Song Review: Don't Start Now by Dua Lipa

Originally, I wanted to do a song review for This Could Be Love by Violet Skies first until Dua Lipa dropped her new song last week and I dropped everything to listen to this song. The song review for Violet's song will be up soon. In the meantime, I'm glad to hear Dua's comeback single. You may know her for her hits songs like New Rules, IDGAF, Be The One as well as her being featured in songs from No Lie to Scared To Be Lonely to One Kiss. Her self titled debut album is incredible. She released a song this year as part of a soundtrack for the movie Alita: Battle Angel called Swan Song. It was okay, it didn't impress me that much. I wished it had a better production, I do like lyrics of standing up and not staying silent. Just like the movie, it was pretty forgettable. Mini review of that song aside, I'm so excited about her new song with a new sound. Will the new song be better than Swan Song or am I going to be disappointed?




Good thing it's the former because wow! That's how you make a bop. Way better than Swan Song. Don't Start Now is written by Dua herself as well as Emily Warren and is produced by Ian Kirkpatrick, who did New Rules and Bad Liar by Selena Gomez. I'm loving the new direction as she's taking a dance pop disco route which suites her. The tight groove complied with a hot bass and delicate strings serves a nice touch as it matches with Dua's wonderful
charisma and presence on the mic. I love how the melody goes up and down on the verses and it ascends on the pre-chorus to the chorus that grabs your attention. The lyrics are your typical kiss-off anthem as we heard Dua Lipa tackled this subject on New Rules and IDGAF but that's not a bad thing. The only nitpick I have with this song is the drop or breakdown after the second chorus. It feels a bit odd and out of place. I'm not sure if it holds up on repeated listens. 

Overall, this is a great song to have a comeback and I hope Dua Lipa makes more awesome songs like this. Is it my favorite song of hers? Not really. Lost In Your Light ft. Miguel along with Homesick and Hotter Than Hell are my favorites but that doesn't mean Don't Start Now is my least. It stands out in its on way and I hope to hear more disco inspired songs in 2020.
Rating: 8/10

(Unfortunately, for some reason, I could only find a live version of this song when I searched it while editing this post. I'm not sure why)

Link to watch the music video is here.