Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating’ Gets The Ultimate Remix Thanks to Madonna and Missy Elliott

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“ ’LEVITATING’ REMIXED BY THE BLESSED MADONNA FEATURING MY IDOLS MADONNA & MISSY ELLIOTT – 14TH OF AUGUST – DREAM COME TRUE LETS GO!!!!!!” said Dua Lipa when announcing the lead single off her Club Future Nostalgia: The Remix Album. Her enthusiasm was warranted because it’s not every day that one gets Missy, 49, and Madonna, 61, on a track remixed by The Blessed Madonna (fka The Black Madonna aka Marea Stamper). In fact, Dua couldn’t wait until the 14th to release the song, and she dropped it half-a-day early. The results, as expected, were pure club magic, with a song that should make everybody’s body move. Is this a late contender for Song of the Summer?

“It’s just such a mind-blowing experience,” Dua told Zane Lowe on Apple Music about the process, including writing alongside Missy Elliott. “Being a fan of Missy’s for so long and then having her to be like, ‘Yeah, I love the song. I love the remix. I love the track. I feel inspired by it. I want to jump on it.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, this is so crazy.’ Just like what you said, I jumped on the phone with her and we had a little talk and she really just does stuff that she really believes in, so that I felt it was such a massive compliment for me, for her to be so inspired by the remix and the track, and to want to be a part of it and be a part of this mix tape. And it really is a dream come true. I still find it, just talking about it, I’m like, it doesn’t make sense.”

As for the iconic Madge? “Madonna has been an artist that I’ve listened to my whole life,” Dua told Zane. “And I think just, I guess her career trajectory as well has been something so inspirational and the momentum that she’s kept and the way that she’s grown with her music. And I’ve always found that really, really inspiring and to get to work with the diva herself.”

As the name implies, Club Future Nostalgia is a dance-ified version of her critically successful second studio album, Future Nostalgia, released in March of 2020. As soon as it dropped, fans and critics alike were marveling over Dua’s new project, and by the half-way point, many publications listed it as one of the best albums of 2020. Rolling Stone dubbed it “a breathtakingly fun, cohesive, and ambitious attempt to find a place for disco in 2020… Its camp, Daft Punk-ian robot funk accents silly, full-of-nonsensical-but-smartly-delivered one-liners… It’s the type of big, Robyn-esque breakup, dance-pop anthem that every pop star is due to attempt at least once.” By the end of July, Future Nostalgia had an 88/100 on Metacritic, making it one of the better reviewed albums of the year.

In addition to this Missy-Madonna sandwich, Club Future Nostalgia will feature a Mark Ronson-remixed version of Dua’s “Physical” with a guest appearance by Gwen Stefani. Following Dua’s announcement of the remix record, Mark tweeted his own excitement. “On the real tho sooo psyched to be on this DUA project,” tweeted Ronson. “I can’t wait for you all to hear this ‘Physical’ remix I spent half of lockdown working on. @gwenstefani sounds so good. PLUS I’M IN A TWEET WITH @MissyElliott!!!”

on the real tho sooo psyched to be on this DUA project. I can't wait for you all to hear this 🔥 Physical remix I spent half of lockdown working on. @gwenstefani sounds so good. PLUS I'M IN A TWEET WITH @MissyElliott!!!

— Mark Ronson (@MarkRonson) August 5, 2020

Fans may get a chance to see Dua perform this remixed single at the MTV Video Music Awards. She’s one of the artists rumored to perform at the Aug. 30 event (which is now no longer taking place indoors at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, but across NYC at audience-less outdoor performances.) Dua is up for four MTV VMAs, with her “Don’t Start Now” being nominated for Best Direction. Her “Physical” video also nabbed three nods –for Best Art Direction, Best Choreography, and Best Visual Effects.