“Don’t Start Now” is a song by English singer Dua Lipa from her second studio album, Future Nostalgia (2020). It was released by Warner Records as the album’s lead single on 31 October 2019. Lipa wrote the track with Caroline Ailin, Emily Warren, and its producer Ian Kirkpatrick. “Don’t Start Now” is a nu-disco song with a percolating funk bassline, inspired by music by the Bee Gees, Daft Punk and Two Door Cinema Club. It has numerous 1980s and disco elements in its production, including handclaps, a crowd noise, cowbell, synth bursts and accented strings. A post-break up song, its lyrics find Lipa celebrating her independence and instructing a former lover to forget about their past relationship.
The track was critically acclaimed upon its release, with many reviewers noting a significant growth in Lipa’s sound and vocals. Critics also favoured its 1980s and disco elements for standing out among pop releases at the time. The song peaked at number two on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100, surpassing 2017’s “New Rules” to become her highest-charting single in the US. In the UK, it registered the fourth-longest top 10 stay on the chart, and broke a record for the most weeks spent in the top 10 without reaching number one. Internationally, the song charted in the top 10 in more than 40 countries, including Brazil, Ireland and Singapore where it peaked at number one.
The music video for “Don’t Start Now” was directed by Nabil Elderkin, and features point-of-view and high-angle shots of Lipa dancing at a crowded nightclub and masquerade ball. To promote the single, Lipa performed it on many television programmes and awards shows, including the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards, the 2019 American Music Awards and the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
The official music video is currently at over 512 million views on YouTube. Watch and listen here.
Check out the lyrics below:
If you don’t wanna see me
Did a full 180, crazy
Thinking ’bout the way I was
Did the heartbreak change me? Maybe
But look at where I ended up
I’m all good already
So moved on, it’s scary
I’m not where you left me at all, so
If you don’t wanna see me dancing with somebody
If you wanna believe that anything could stop me
Don’t show up, don’t come out
Don’t start caring about me now
Walk away, you know how
Don’t start caring about me now
Aren’t you the guy who tried to
Hurt me with the word “goodbye”?
Though it took some time to survive you
I’m better on the other side
I’m all good already
So moved on, it’s scary
I’m not where you left me at all, so
If you don’t wanna see me dancing with somebody
If you wanna believe that anything could stop me
Don’t show up, don’t come out
Don’t start caring about me now
Walk away, you know how
Don’t start caring about me now (’bout me now, ’bout me)
Oh, oh
Don’t come out, out, out
Don’t show up, up, up
Don’t start now (oh)
Oh, oh
Don’t come out, out
I’m not where you left me at all, so
If you don’t wanna see me dancing with somebody
If you wanna believe that anything could stop me
Don’t show up (don’t show up), don’t come out (don’t come out)
Don’t start caring about me now (’bout me now)
Walk away (walk away), you know how (you know how)
Don’t start caring about me now (so)
Oh, oh
Don’t come out, out, out
Don’t show up, up, up
Walk away, walk away (so)
Oh, oh
Don’t come out, out, out
Don’t show up, up, up
Walk away, walk away, oh
—
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