Thank you to the 25 people who participated in the rate of Radical Optimism. Results coming very soon! Feel free to share your hopes and predictions!

The singles and EOAE for top 4!

11. Anything For Love

Average: 4.98

 

 

In last place by quite some distance is Anything For Love. With 12 million streams on Spotify to-date, it's also the least streamed track from the album. Many fans bemoaned that Anything For Love was too short, unfinished and disjointed while others appreciated Dua's raw and natural vocals. It's one of only 2 songs on the album that was co-produced by Ian Kirkpatrick. The ballad fake-out shows Dua's transformed opinions on love: we learn that she wants someone who is willing to fight for her, beginning a final three track arc in the album, where Dua Lipa delves into true, purer optimism.

 

Highest score: 9 (RyanFM)

Lowest score: 1 (Scene)

Deserved, that can barely even be called a song.

10. French Exit

Average: 6.76

 

Featuring funky drums and chill acoustic guitar, “French Exit” has been streamed more than 16 million times on Spotify. Not a lot has been said about this track on the forum although it does have a couple of fans with ready for it scoring it a 10 and Addy! gave it a 9. The song muses on leaving a relationship without verbally breaking things off. Often known in today’s lexicon as “ghosting,” the song uses the English “French exit” and the French “filer à l'anglaise” (“leaving in the English way”), both of which mean to leave without saying goodbye.

 

Highest score: 10 (...ready for it)

Lowest score: 4 (Jessie Where & Scene)

Queen is serving bland so far.

9. Happy For You

Average: 6.82

 

The album's closing track 'Happy For You' finishes in the 9th spot. It has over 19 million streams on Spotify and was performed by Dua on Saturday Night Live and at Glastonbury. The ballad-like song finds Dua Lipa telling an ex she wants nothing but the best for them in their new relationship, despite her tears. It includes bird noises, a tremolo sample of Kevin Parker and William Orbit-like electronic flourishes.

 

Highest score: 9 (Addy!, Botchia & Qween)

Lowest score: 2 (Scene)

So far, so correct!

'Happy For You' is really good! A nice closer.

 

I'd probably have it a bit higher.

'Happy for You' is one of those songs that sounds much better on paper but something doesn't quite click — the verses are pretty dull, and the chorus doesn't soar like it should.

 

'French exit, filer à l'anglaise. French exit, c'est la seule solution' is one of my favourite little moments on the album, and it has some interesting instrumentation... But again — something is just slightly off and it doesn't come together in an interesting way.

Surprised that Happy For You didn't do a bit better than that. It's a nice enough closer, although I agree that it leaves you feeling like it just needed something else

8. Falling Forever

Average: 7.4

 

 

Perhaps the first shock of the results so far, formerly rumored 4th single Falling Forever drops out in the 8th spot - the same position it is in the album track listing :magic: The song has proved to be a bit marmite with some fans enjoying its anthemic Eurovision-style drama while others have dismissed it for being cheesy, melodramatic and cheaply produced. It is the other Ian Kirkpatrick production (the 1st being Anything For Love) and does sound a bit out of place with the album's sound. Dua performed this at Glastonbury for the first time but it didn't really have any impact.

 

The song is most well known for Dua going off like a car horn in the chorus with the hook:

 

"How looooo0000ooooo000ng"

 

 

Highest score: 11 (Nina West, conorw), 10 (Juranamo, Qween, Nick F1, Addy!)

Lowest score: 2 (blacksquare, k👠th)

'French Exit' is my favourite to fall out so far, oops at that finishing bottom 2. All of my 7.5+ scores still remain at least!

FF really grew on me a lot in the end after finding the "how looooo0000ooooo000ng" a bit hard to get past. I'm not totally sure it was a missed single opportunity, although I really wanna know what happened to that mystery music video she filmed!

7. End Of An Era

Average: 7.54

 

 

Yes, "End Of An Era" is OUT! Ironically, "End Of An Era" starts the album. The hopeless romantic Dua Lipa wishfully sings that her new love interest might be the one and that this connection could mark the end of her “single” era. This song probably best captures the album's ocean imagery with its breezy and cheerful sound reminiscent of a summer holiday. It features snappy funk bass lines, a chirpy ukulele rhythm and a fun spoken-word bridge. This was the only song on the album where the production was done before the lyrics and melody were composed. With 33 million streams on Spotify, it is the 2nd most streamed album track of Radical Optimism after "These Walls".

 

Highest score: 10 (Addy!)

Lowest score: 5.5 (Y'all Starlight)

A travesty!

'End Of An Era' is alright, but I was never like in love with it.

I do think my love for 'End Of An Era' peaked early but still would've liked it a couple of places higher!

End of an Era should be top 5.

 

I too don’t love it as much as I initially did but it, Maria and the 3 singles remain clearly ahead of the rest

6. Maria

Average: 7.62

 

 

“Maria” which is the 2nd least streamed track from Radical Optimism finishes at a decent 6th place. It's one of few songs on the album that doesn't involve Tame Impala. With Danny L Harle and Andrew Wyatt on production, the song has some cool electronica elements mixed with acoustic guitar and a flute. In “Maria”, Lipa expressed gratitude to her lover’s ex for making him the man he is today. In their review of the album, Pitchfork wrote that "the force of Lipa’s cries in the chorus—“Maria!/I know you’re gone/But I feel ya/When we’re alone”—resounds with a curiosity and emotional richness that’s all but absent elsewhere."

 

Highest score: 10 (conorw)

Lowest score: 3 (Scene)