Happy Two-Year Anniversary to Dua Lipa’s ‘Future Nostalgia’ — the Reigning Dance-Pop Album of the Century (Column)

variety.com:

Chris Willman Music WriterWhen Dua Lipa played a two-night stand at L.A.’s Forum this past week, with her U.S. tour just a few dates away from coming to a close, there was a sheet-cake bearing her image backstage in the VIP Forum Club area, a custom that’s de rigueur for headliners coming through the storied arena.

But in our minds, if nowhere else, we should be baking a “happy anniversary” cake commemorating the two-year mark for “Future Nostalgia.” Her sophomore release, which came out March 27, 2020, set an aspirational mood, if not the predominant one, for tough times then arriving and long to follow.

Speaking of “sugarboos,” it induced the kind of dopamine rush that made so many of us — across states, nations and continents — feel like the girl with the most cake.

That Lipa is just now getting around to performing this music live feels like an ideal punctuation point to all but officially mark the end (knock on wood) of a quarantine era.