Watch her dance … dance the night away. On November 9, Dua Lipa dropped a choreography-heavy music video for her latest single, “Houdini.†What does this Barbie-singer-podcaster have in common with famed escape artist Harry Houdini? Well, it’s not easy to keep her tied down. “I’m not here for long / Catch me or I go Houdini,†she sings in the chorus. “I come and I go / Prove you got the right to please me.†The video begins with Lipa practicing alone in a dance hall, but Black Swan–esque mirror illusions soon have her disappearing and reappearing alongside shifting numbers of backup dancers. (Everyone onscreen shares Lipa’s fiery new hair color, so she’s surrounded by enough redheads to rival a Weasley family reunion.)
According to a press release, “Houdini†marks the start of “the narrative thread†that ties together Lipa’s next project, the long-awaited follow-up to 2020’s Future Nostalgia. Lipa described her latest single as a “very tongue-in-cheek track†that represents the lightest, most freeing parts of her “singledom.†Is a potential lover actually worth her time, or is she just going to ghost them? “You never know where something may take you, that’s the beauty of being open to whatever life throws your way,†she said. “I’m looking forward to sharing that feeling of defiant bliss with my fans.†Love this for her, and for all the serial ghosters out there who can now rebrand their dating habits as their “defiant bliss†era.