Before Ariana Grande got wise to releasing a deluxe edition with bonus tracks on it for Positions, Dua Lipa had already perfected the art of re-releasing the same album with revamped or additional material, for we’ve been hearing different versions of Future Nostalgia for a year now (namely Club Future Nostalgia). The Moonlight Edition of the album marks the third version, and we can easily understand why Lipa is reluctant to move on from such a danceable record. One that has offered up some of her biggest hits to date.
This includes the recently released single, “Fever” featuring Angèle. As well as another duet that appeared on Miley Cyrus’ Plastic Hearts album, “Prisoner.” It is in between these two songs that Lipa delves into previously unheard material in the form of “We’re Good,” a defiant breakup anthem that assures there’s no point in sticking around for a relationship that clearly isn’t working.
Such a notion ties in thematically to “It Ain’t Me,” in which Lipa has a less “que sera, sera” attitude about the thought of losing her “sugar boo.” Once again incorporating imagery of the celestial, Lipa opens with, “I bet we’re higher than the people on Cloud Nine/This connection got me feeling like I’ve known you my whole life, wow/Even our shadows know each other in the light.” Yet despite this connection, Lipa feels a certain distance between her and her lover, subsequently veering into some Kylie Minogue-esque lyrical territory with, “I’m not really thinking clear/Too good to be true and that’s what I fear/Like what if you left me here/And I fill the floor with my sequin tears?” Assuring that it would be quite a “sad disco” if that were the case, Lipa keeps the sonic tone of the track appropriately drenched in the signature sound of the late 70s.
“That Kind of Woman” slows down the pace as Lipa showcases the extent of her more ballad-oriented vocals. And when the music starts to crescendo in 80s power ballad form (thanks in part to Stuart Price on keyboards and drum programming), it’s clear Lipa can give Bonnie Tyler a run for her money as she declares, “I’ll be the first to say ‘Baby, what’s your name?’/’Cause I want ya, that kind of woman/Hard to pretend, now I can’t sit still, let me show ya/That kind of woman.” Determined to be “the one” for whoever she decides to pluck from the crowd on the dance floor, Lipa insists, “I want you to myself/No, I won’t be, won’t be one/Won’t be one, one of many.” Now someone please cue a remake of Flashdance, because this song has all those vibes.
Continuing the 80s motif, “Not My Problem” featuring JID explores a similar theme to Ariana Grande’s 2014 track, “Problem” featuring Iggy Azalea (while embodying a similar abrasive cadence as Lipa’s “Good In Bed”). Just as Ari declared, “I got one less problem without ya,” here, too, Lipa is all too ready to announce, “Pulling me down like an anchor/Sayin’ it’s my fault, your angered/Telling me no one will love me (watch your mouth)/Telling me I’m gon’ be lonely (watch me, watch me, watch me, watch me now).” JID also gets his own “Not My Problem” sentiments expressed, in a case of he said, she said. Originally recorded in 2018, it’s a welcome addition to the “complete” form of the record.
The second to last song on the new edition is one we’re all too familiar with by now (having already been remixed before to feature Madonna and Missy Elliott). “Levitating” this time includes DaBaby for an added “flourish,” though it doesn’t have quite the same effect as The Blessed Madonna reworking, and DaBaby can stick to “Cry Baby” with Megan Thee Stallion instead.
To conclude The Moonlight Edition, Lipa wields “Un Día (One Day),” the 2020 track she was featured on with Tainy, J Balvin and Bad Bunny (the latter duo loves to appear together… as seen on Cardi B’s “I Like It”). As a single that previously seemed to fly under the radar amid the folklore frenzy wrought by Taylor Swift during this period, it’s nice to see it get some more attention with this re-release, for everyone has been in the tragic position that elicits a line from Lipa like, “One day you’ll realize/I’m more than your lover/I’m more than your lover, I’m your friend.”
And so, with The Moonlight Edition, Lipa brings us full-circle from 2020 to 2021, proving just how little has really changed in a year.
