After a lot of anticipation, Dua Lipa made a comeback and kicked off her next era with her new single “Houdini”. Her fans welcomed it with open arms, but the chart numbers aren’t as impressive as expected, and we’re here to help you decide if this song is a hit or a flop.
“Houdini” was released as the lead single from Lipa’s upcoming third studio album, the follow-up to her career-defining record Future Nostalgia. She described it as a song about “knowing yourself, understanding yourself, knowing what’s good for you at that moment.”
“Houdini” made quite a splash when it hit the shelves on November 10 and was met with positive reviews. The critics praised Lipa for giving us another catchy bop, while still switching up her sonic palette and experimenting with new sounds.
Many expected “Houdini” would easily hit No. 1 in Dua Lipa’s home country, but Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” blocked her from topping the charts in the UK. She also failed to enter the top ten in the US, where “Houdini” debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Judging by these numbers, it would be easy to dismiss “Houdini” as a flop, but it’s important to keep in mind that Lipa is the queen of sleeper hits. This song actually scored the highest debut of her career on the Hot 100 chart, which she never even topped, despite giving us such smash hits as “New Rules”, “Don’t Start Now”, “Levitating”, and “Break My Heart”.
Time will be the biggest judge of “Houdini”’s success, but it’s too early to call it a flop. We wouldn’t be surprised to watch it climb up the charts in the upcoming months, and it certainly wouldn’t be Lipa’s first song to do so.
