is floating in the ocean, the sun just beginning to set behind her. She looks strong, serene 91裸聊视频� save for the looming threat of a massive shark, fin just breaching the surface a few feet away.

The image is the cover of her third album, 91裸聊视频淩adical Optimism,91裸聊视频� out Friday. It is an apt visual representation for an album about finding and protecting your peace in dangerous waters 91裸聊视频� a thematic maturation for the pop superstar, who has long identified her sound as 91裸聊视频渄ance-crying.91裸聊视频�

That cheeky term encapsulates the clubby jubilance of her biggest pop hits, but 91裸聊视频淩adical Optimism,91裸聊视频� with its psychedelic electro-pop, complicates it.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 definitely something more cathartic that comes with the third album,91裸聊视频� she told The Associated Press recently.

91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频橣uture Nostalgia91裸聊视频� was my chance for me to be able to do a very polished pop-dance-disco record,91裸聊视频� she says 91裸聊视频淩adical Optimism,91裸聊视频� alternatively, was informed by what she91裸聊视频檚 learned from touring the world over the last few years 91裸聊视频� drawing influence from trip hop and Britpop and including newfound interest in live instrumentation.

91裸聊视频淚t was so much more free flowing,91裸聊视频� she says of her latest album91裸聊视频檚 creative process. 91裸聊视频淎nd it didn91裸聊视频檛 have a formula, per se, but I always had that pop sensibility in the back of my mind. But I wanted to just experiment and try and create something new. But I think this was always kind of the album that I91裸聊视频檝e always wanted to make.91裸聊视频�

In more ways than one: Around her first album, Lipa wrote down that she91裸聊视频檇 like to work with 91裸聊视频� specifically on her third album. The manifestation worked, and he became a crucial collaborator on 91裸聊视频淩adical Optimism.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t was almost like something deep down, instinctively, was telling me that it was something earned,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淭hat over time I would be able to go in and work with a creative that I was so inspired by, and to be in a room and learn from him.91裸聊视频�

As for the album91裸聊视频檚 title: 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 euphoric, it91裸聊视频檚 togetherness,91裸聊视频� she says.

91裸聊视频淒ance music has such a long history of creating such a safe space. And I just want to embody that,91裸聊视频� she adds.

She91裸聊视频檚 been working hard to get there. Lipa, now 28, began her career at age 15, when she convinced her family to let her move from Kosovo to London, where she was born, to pursue a pop career. She went to school, modeled, and in 2017 released her eponymous debut album with the blockbuster dance-pop hits 91裸聊视频淣ew Rules91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淥ne Kiss.91裸聊视频� Then came the nu-disco electropop of 202091裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淔uture Nostalgia,91裸聊视频� which solidified her status as one of pop music91裸聊视频檚 biggest players. Not bad for a unique voice in the streaming era, where capturing the attention of the masses 91裸聊视频� and sustaining it 91裸聊视频� has never been more of a challenge.

In 2024, her pop songs contain a kind of learned elasticity. The melodies stack atop unusual synth sounds, the vocal range stretches (particularly on the cut 91裸聊视频淔alling Forever91裸聊视频�), the dance breaks inspired by U.K. rave culture and format-benders Primal Scream and Massive Attack 91裸聊视频� they91裸聊视频檙e all elements Lipa says she wouldn91裸聊视频檛 have dared attempt on her last album. That came from working with Parker, producer Danny L Harle, songwriter (known for his work with and ), and Lipa91裸聊视频檚 longtime collaborator Caroline Ailin.

91裸聊视频淪he understands how to handle a lot of opinions in the room, including her own,91裸聊视频� Jesso tells the AP. 91裸聊视频淪he doesn91裸聊视频檛 value hers above anyone else91裸聊视频檚, she simply uses the ones which work best for what she is trying to achieve.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淲e were a band,91裸聊视频� Lipa says of the group. The first day they wrote 91裸聊视频淚llusion.91裸聊视频� The second day, 91裸聊视频淗appy for You.91裸聊视频� (91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檇 never written a song like that before,91裸聊视频� she points out. 91裸聊视频淎nd I loved that version of myself.91裸聊视频�) The third day, the post-disco pop of 91裸聊视频淲hatcha Doing.91裸聊视频� In bright, airy studios in London and Malibu, they finessed what would become Lipa91裸聊视频檚 most ambitious 91裸聊视频� and euphoric-sounding 91裸聊视频� record to date.

That experimentation appears across Lipa91裸聊视频檚 endeavors, too. She91裸聊视频檚 acting more 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频渓ittle baby roles!91裸聊视频� she says with a smile 91裸聊视频� after playing Mermaid Barbie in (she also contributed the ubiquitous, Grammy-nominated ) and LaGrange, a sultry spy in 91裸聊视频淎rgylle91裸聊视频� (a brief performance AP film critic Jake Coyle described as ).

In 2022, she founded a newsletter called Service95, what she views as an extension of a childhood blog, to 91裸聊视频渢ell stories from all around the world, not solely from a Western lens,91裸聊视频� she says. It has grown into a website, podcast and book club: 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 just another hobby of mine that I91裸聊视频檝e somehow managed to turn into a job, which is just great,91裸聊视频� she says, smiling.

91裸聊视频淢y day job, which is my music career, which I love, comes with constantly being online. And I think for me, at least now I91裸聊视频檓 searching for other things, and not doomscrolling on Twitter,91裸聊视频� she says of her media enterprise. 91裸聊视频淎t least this way I91裸聊视频檓 like learning something new about the world. I love having that kind of duality in my life.91裸聊视频�

It91裸聊视频檚 a duality fueled by curiosity, like when Lipa made headlines late last year for challenging in an interview on her podcast over reports of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo mining cobalt for iPhones.

91裸聊视频淭hat was scary, and really exciting,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淵ou never really know what to expect when you go in to interview someone.91裸聊视频�

A few days after visiting the AP91裸聊视频檚 New York headquarters, Lipa appears at a public high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to speak to students in a conversation moderated by .

91裸聊视频淥ne of the things I admire about her is how incredibly intelligent she is,91裸聊视频� Barrymore says in her introduction, commending Lipa for not only being an 91裸聊视频渋con,91裸聊视频� but someone who is 91裸聊视频済lobally aware.91裸聊视频�

In conversation, Lipa is generous and warm, particularly to a freshman drama student named Dolce, who is also Albanian, and expresses a desire to make it in the entertainment industry. Lipa tells her that identity, intentionally or not, is woven into her music.

At the end of the event, Lipa says she feels 91裸聊视频渙ptimistic about life overall, everything that comes with it,91裸聊视频� and takes a moment to look out at the audience. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 the most optimistic about the next generation.91裸聊视频�

And then, almost as swiftly as she arrived, Lipa leaves. A lingering positivity permeates the air. It recalls something she told the AP earlier in the week: that she strives to be 91裸聊视频渧iolently happy91裸聊视频� in life and in her endeavors.

91裸聊视频淵ou sometimes have to push yourself into that feeling,91裸聊视频� she says. Remaining grateful is 91裸聊视频渄efinitely a muscle that needs to be exercised.91裸聊视频�

On 91裸聊视频淩adical Optimism,91裸聊视频� she91裸聊视频檚 written the workout soundtrack.

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