Last Dance (Dua Lipa song)

"Last Dance" was written by Lipa, Talay Riley and Stephen "Koz" Kozmeniuk, with the latter of the three solely handling production.[1] They wrote the song in October 2014 in Toronto, after Lipa had many failed writing sessions attempting to recreate the sound of "Hotter than Hell" (2016).[2][3] It was her third writing session in a day and Lipa decided to write about the fact that she was tired and homesick.[2] Lipa recalled writing the song as "a very honest moment," being able to capture her feelings in that exact moment. She went on to say that every time she listens to the song, Lipa recalls that moment.[4] After leaving the session, Lipa was unsure about the song, though after hearing the finished version, she fell in love with it. Lipa stated that it is the sound she wanted her album to have and is the song she would take to producers and say "this is my sound."[2][3]

"Last Dance" is a chillwave,[7] dance-pop,[8][9] post-EDM,[10] and synth-pop song.[11] The song is composed in ⁴
₄ time and the key of A minor, with a driving beat tempo of 120 beats per minute and a chord progression of F(add2)–Am–C/G. Lipa's vocals span from the low note of A₃ to the high note of D₅.[12] The track begins slowly, with Lipa vocally whispering. It builds up to where Lipa is enunciating every lyric.[5][13] The chorus is mostly instrumental, featuring electronic sounds and a dance beat.[5][6] The middle eight contains a breakdown, where Lipa vocally hits her high notes.[6][7] The track has a contemporary dance-heavy production with house synth chords and a bassline rumble.[4][6][7][11] Lyrically, the song contains Tumblr-inspired lyrics about an intense relationship that could crash at any second.[7][14]

"Last Dance" premiered on 8 February 2016 via Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show.[11] The song was released for digital download and streaming the following day through Lipa's independent record label, Dua Lipa Limited, as the third single from her eponymous debut studio album.[15] It was serviced to contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom on 4 March 2016.[16] "Last Dance" also received remixes by Coucheron and Stefan Ponce.[17] The song was intended to be the second track on the album but was ultimately removed from the standard track listing and included as the closing track on the deluxe edition, released 2 June 2017.[18][19]

In 2018, the song was included in an advert for Lipa's campaign with Jaguar, titled "Join The Pace".[20] Lipa performed "Last Dance" for the first time on 13 January 2016 at the Eurosonic festival.[21] It was also included on the set list for Lipa's Hotter Than Hell tour (2016).[22] Lipa performed the song in 2016 during her MTV push artist live performance.[23] She also performed the song for her MTV Setlist show on 20 November 2016 at the Iridium in New York City.[24]

Music video

Lipa dancing in a technicolored forest in the music video.

The music video for "Last Dance" was directed and produced by Jon Brewer alongside Ian Blair, while edited by Jackson Ducasse. It premiered to YouTube on 18 February 2016.[25][26] The visual was filmed during December 2015 in the rainforests of California, with Lipa recalling that it was really cold in the state.[2] The video uses technicolor effects.[27] It opens with Lipa in a red-lit bathroom, going into a bath and coming out of a lake in a rainforest. She then begins to run and dance in the forest, wearing a T-shirt dress. In another scene, Lipa is seen wearing a black bra and mesh pants. At multiple points, the visuals flicker into 3D territory. Lipa is also seen dancing with her hands up in a looped fragment, as well as making an eagle hand gesture for nodding to her Kosovan heritage.[2][27][28][29]

"Last Dance" was met with acclaim from music critics.[30] Kim Taylor Bennett of Vice compared the song to the works of Rihanna, calling it "ballsy" and "beautiful." She went on to praise Lipa's vocal flexibility, writing her voice is "powerful one minute and a magnetically vulnerable the next."[4] Writing for Pulse Media, Jessica Boyle also compared the song to Rihanna and categorized the lyrics as "standalone," and Lipa's voice as "smokey." She concluded that it would sound nice with a club remix.[5] In The Irish Times, Ailbhe Malone praised the song's production and lyrics mix, while comparing the breakdown in the middle eight to Cashmere Cat.[7]

Idolator's Bianca Gracie called "Last Dance" a "flirty [tune]" that will "immediately hit you at your waistline," courtesy of Lipa's "sultry and bold" vocals. She went on to call the production "fluttering" and the song as a whole a "solid future festival staple."[11] For A Bit of Pop Music, Michiel Vos praised Lipa's vocal abilities and compared the chorus to Justin Bieber's Purpose (2015), and Major Lazer.[6] Sebas E. Alonso of Jenesaispop also compared the song to the music of Major Lazer, while The 405's Sean Ward called it "thrilling."[31][32] For Clash, Robin Murray called the track "gorgeous" and "infectious," with "innate energy" and a "real pop intelligence."[33] "Last Dance" peaked at number four on the US Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart, lasting for seven weeks on the chart.[34]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Dua Lipa (Deluxe).[1]

Recording

• Recorded at KasaKoz Studios (Toronto, Canada)
• Vocals recorded at TaP Studio / Strongroom 7 (London)
• Mixed at BabelFish Studios
• Mastered at Metropolis Studios (London)

Personnel

• Dua Lipa – vocals
• Stephen "Koz" Kozmeniuk – production, keyboards, programming, backing vocals
• Talay Riley – backing vocals
• Matt Vlahovich – additional keyboards
• Matty Green – mixing
• Michael Sonnier – engineering assistance
• John Davis – mastering

• Audio on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics