No stranger to working together after collaborating on “One Kiss,” the hopes for a reunion between Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa have obviously been very high. And so, to be “blessed” with “Potion” as their follow-up together is somewhat disheartening, if not a mirror of how we’re all pretty much propped up in this society right now. That’s certainly how Lipa comes across when she languidly offers such phrases as, “Late night, bodies achin’ [not the best word choice right now with the whole monkeypox thing]//Mental stimulation [none to be had with this ditty]/Sprinkled with a little bit of sex appeal [if stylized car crashes and lily pads are sexy, which the video aims to prove].”
As part of Harris’ forthcoming Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2, “Potion” seeks to be a contender for one of the “songs of the summer,” yet fails to bring anything substantial to that yearly competition. Trying to pad the song with “talent,” Young Thug also joins, which isn’t a good look considering his recent arrest for racketeering and gun possession. One would think that might prompt Harris to limit the vocals from him, but no, he offers far too many misogyny-drenched verses to the mix as Lipa phones it in with her lackadaisical chorus: “Late night conversations/Electric emotions/Sprinkled with a little bit of sex/And it’s a potion, yeah.” Or a recipe for flaccidity (not even “disaster,” which would at least be more mildly interesting). While Katy Perry also sounded rather blasé on “Feels,” the hit track from Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, the “potion” there actually worked, combined with Pharrell and Big Sean’s vocals to punch up the emotion behind a song about being afraid of getting too emotional.
The video that comes with “Potion” doesn’t do much to make the song stand out either. Moments of Lipa looking as though she’s reprising her role as the talent on the Titanic (as she did in the video for “We’re Good”) also include Young Thug taking the mic in a 70s-inspired milieu. And yes, the single itself is awash in those overly recycled sounds that musicians assume no one will remember because it was so long ago (hear also: Kylie Minogue’s Disco). With its mid-tempo porno soundtrack meets “subtly funk-ish” sound, maybe it makes some sense that there’s a Loveboat/Gilligan’s Island vibe going on with the deserted island motif. Except there’s no boat (shipwrecked or otherwise), only an overturned car designed for Lipa to “look hot” in while she sings, “In the whip on a Tuesday night/Got the music high/And you by my si-i-ide/Si-i-ide.” Something that was once said far more sparsely by Depeche Mode via, “I’m taking a ride with my best friend.”
Grafting elements of Madonna’s steez in the “Justify My Love” video as Lipa walks down the hallway of an orgiastic hotel, there’s also even a predictable shot of a cherry being placed on someone’s belly button when she sings, “Sprinkled with a little bit of sex.” The Britney influence from “I’m A Slave 4 U” is also present in the sweltering aura heightened by the cinematography and color saturation. The tropical motif that Britney oozed for her iconic live performance of “I’m A Slave 4 U” is equally apparent in Lipa’s sultry dance moves on a lily pad as her backup dancers complement her choreo. What’s more, no “I’m so sexy” moment would be complete without the requisite overhead shot to really seal the viewer’s carnal desire. Which is why Britney had that iconic one in the “Oops!…I Did It Again” video as well.
As Lipa does her best to look like she’s having a good time in that “too dignified to show it” sort of way, it seems like there’s some kind of sinister underlying truth at the core of her “resort stay.” For she and Young Thug are ultimately trapped on this deserted island (which looks like a simulation rather than what Tom Hanks had to endure in Cast Away), seemingly doomed to repeat the same performance every night. In that sense, there’s a certain The Shining quality to it all, and one would almost rather see what happens when the veneers come off than whatever this attempt at “entertainment” is.
And yet, there’s probably few that would accuse “Potion” of being a full-stop “bad” song, per se. For it’s the type of track everyone has grown used to in the present era. It doesn’t stand out too much, but is just “groovable” enough. Designed to be played in non-places like retail stores and nail salons.
But still, even 2020, for as flaccid as it was thanks to the world being in lockdown, came in strong with summer anthem potential thanks to the likes of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar,” Dua Lipa’s (still caring back then) “Levitating” and, of course, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP.” Plus a plethora of other summer-ready jams to choose from with, at the very least, a more distinctive personality. So, maybe chalk it up to post-COVID malaise being firmly in place. Creating the effect of pretty much everyone—even pop stars—just going through the motions in this “phase” called late-stage capitalism. But clearly, Pynchon wasn’t off the mark when he wrote, “…late capitalism is a pyramid racket on a global scale…getting the suckers to believe it’s all gonna go on forever.” And Calvin, Dua and Young Thug still want us to believe by bringing us a “summer anthem” we can lethargically sway our hips to against the backdrop of some overt sign of global warming. Pass the piña.
