Dua Lipa on Gwen Stefani, Love After ‘Radical Optimism,’ New Music

When Dua Lipa sat down with Rolling Stone during Mistr’s National PrEP Day celebration on Thursday night, she was still on cloud nine after performing with Gwen Stefani at her show in Los Angeles the previous evening. Lipa had surprised fans by welcoming the No Doubt frontwoman and diving into a duet of “Don’t Speak.”

“I’ve loved Gwen my whole life. I’ve found her so inspiring. I’ve loved her music. I love her toughness,” Lipa tells Rolling Stone at Mistr’s event at the Abbey in West Hollywood. “I love her voice. I love everything that she stood for. For me, it was a big childhood dream come true.”

The artists first connected in 2020 following the release of Future Nostalgia, when Lipa asked Stefani to join a remix of her song “Physical” for Club Future Nostalgia, but the pair “hadn’t actually met” when they released the pandemic project.

“From growing up watching her, all her music videos, her on TV and on red carpets, to then seeing her right next to me, singing a song that soundtracked my life was really special,” Lipa says.

Lipa also shares her excitement for Stefani and No Doubt’s takeover of the Sphere in Las Vegas — though she worried about ruining the announcement, which had leaked that evening. “I didn’t leak this news! I’ll get in trouble with Gwen,” she jokes. “It’s very exciting. I’m hoping to have the chance to come down to see it.”

“I’ve been to the Sphere a couple of times. It’s such a spectacle. It’s absolutely surreal,” Lipa adds. “The space is so grand that you have to be really smart with the way that you use it.”

During the interview, Lipa also thought back on her 2024 album Radical Optimism, calling it her “favorite album I’ve made.” She says its message about getting through hardship with passion continues to resonate — especially now that she’s in a new chapter personally, and in a completely different headspace in her life.

“With this tour, all the love and the joy and the celebration that I feel like I put out into the world has come back to me, and I feel very, very grateful for it,” Lipa says. “Had I not written Radical Optimism and manifested all these amazing things into my life… then I don’t know, maybe I wouldn’t have met Callum [Turner].”

Is being in love (and engaged!) inspiring her music? “Love is influencing the sonics,” she says. “The music I’m making is very fun. I’m still in discovery mode but we’re having a good time.”

Lipa also confirmed that she’s working with Mark Ronson on new music again, but declined to tease the era any further. “I love working with Mark. I’m so inspired by him. We work really well together, so I’m really excited,” she says.

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