Miss the ‘Love. Angel. Music. Baby.’ era of Gwen Stefani? Well, this early aughts vibe is reintroduced in Mark Ronson’s remix of Dua Lipa’s song ‘Physical,’ using Gwen’s heart-pumping vocals!
No, it’s not an ode to Olivia Newton-John’s 1981 hit, but it’s just as fabulous. Dua Lipa released Club Future Nostalgia on Aug. 28, and among the 17-tracks was a version of “Physical” featuring none other than Gwen Stefani! If that wasn’t enough, the remix was done by Bruno Mars’s frequent collaborator, Mark Ronson. The song, in a word, was amazing.
It has also been a while since fans heard Gwen on a pop track, now that she’s made her segue into Christmas songs and country music duets with boyfriend Blake Shelton. “The Physical Remix is a grower & Gwen Stefani is just pure delight…Dua Lipa really brought our Gwen back to her roots and for that we are grateful,” one fan pointed out on Twitter.
Club Future Nostalgia is precisely what it advertises: a remixed version of Dua’s Future Nostalgia album, ready-made for the club (whenever the clubs open again.) Along with Gwen, K-pop group BLACKPINK joins Dua for the “Kiss and Make Up” remix. Previously, Dua shared the mother of all remixes, releasing a Blessed Madonna version of “Levitating” that featured the Madonna and Missy Elliott.
Gwen and Dua had a cute interaction weeks before Club Future Nostalgia’s release. While Dua guest-hosted the Aug. 10 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, she had the No Doubt singer on for an interview. It turned into a bit of a fangirl moment for Dua. I’m a massive, massive fan of yours,” she said to Gwen. “I did learn how to spell bananas because of you… I’d play your songs, I’d pause them, I’d write them down, I’d pause the song again, write them down just so I could learn the words to all your songs.” There was one moment when things got a bit awkward, and that was when Dua insinuated that Gwen and Blake had secretly tied the knot.
“So, I heard that you’ve been spending quarantine with your husband Blake Shelton at the ranch in Oklahoma. Who else was with you? How was that?” asked Dua, prompting Gwen to giggle before correcting her. “Well, he’s not my husband, but that sounded cool when you said that.” From there, Gwen spoke about she was “actually on his tour right when we got shut down. My brother was out with us, so his whole family came out. It was me, my three boys, Blake, my brother, his wife and their two little babies, her sister and then a friend. I think we had, like, 15 people. It was really, actually, a lot of fun at first. All the sudden work is over, and you just get to indulge in being on this ranch.”
While Dua’s fans will be spending the next week or so blasting this remix, they will not be watching the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. When the nominations for the Aug. 30 show were announced, fans were shocked to see Dua get snubbed out of all the major categories. Her videography team was nominated for four VMAs — Best Direction (“Don’t Start Now”), Best Art Direction (“Physical”), Best Choreography (“Physical”), and Best Visual Effects (“Physical”) – but if Dua’s videos win any of those, the statue will not go to her. Her “Break My Heart” track did score a nod when MTV unveiled its Song Of The Summer category on Aug. 24, but it’s a fan vote in a bracket-style tournament taking place on MTV’s Instagram Story. A bit, “too little, too late.”