>> Stephen: HERE WE GO.
WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, CHILDREN OF ALL AGES --
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) -- Y'ALL KNOW MY GUEST TONIGHT
AS A THREE-TIME GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING
SINGER AND SONGWRITER, WITH HITS LIKE "DON'T START NOW,"
"PHYSICAL," AND "LEVITATING."
PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "THE LATE SHOW," DUA LIPA!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )
>> Stephen: IT IS NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
FULL HOUSE.
>> Stephen: ISN'T THAT NICE?
>> THIS IS AMAZING.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: NOW, THE LAST TIME
YOU WERE ON HERE WAS BEFORE COVID.
>> YES.
>> Stephen: NOT THAT LONG BEFORE, BUT YOU HAD AN
EXTRAORDINARY LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
WELL, CRAZY THINGS WERE HAPPENING IN THE WORLD, CRAZY
SUCCESS WAS HAPPENING FOR YOU.
ROLLING STONE CALLED YOU THE BREAKOUT POP STAR OF THE
PANDEMIC BECAUSE, I WANT TO POINT OUT, THIS YEAR, YOUR ALBUM
"FUTURE NOSTALGIA "-- ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
-- NOW, THE WORLD BASICALLY SHUT DOWN ON MARCH 12 OF 2020, AND
THIS ALBUM DROPPED MARCH 7th, 2020, AND THEN YOU WON A GRAMMY
FOR IT IN 2021.
A LONG WINDUP TO A SIMPLE QUESTION.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO HAVE THIS EXPLOSIVE SUCCESS AND NOT BE
ABLE TO GO OUT IN THE WORLD AND ENJOY IT OR ENGAGE?
YOU HAD TO KIND OF SEE IT FROM A DISTANCE.
>> WELL, I THINK, TO BEGIN WITH, THE WHOLE IDEA OF PUTTING THE
ALBUM OUT, LIKE MOST PEOPLE, I THOUGHT, OH, THE PANDEMIC, TWO
WEEKS.
TWO YEARS LATER, WE'RE STILL HERE.
>> Stephen: MM-HMM.
>> BUT I HAD WORKED ON THIS ALBUM FOR SO LONG, AND I HAD
JUST KIND OF BEEN HOLDING IT.
FOR A WHILE, I WAS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT, I WAS VERY
PROUD OF IT AS WELL.
IT WAS A BODY OF WORK WHERE I FINALLY FOUND MY CONFIDENCE AND
WHO I WAS AS AN ARTIST AND A SONG WRITER.
SO WHEN EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN, I THINK THERE WAS A BIG PART OF ME
THAT JUST DIDN'T WANT TO BELIEVE IT, AND I FELT LIKE WITH SO MUCH
UNCERTAINTY AND WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON, I THOUGHT MAYBE NOW IS
THE TIME TO RELEASE THIS ALBUM, AND I'M REALLY HAPPY I DID
BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE -- AND I HAVE THIS WHOLE PHILOSOPHY THAT
UP UNTIL THE POINT THAT THERE'S MUSIC GET RELEASED, IT BELONGS
TO ME.
ONCE IT'S OUT, IT'S NO LONGER MINE.
AND, SO, WHEN I SEE IT LIKE THAT AND THE MUSIC IS OUT THERE, AND
I HAVE IT IN THE HOPES THAT THESE SONGS FIND A HOME WITH
OTHER PEOPLE, THAT I FELT LIKE THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO
RELEASE IT.
AND, SO, PEOPLE'S REACTION HAVING BEEN THE WAY THAT IT WAS
WAS JUST MIND BLOWING.
IT WAS BEYOND ANYTHING I COULD HAVE EVER HOPED FOR AND MAYBE
THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE FAITH THAT THE ALBUM WAS MEANT TO HAVE.
>> Stephen: PEOPLE ARE GLAD YOU DID BECAUSE "LEVITATING" WAS
THE MOST STREAMED SONG OF 2021 IN THE UNITED STATES.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) I'M JUST CURIOUS, BECAUSE I KNOW
YOU ARE A BRILLIANT PERFORMER, BUT YOU ALSO WROTE THE SONG,
YOU'RE A SONG WRITER AT THE SAME TIME.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: DID YOU KNOW WHEN YOU RELEASED THIS ALBUM, IT WAS
GOING TO BE "LEVITATING"?
THERE ARE A BUNCH OF BANGERS ON THERE BUT THAT ONE WAS AN
EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS.
DO YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE THAT ONE?
>> DEFINITELY NOT.
I MEAN, I CAN NEVER PREEMPT, LIKE, WHAT SONG IS THE ONE THAT
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO REACT WITH THE BEST, BUT "LEVITATING" WAS
THE FIRST SONG THAT HELPED DICTATE THE REST OF THE ALBUM.
IT WAS THE ONE SONG WHERE I WAS, LIKE, THIS IS WHAT I FEEL LIKE
FUTURE NOSTALGIA IS.
I HAD A GOOD IDEA AFTER WRITING "LEVITATING" OF WHAT THE REST OF
THE ALBUM WAS GOING TO SOUND LIKE.
AND I THINK I HAD SUCH A POWERFUL FEELING, BEING IN THE
STUDIO AFTER WRITING "LEVITATING" WITH MY FRIENDS,
AND I THINK WE ALL FELT SO ENERGIZED AND SO EXCITED
AFTERWARDS, SO IT WAS VERY SPECIAL.
>> Stephen: YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GO ON A WORLD TOUR SHORTLY
AFTER THE ALBUM.
>> YES.
>> Stephen: WHEN WERE YOU SUPPOSED TO GO ON TOUR?
>> APRIL OF 2020.
>> Stephen: AND YOU THOUGHT, IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, WE'LL TAKE
A BREAK.
AND TWO YEARS LATER YOU'RE ABOUT TO LAUNCH THE WORLD TOUR NOW, 23
COUNTRIES, SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: SO MUCH PLANNING GOES INTO A WORLD TOUR, IT'S
LIKE AN INVASION.
HOW IS IT GOING TO BE DIFFERENT NOW, YOU KNOW, IN 2022 THAN
2020?
HOW IS COVID GOING TO CHANGE THE TOUR FOR YOU.
>> MASSIVELY DIFFERENT.
INITIALLY WHEN I WAS GOING TO GO ON TOUR IT WAS ONLY MEANT TO BE
A MONTH AFTER THE ALBUM IS OUT.
I HOPED THE FANS WOULD QUICKLY LEARN THE LYRICS AND COME AND
WATCH ME.
BUT THIS TIME I'VE DONE A LOT OF AUDIENCE RESEARCH, AND, SO, I
FEEL LIKE I KNOW WHICH SONGS PEOPLE LIKE, AND THE FUTURE
NOSTALGIA TOUR REALLY IS THE FUTURE NOSTALGIA TOUR BECAUSE IT
PREDOMINANTLY IS THE SONGS FROM THE ALBUM WHERE I THINK BEFORE
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BITS HERE AND THERE AND LOTS FROM MY FIRST
ALBUM AND NOW IT'S LIKE THE FIRST COMBINATION, THE VERY BEST
OF.
( APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A
BREAK, BUT STICK AROUND.
WHEN WE COME BACK, I ASK DUA LIPA ABOUT HER COLLABORATION
WITH SIR ELTON JOHN.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )