Don't Start Now

"Don't Start Now"
"Don't Start Now"
Single by Dua Lipa
from the album Future Nostalgia
Released	31 October 2019
Recorded	2019
Studio	TaP (London); Zenseven (Los Angeles);
Genre	Nu-disco
Length	3:03
Label	Warner
Songwriter(s)	Dua Lipa; Caroline Ailin; Emily Warren; Ian Kirkpatrick;
Producer(s)	Ian Kirkpatrick;
Dua Lipa singles chronology
Music video
	"Don't Start Now" on YouTube

"Don't Start Now" is a song by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa. Lipa wrote the song with Caroline Ailin, Emily Warren, and its producer Ian Kirkpatrick. The song was released for digital download and streaming by Warner Records on 31 October 2019, as the lead single from her second studio album, Future Nostalgia (2020). A nu-disco song, it features a funk bassline, inspired by music by the Gap Band, Bee Gees, Daft Punk and Two Door Cinema Club. Elements used in the production include handclaps, a crowd noise, cowbells, synth bursts and accented strings. Lyrically, Lipa celebrates her independence and instructs a former lover to forget about their past relationship.

"Don't Start Now" received widespread critical acclaim upon its release, with many reviewers noting significant growth in Lipa's sound and vocals. Critics also praised the use of 1980s and disco sounds for standing out among other pop releases at the time. At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, the song was nominated in three categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. The song peaked at number two on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100, surpassing Lipa's 2017 song "New Rules" to become her highest-charting single on the latter. In the UK, the song registered the seventh-longest top 10 stay on the chart.

"Don't Start Now" is considered to be the beginning of a revival for disco music in 2020 as downtempo, urban-styled music previously dominated mainstream music. The music video was directed by Nabil Elderkin and filmed in Brooklyn. It features point-of-view and high-angle shots of Lipa dancing at a crowded nightclub and masquerade ball. To promote the song, 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. Numerous remixes have accompanied the song, including an extended Live in L.A. Remix which features a 19-piece live band, for which an accompanying music video directed by Daniel Carberry was also released.