"Physical"
Single by Dua Lipa
from the album Future Nostalgia
Released	30 January 2020 (2020-01-30)
Studio	TaP (London, United Kingdom) The Bunker at 13 RAK Studios (London, United Kingdom) Modulator Music (Toronto, Canada)
Genre	Power pop synth-pop
Length	3:13
Label	Warner
Songwriter(s)	Dua Lipa Jason Evigan Clarence Coffee Jr. Sarah Hudson
Producer(s)	Jason Evigan Koz
Dua Lipa singles chronology
"Don't Start Now" (2019) "Physical" (2020) "Break My Heart" (2020)
Music video
"Physical" on YouTube

"Physical" is a song by English singer Dua Lipa from her second studio album, Future Nostalgia (2020). Lipa wrote the track with Jason Evigan, Clarence Coffee Jr. and Sarah Hudson, taking inspiration from 1980s music and the 1983 film Flashdance. It was produced by Evigan and Koz, and stemmed from a Persian synth flute sample that was played by the former. An uptempo power pop and synth-pop song, the track features a chugging synth bassline, drums and various percussion instruments. Lipa uses a spoken word delivery in the prechorus, but belts and chants the chorus, which includes a reference to Olivia Newton-John's 1981 song of the same name. The lyrics describe the excitement of falling in love.

Released to digital download and streaming by Warner Records as the album's second single on 30 January 2020, "Physical" received acclaim from music critics. Critics viewed the high energy of the track and Lipa's vocals as uniquely reinterpreting the 1980s era. The track reached number one in Bulgaria, Croatia, Israel, Lebanon, and Poland, and peaked in the top 10 of 17 additional countries, including the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number three, becoming Lipa's eighth UK top 10 single. It also became her ninth appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number 60 without a US radio release. The song is certified Gold or higher in nine countries including a double diamond in Brazil, and was nominated for the Brit Award for Song of the Year at the 2021 ceremony.

The accompanying high concept music video was directed by Catalan production team Canada, and is based on a Venn diagram by Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss from their series of works, Order and Cleanliness (1981). The video shows Lipa dancing in various coloured warehouse stage sets and features anime-inspired animation. The music video received praise from critics for its high-concept nature and rejection of heteronormativity. The video received three nominations at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, ultimately winning one for Best Visual Effects, marking the first win of Lipa's career. "Physical" was further promoted with the release of a 1980s-inspired workout video, in which Lipa is an aerobics class instructor. A remix of the track, featuring South Korean singer Hwasa from South Korean girl group Mamamoo, was released on 17 March 2020. A Mark Ronson remix with American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani was included on Lipa's first remix album, Club Future Nostalgia (2020). The song was released to adult contemporary radio in the United States on April 19, 2021, serving as Dua Lipa's remix album's and Gwen Stefani's fith album's second single.

Writing and production

"Physical" was written by Lipa, Clarence Coffee Jr., Sarah Hudson, and its producer Jason Evigan.^[1] The song was inspired by 1980s music and the 1983 film Flashdance.^[2][3] It was recorded at Evigan's home studio in Tarzana, Los Angeles, where Hudson used a tarot card reading as an icebreaker for the session. Lipa wanted the track to be fun, upbeat, and unique from what was played by radio stations at the time, and she suggested the use of world music instruments. "Physical" thus started with a Persian flute sample Evigan played.^[2][4] Koz later fine-tuned the production, filtering down the volume of the flute sample, which was nearly excluded according to Evigan.^[2] Coffee Jr. and Hudson recorded backing vocals with Lipa, simultaneously in the same booth.^[4]

Lipa described the writing process as a puzzle of collaborative ideas being put together, which Hudson noted down in all caps.^[2] Lyrics such as, "You got me feeling diamond rich / Nothing on this planet compares to it", were written with inspiration from the 1980s era.^[4] Lipa came up with the bridge melody when experimenting with a bedroom microphone.^[2] The "Let's get physical" line in the chorus of "Physical" is also used in Olivia Newton-John's 1981 song of the same name.^[5] However, the former was not based on it, although Lipa acknowledged afterwards that there is "definitely a nod" to the song.^[6] According to her, "Physical" was a "spur-of-the-moment kind of song, which at times had a Eurythmics vibe to it".^[7]

Music and lyrics

"Physical"

Set to a synthwave bassline and a techno beat, "Physical" is a power pop and synth-pop song about the honeymoon phase of a relationship. The spoken-word bridge uses tapping percussion in the build-up to the belted chorus that is led by a synth flute and quotes Olivia Newton-John's 1981 single of the same name.

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"Physical" is an uptempo power pop and synth-pop song,^[8][9][10] with dance-rock, dark wave and Italo disco elements.^{[11][12][13][14]} It has several 1980s and disco tropes in its production, which makes use of a synthwave bassline and a techno beat.^[15][16][17] The song is composed in ⁴
₄ time in the key of A minor, with an energetic tempo of 148 beats per minute and a looping chord progression of Am–F–C–G, the same used in Newton-John's song of the same name.^[18][19] The track has a structure of verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, double middle eight, double chorus.^[2] It opens with a chugging synth bassline that plays an eighth note pattern, combining two sawtooth wave synths with an analogue modelling synthesizer and a heavily processed bass guitar.^[20][21] The drums have a simpler, repeating kick and snare sequence, but are accented with a shaker over dark disco beats throughout the verses and tapping percussion in the build-up to the chorus.^[20][22]

Lipa uses a deadpan delivery in a lower vocal register prior to the song's spoken word bridge.^[21][23][24] The chorus is led by a synth flute similar to the Japanese shakuhachi instrument. The chords are introduced in this section alongside a cymbal, eighth note hi-hats, and various impact effects.^[20] Lipa belts each chorus which all end with her intensely chanting, "Come on / Let's get physical!".^[14][25] In the middle eight, her vocals reach a higher register, spanning the notes of A₃ to D₅,^[18][26] changing her pleas to commands while building to an ending crescendo.^[25][27] Lyrically, "Physical" is a statement of purpose where Lipa celebrates the honeymoon phase in an intoxicating and lustful relationship.^[19][28][29] She sings about trusting her instincts, sex and female empowerment, in the sense where women aren't waiting for a man to save them.^[13][30][31]

Release and promotion

Spotify first revealed the song's title in an advertisement for Future Nostalgia on 6 January 2020.^[32] On 22 and 23 January 2020, Lipa shared teaser images captioned with lyrics from "Physical" on social media.^[33][34] The single's cover art was shared on 24 January of that year and shows Lipa contortedly posing in a dress that has contrasting coloured animal print.^[28][35] The song was made available to pre-save on streaming services the following day.^[36] On 28 January 2020, Lipa shared a teaser video on social media, featuring a 19-second snippet of the track.^[37] "Physical" was released for digital download and streaming as the album's second single on 30 January 2020.^{[note 1]}

"Physical" was serviced to contemporary hit radio formats in the United Kingdom, Australia and Italy on 31 January, 2 February and 14 February 2020, respectively.^[40][41][42] Lipa delivered her first live performance of the song on 29 February 2020 at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.^[43] A vertical video for the song was released via Spotify on 14 March 2020.^[44] "Physical" was included as the fourth track on Future Nostalgia, released 27 March 2020.^[45] Lipa performed the song at her 27 November 2020 Studio 2054 livestream concert, as the sixth track on the setlist.^[46] On 5 December 2020, she performed it at both the 2020 LOS40 Music Awards and 2020 NRJ Music Awards as a medley with her 2020 single "Levitating".^[47][48] At the latter ceremony, she also performed her 2020 collaboration "Fever" with Angèle.^[49]

Critical reception

"Physical" was met with acclaim from music critics.^[27] Chris Taylor of The Line of Best Fit called it "this decade's perfect workout song".^[50] Gigwise's Jordan Emery regarded the song among "the most well crafted and fun pop songs heard in recent memory", saying it "throws you around the room with its frenetic intensity".^[51] In his review for Entertainment Weekly, Marc Snetiker described the song as "immediately, irresistibly catchy".^[52] Music critic Peter Robinson referred to it as Lipa's best single since 2015's "Be the One", and said the former is "so powerful it could reverse Brexit".^[53] In The Irish Times, Louise Bruton called the song "riveting" and "a perfect pop song".^[54] Writing for The Boston Globe, Nora Princiotti viewed "Physical" as an "instant-classic" and a "spine-tingling endorphin blast" with a "huge chorus".^[55] The Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon thought it signaled the "old-meets-new, disco-meets-techno, electronica-meets-soulfulness" of the album.^[56]

In his review for Pitchfork, Eric Torres wrote that the song's "vigorous chorus is as fit for the gym as the dancefloor" and appreciated that it "brushes past simplistic, imitative devotion".^[21] Music critic Maura Johnston expressed similar feelings, writing that "Physical" resisted "the urge to let familiarity do the heavy lifting" and the reference to Newton-John's track was "reinterpreted in exciting ways".^[57] Meanwhile, Jonathan Wright of God Is in the TV wrote that Lipa "manages to take the perhaps overused lyric, 'let's get physical' and deliver it with a thrilling energy".^[25] The Independent's Helen Brown favoured Lipa's vocals for being "muscular with authority" and said, "Each note gets down and gives her 20."^[58] Similarly, Conrad Duncan of Under the Radar appreciated the singer's "spirited" vocals, while Brad Garcia from Exclaim! complimented the use of her higher vocal register and named it among Lipa's "strongest performances".^[26][59]

Yasmin Cowan from Clash said Lipa is "ferocious in her execution" and succeeds in "putting her own feminist spin" on a "formulaic theme".^[60] Nick Malone of PopMatters described the song's imagery and production as "gleefully campy", and said it "confidently [toes] the line between taste and the total lack thereof", and "could aptly soundtrack both a high-speed chase montage and Jamie Lee Curtis in Perfect".^[61] In The New York Times, Caryn Ganz wrote that "Physical" is "not as iron-clad" as Lipa's previous single "Don't Start Now", but "has enough sizzle to winningly live up to the album's title".^[2] On the other hand, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called it "a bit of a bait-and-switch" for referencing Newton-John's "Physical", but viewing the song as akin to "the frenetic future-pop" of her 1983 song "Twist of Fate".^[62] Vulture's Craig Jenkins compared the chorus melody to that of Patti LaBelle's 1984 single "New Attitude".^[63]

Year-end lists

Accolades

Commercial performance

In February 2020, "Physical" debuted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, with first-week sales of 29,700 units.^[93] Following the release of Future Nostalgia, the song experienced a 30% sales increase and peaked at number three, selling 44,921 units.^[94][95] "Don't Start Now" and Lipa's single "Break My Heart" (2020) also reached the top 10 of the chart that week, making her the first English female since to have three songs chart simultaneously in the top 10 since Vera Lynn in 1952. Lipa became the fifth female overall to achieve this, following on from Lynn, Ruby Murray, Rihanna and Ariana Grande.^[96] The track was Lipa's eighth single to chart in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.^[97] In June 2020, "Physical" was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for track-equivalent sales of 600,000 units in the United Kingdom.^[98]

In Ireland, "Physical" became Lipa's sixth single to reach the top 10 of the Irish Singles Chart and peaked at number two, being held off the top spot by Saint Jhn's track "Roses" (2016).^[99][100] On the German Singles Chart published by GfK Entertainment, the song debuted at number 39 and ultimately peaked at number 14.^[101] In France, "Physical" entered the singles chart at number 97, and in its 15th week, the song reached number 30.^[102] The Hwasa remix peaked at number 127 on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.^[103]

In Australia, "Physical" debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart issue dated 16 February 2020.^[104] Following Future Nostalgia's release, the song rose to a peak of number nine on the chart, while "Don't Start Now" and "Break My Heart" charted at number three and six, respectively. Lipa thus became the first artist since Ed Sheeran in July 2019 to have three songs chart simultaneously in the top 10 of the ARIA Singles Chart.^[105] On the US Billboard Hot 100, "Physical" debuted at number 60, but was not released to radio in the country, and spent only two weeks on the chart.^[10][106] In Canada, the track peaked at number 54 on the Canadian Hot 100 and lasted for 11 weeks on the chart.^[107] The track charted at number 38 in Brazil's monthly streaming chart, where it was later certified double diamond by Pro-Música Brasil for sales of 320,000 units.^[108][109]

Music video

Production and concept

The music video for "Physical" was directed by Lope Serrano and Nicolás Méndez of the Catalan production company Canada.^[110][16] Lipa contacted Canada through their London office to direct the video, and it was filmed at Fira de Barcelona in Plaça d'Espanya, Barcelona.^[111][112] The video was shot over the time span of three 16-hour working days in December 2019.^[113][114] A budget of €500,000 was used for the production, which involved the hiring of about 80 staff and over 150 dancers, the majority of whom were Catalan professionals.^[111] The video was choreographed by Charm La'Donna.^[115] Ariadna Martín was hired as Lipa's stunt double, mainly for the scene which required balancing on a revolving stage that rotated at 60 km/h. She had to dye her hair because there were no wigs available in Lipa's hair colour.^[116] The coloured pants in the video were created by Pepe Jeans London as part of the brand's SS20 Dua for Pepe Collection.^[115]

The high-concept music video is based on a Venn diagram by Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss from their 1981 series of works Order and Cleanliness.^[117] The video matches four primary universal concepts in the diagram; human being, emotions, animals, and matter, to the four primary colours. Each concept is intersected to form new concepts such as technology and meat, and this results in the central concept of an orgasm forming. The dancers in each colour category all have individual slogans on the back of their shirts relating to each concept from the Venn diagram. The concept of the video was inspired by the song's increasing trajectory and crescendo, which Serrano likened to sexual arousal.^[110] According to Lipa, the video is about "the feeling of being alive, and coming together, and all those parts of you dancing at the same time and getting physical".^[117]

Synopsis

The video begins in a dark, red-lit setting, where Lipa walks towards a male dancer who takes off his jacket, pulling out a paper heart and blows it away.^[118] After Lipa puts her hand on his chest, the scene cuts to an anime-inspired animation, in which she pulls out the dancer's heart.^[119] Returning to the human scene, Lipa holds his light-emitting diode heart in her hand. The lights switch on and the two of them start to dance in a red circle with other dancers, while she throws his heart away. Cutting to the animation, two cardinals land on the heart in Lipa's hand, turning it into sparkling dust.^[110][118] Lipa is then shown in a human scene, licking her finger and wearing a Yves Saint Laurent black minidress.^[120]

As the video progresses, Lipa dances in various coloured warehouse stage sets, changing the colour of her Helmut Lang tank top and Pepe Jeans London straight-cut jeans to match each set.^{[115][119][120]} She is next shown in a blue set, reclining in a sports car while people continue to dance and an animated heart beats. Lipa then dances with a group in the purple set and in an animation, presses her fingers into the heart. Returning to the blue set, Lipa and the male dancer run onto a plank and dance over a large hole. During the green set, she encounters a second version of herself and walks backwards towards a building while the set's dancers dance in single file.^[110]

In the following yellow segment, Lipa rollerblades with the male dancer on a rotating platform. Their hands animate when they touch and sparkles from her eyes animate, forming a heart. For the climax, dancers from each colour set flood to the middle of the stage, forming a rainbow colour palette around Lipa. They dance together in mixed and same-gender couples. Serrano explained that in this final scene "all the colours (concepts) break their chromatic group obedience and meet together in a purely human celebration of lust and freedom and eclecticism".^[110]

Release and reception

Lipa first teased the music video's release on 20 January 2020, sharing an image on social media of the sports car, with the caption, "Remember the signs..."^[121] The music video was released to YouTube on 31 January 2020 at 05:00 PT (12:00 UTC).^[38] It was preceded by the release of teaser trailer on the platform, and two teaser clips shared on social media by Lipa.^{[37][110][122]} The trailer showed Lipa solving a Rubik's Cube while staring out of an apartment window.^[110] On 21 February 2020, a director's cut of the music video was shared via YouTube.^[123]

Brian O'Flynn of i-D wrote that the music video marked the return of high-concept pop videos, calling it Lipa's "ascent to art girl glory", and appreciating its diversity, and rejection of heteronormativity.^[110] Brendan Wetmore of Paper said the visual "nearly broke gay Twitter".^[124] For MTV, Patrick Hosken felt the video manifested Lipa's newfound confidence as a singer and called it "an opus" with "eye-popping production detail".^[125] W magazine's Kyle Munzenreider viewed the music video as "a literal kaleidoscope of late '90s and early '00s music video signifiers simmered down to their essence and built up into something new".^[126] Rachel Hahn of Vogue said the fashion eschewed maximalist trends, while also favouring deceptive simplicity over extravagance.^[120]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Promonews.^[127]

Production companies

• Metropolitana – grading
• Mathematic – animation
• Eighty4 – post production

Personnel

Workout video

A 1980s-inspired workout video for "Physical" was released to YouTube on 6 March 2020.^[129] It was directed by Daniel Carberry and filmed in New York City on 17 February 2020.^[130][131] Branded merchandise from the video was made available for purchase on Lipa's website the same day as the video's release.^[128][129] A version of the video mixed entirely in Sony's 360 Reality Audio from the usage of MPEG-H 3D Audio was released through Amazon Music, Tidal and Deezer.^[132] Lipa teased the release with several images on social media and a mock VHS cover art.^[128]

The workout video begins with Lipa dressed in a yellow leotard, introducing herself as the instructor of Physical: Get Fit in Under 6.^[128] She starts the aerobics class with a breathing exercise and introduction of the attendees; Ginger Snap, Good Ol' Steve, Chitter & Chad, Extra-Va, Bruce the Juice, Sunny & Delight, Tardy B & Upset, and Shay & Dee.^[133] Their outfits are imprinted with manga versions of Lipa.^[128] Throughout the workout, she does several voice-overs of encouragement as they do routines such as the Hip Thruster, the Fonda, Step Back Step Touch, the Rump Shaker, and the Crybaby. The class also makes time for a water stop, with Lipa noting, "Make sure you stay hydrated during your workout." The video features various 1980s-style neon graphics and technicolour visual effects.^[128][134]

Guy Pewsey of Grazia said the workout video surpassed "Physical" by Newton-John and "Call on Me" by Eric Prydz to become "without question, the most iconic fitness-themed music video of all time".^[135] Robin Murray of Clash described it as "tongue in cheek panache" and a homage to "the glory years of workout videos".^[136] Newsbeat reporter Steve Holden said Lipa helped lead a re-emergence of 1980s inspiration in pop music in 2020 with the video, calling it "a camp and colourful homage" to televised aerobics classes from the 1980s.^[137] In The New York Times, Joe Coscarelli wrote that the video's relevance was renewed during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2]

Remixes

On 17 March 2020, a remix of the song, featuring South Korean singer Hwasa, was released.^[138] It features Hwasa singing the first verse in Korean and the bridge in English, while the middle eight is performed bilingually by both singers.^[139] An extended play (EP) for remixes of "Physical", including those by Ofenbach and Claptone, was released on 25 March 2020.^[140] On 9 April 2020, a lyric video for "Physical" was shared to YouTube.^[141] A remix of the song by Brazilian DJ Alok was released on the same day.^[142] Lipa and Alok appeared together in an Instagram Live video to promote the remix's release.^[143] A remix of "Physical" by Mark Ronson, featuring Gwen Stefani is included on Lipa and The Blessed Madonna's DJ Mix crafted remix album, Club Future Nostalgia, released 28 August 2020,^[144] while the unmixed version was released on 11 September 2020,^[145] along with the standard edition of the album.^[146] The song was released to adult contemporary radio in the United States on 7 May 2021, serving as the remix album's second single. An electro track, Ronson took apart the original intending for a Ruff Ryders direction, and electronic-R&B mood. After being approached for a "Hollaback Girl" sample on Mr. Fingers' "Hallucinate" remix, Stefani expressed her desire to be on the album. Ronson and The Blessed Madonna quickly incorporated a place for her on "Physical", shortly thereafter.^{[147][148][149]}

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Future Nostalgia: The Moonlight Edition.^[1]

Recording

• Vocals recorded at TaP Studio (London, United Kingdom)
• Recorded at the Bunker at 13, RAK Studios (London, United Kingdom) and Modulator Music (Toronto, Canada)
• Mixed at Studio 55 (Los Angeles, California)
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (Edgewater, New Jersey)

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

• List of top 10 singles in 2020 (Australia)
• List of UK top-ten singles in 2020

References

Notes

Citations

External links

• Audio on YouTube
• Lyric video on YouTube
• Workout video on YouTube
• Template:MetroLyrics song