Dua Lipa Didn’t Write ‘New Rules’ — Here’s How She Felt Singing It
Many of the biggest pop stars of all time rarely wrote their own music. On the other hand, Dua Lipa said she prides herself on writing her own songs — but the “Cold Heart” singer had no role in writing “New Rules.” The pop diva explained what she thought performing “New Rules” even though she didn’t pen it. She also discussed what she thought of the song and the people who wrote it.
Dua Lipa wasn’t present when ‘New Rules’ was written but she feels like she was
During a 2018 interview with GQ, Lipa was asked her feelings on songwriting. “I still take a lot of pride in being able to write my own songs,” the “Houdini” singer said. “My story’s coming from me. But ‘New Rules’ is a song that I felt like I had been in the room and written.
“I’m so close with Emily [Warren] and Caroline [Ailin] and Ian [Kirkpatrick], who had worked on it, that I feel like it was a song they had written with me in mind,” she added. “I’m proud of it as if I had been in that room. I just feel so closely to it.”
‘New Rules’ is far from the 1st hit song that wasn’t written by it’s singer
Lipa revealed that she formerly preferred songs she wrote or co-wrote to those she didn’t. “I guess I don’t have that perspective anymore,” she added. “But like I said, I still love writing everything. And I’m still going to do it. But it’s 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.”
Lipa’s desire to write songs is commendable. However, there’s no shame in performing other writer’s material. The Beatles didn’t write “Twist and Shout,” Madonna didn’t write “Like a Virgin,” and Michael Jackson didn’t write “Thriller.” Furthermore, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra almost never wrote their own songs. If undisputed legends like the King of Pop and the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll can let other people write tracks for them, so can Lipa.
Dua Lipa said the song’s music video was inspired by Naomi Campbell
“New Rules” is a song about a woman cutting ties with a bad lover that can easily be interpreted as a female empowerment anthem. The song’s iconic music video underscores this theme by depicting Lipa’s friends stopping her from picking up a phone call from a toxic ex-boyfriend through a choreographed dance routine.
During a 2019 interview with The Cut, Lipa explained the inspiration for the “New Rules” music video. The singer saw Naomi Campbell carrying a female model on her back and saved it on her phone. She felt the image represented both strength and humility.
Lipa’s choreographer, Teresa Barcelo, came up with choreography designed to portray emotional sisterhood between the video’s dancers. The singer also incorporated plastic flamingos into the clip. She felt that, as flamingos are social creatures, they would embody female friendship. Little touches like that can go a long way to make a music video feel layered.
“New Rules” is a great song — even if Lipa didn’t write it — and she used it as the basis for one of the best music videos of all time.
