. Even at a very young age, they were impressed by how she approached the songwriting process.
“While competing for her signature, Mawson and Millett immediately invited [Lipa] into writing sessions – where what would become one of her standout singles, ‘Hotter than Hell,’ was created,” reports Music Business Worldwide (MBW). Mawson told the publication that the way Lipa works is “amazing.”
“We’ve seen artists who might get half a good song out of 10 writing sessions,” he explains in an interview with MBW. “[With Lipa], one in five or one in four is a banger. She gets results.”
When asked if Lipa’s work ethic and creative process is part of why she’s been so successful so quickly, Mawson adds: “She has left everyone in her wake and that’s partly because she’s worked so hard and is always looking to improve.”
But many artists might be involved in the songwriting process, but not actually write the songs themselves. Lipa has revealed exactly how hands-on she is in the process.
