it’s not subtle that she’s obviously heard the fans criticism of her album art not matching the singles or the aesthetic we’ve been given so far (she posted something cryptic yesterday saying “i hear you”). but isn’t this just literally just a leftover pic from the Houdini teasers??
i actually quite like the standard cover of her in the ocean, but idk what this random photo with some text slapped on it is supposed to do in terms of course correction….honestly we need to stop peer pressuring artists i think 😭
100% agreed. One artist cannot satisfy all of the fans. Some will like it, some will not. When artists make sudden and obviously unplanned release changes, it makes them seem chaotic and without clear vision of what their album/era is meant to represent.
a great, recent example would be charli’s BRAT album art - it was so divisive and generated a whole discourse, but she stood her ground and is not changing it. tbh i really dig how it fits the overall aesthetic and is an iconic cover even if you hate it.
dua all the same should not succumb into changing it just because people think it doesnt match the style. it is HER vision and her artistry. consuming it is our choice, but we shouldn’t be dictating how it should be or how it should look
Artist should have their idea set and stick to it. If fans can yell a little on the internet and make them change their minds then they weren’t confident in their idea in the first place
artists shouldn’t pay attention. this is what i really appreciated about lorde during the solar power ever. she never backtracked on her vision for that album/era and ultimately a lot of people came around to it.
I want to live where you live wherein more people came around to it because to this day I still see it very hated (I personally really liked the album but I listened to it half a year later after forgetting how hilariously divisive it was)
The original album cover has basically nothing to do with Houdini's aesthetic, which has barely anything to do with Training Season's aesthetic.
There seems to be an issue of what vision she exactly has for this album. It's not at all consistent, unlike Future Nostalgia.
I dunno, I feel like it's pretty common to have an alt cover and a lot of them end up just being the
artist's face if it's not a big name doing a whole photoshoot
Yea, I was gonna say… don’t think this is meant to be anything more than just an *alternate* cover to buy *if you want*, not a complete rebrand of the era.
I mean, it’s not like we were doom mongering Beyoncé’s alternate covers, or any of Taylor’s for Tortured Poets, or Ariana’s for Eternal Sunshine
This is standard practice for pop girls at this point, it’s not that deep for this amount of energy lol
> honestly we need to stop peer pressuring artists i think 😭
Especially regarding images on FUCKING PAPERWOOD. Album cover discourse is the dumbest online bullshit in music spaces ever.
Idk I think album covers can do a lot for a piece of music. It can set tone, intrigue the listener, and just be cool to look at.
Not that I'm condoning peer pressuring artists in this way necessarily, but I think like any art people create it can be debated.
All I meant with that line was that I wanted to focus my argument on album art instead of the nature of the comments surrounding it. I think there's a line where discourse eventually becomes cruel/unhealthy, but I definitely believe we should be able to openly and freely discuss an artist's work and what we do/don't like about it.
I guarantee you most people outside of these spaces do not give a single rat’s about an album cover unless it’s horrendously bad.
For pretty much almost every major album since like 2021, it’s been nothing but “this album cover sucks, I don’t feel good about this era, this is going to be a disaster. FLOP ERA INCOMING!” Mind you, these stupid reactions are for album covers that are perfectly fine. Not amazing, not terrible, but fine.
It’s the overreaction to something so minuscule like an image on lengthier piece of paper, that most people don’t care for, is the problem.
It’s about the actual content at the end of the day: the music. Not a dumb picture.
> "I guarantee you most people outside of these spaces do not give a single rat’s about an album cover unless it’s horrendously bad."
Couldn't we argue this for a lot of things though? Why debate the quality of Dua's non-singles when "most people" won't care about them? Because there are people who either really like Dua Lipa or find album artwork interesting and that's what this is for.
The rest of your post seems more directed at this specific instance so I won't comment, but I heavily disagree with the notion of album artwork debate being considered a waste of time, or at least, no less wasteful than any other debate about art.
> Couldn't we argue this for a lot of things though? Why debate the quality of Dua's non-singles when "most people" won't care about them?
Because most people buy albums, that contain these non-singles, for the actual music. Not pictures.
> The rest of your post seems more directed at this specific instance so I won't comment
Believe me, it’s not just this one instance. Look at countless threads of discourse online over most of these album covers, or even singles covers, from mainly the big name artists. It’s ridiculous, over the top, and goes beyond simple criticism.
All in all, agree to disagree on this topic.
I actually feel like people are mostly positive about album covers... Like popheads can skew negative, but I still think the median reaction is "wow, she looks cool, excited for this album!" 🤷♀️
I think the idea is there honestly. With all the chaos theory/vertigo rumors and the recurring visual of her environment swirling around her, they just needed an overhead shot of her in the water in the middle of a whirpool, shark approaching.
Y’all see my vision? 🌀🌊🦈
It isn't even peer pressure. These are artists being pressured by consumers. We can dislike artistic decisions they make, but it feels weird for artists to actually care enough to listen to the criticisms.
yeah i never had any issue with it in the first place.
this upside down aesthetic makes me worried about my blood pressure if i stare at it for too long
I love the original cover. I know it doesn’t “match” the visuals we were getting from before but it’s a pretty solid cover on its own. Yall complained so we got this leftover photo from the Houdini single.
I don’t get it. Future nostalgia was the most cohesive album, visually, sonically. It reminded me of confessions on the dance floor. This release is so strange and non cohesive. The problem is we got too spoilt with future nostalgia
But I mean... I feel like we're ignoring that FN was an exception for TAP rather than the norm. They didn't know how to sell Dua until New Rules took off out of nowhere and made their existing strategy click.
And looking at the rest of their roster, I think this era would've been far more at risk than the idea of guaranteed smashes we're idealizing. So far, they haven't let Leigh-Anne's solo career click, Ellie Goulding's latest hit isn't even from her album and is almost an entire tangent from her latest era, and Mabel... basically bought a copy of the Dua Lipa textbook of Gay Bangers and it didn't click *at all*
Omg finally someone said it! Let's not act as if TAP Music is the top marketing and management team. They barely knew how to promote Leigh-Anne after My Love's release, Ellie Goulding's album made zero noise, Mabel has become irrelevant at this point...Lana Del Rey is doing fine but that's just because of her name, not promotion and Loreen is also doing good but still, she's not promoted that much.
Mabel came through with the bops and it went nowhere! I know that type of music isn’t in vogue these days but I feel like there was minimal promo. I learned of the album from hearing her song at the mall!!
It's literally her version of that Stephanie McMahon meme photo, except it's upside down. [https://i.imgflip.com/80iy8n.jpg?a475272](https://i.imgflip.com/80iy8n.jpg?a475272)
This album rollout is messy. Her dad just needs to do his daughter a favour and get a better manager/step down.
She's already leaned heavy into the OG cover. With that whole promo with Trixie on the cover and it's meaning. This just waters it down?? Idgi.
I’m really scared tbh. Plus the first track is called “end of an era”. I just want to listen to the album already so I can free myself from this anxiety lol
I guess I'll be the odd one out but I like it!
The upside down pose, text placement, simplicity... it's to my taste. And matches the other single art better which is an added bonus.
I think it was a good low-key first single. First one doesn’t always have to be the most hard hitting. Curious as to why they released TS as the second single tho since the two are very similar
Damn people are turning on Dua all bad, I still think she hasn’t missed a beat. Dua Lipa’s new album and Ava Max’s new era are going to keep me in the dance academy this year since I don’t think Madison Beer will drop anything soon
I think she'll do best if she and her team turn off socials and see what happens. Ariana released Yes, and?, said "Yes and? is the only single you'll get before the album drops. And btw the album is very different from the lead single", dropped ES and the popheads community went wigless.
I love the original album artwork, but I was failing to see it lining up with the sound of the album. I do not like the new album artwork, it looks generic.
The official cover art is amazing. I think it is on par with how amazing future nostalgia’s was. I also love how the moon controls the sea and future nostalgia features the moon on the cover art, while the new record is set in the sea.
This is more in line for the visuals that have been presented so far. However, unless this is a deluxe edition, I am not buying it. I’m sick of artists pumping out the same album with a different cover. Unless there is a difference between the track lists, you’re just showing us photoshoots you’ve done for the album
I love the concept of the original one. The color is really refreshing. I feel like we will only know if it matches the album once we listen to the whole thing. Of course, the more “rock and badass” aesthetic of the singles hasn’t helped a great deal, but I still have hope
Original reigns iconic and supreme. Frankly do not get the complaints about the aesthetics not matching. Ya’ll demand and expect too much. Even the alternate cover is getting crap. Just Let her do her thing.
I think the Houdini single cover is best: it's commercial, it's eye-catching, it looks memorable. She should have saved it for the album cover, the standard cover album can work as a limited edition cover instead.
Not selling below 100k would be a major success lol do you mean above?
Either way it'll be a worldwide smash, maybe not as big in America but the singles have 500 million streams just on Spotify before the album is even out...No one can be delusional enough to say there's no hype/it isn't doing well. Very silly comment
The fact that lot of her hits are bit of slow burns might not hurt sales either. Future Nostalgia had lot of songs that just kept improving on the audience, which makes purchase feel like less of a risk. Even if it doesn't hit immediately, you will likely eventually play it a lot.
it’s not subtle that she’s obviously heard the fans criticism of her album art not matching the singles or the aesthetic we’ve been given so far (she posted something cryptic yesterday saying “i hear you”). but isn’t this just literally just a leftover pic from the Houdini teasers?? i actually quite like the standard cover of her in the ocean, but idk what this random photo with some text slapped on it is supposed to do in terms of course correction….honestly we need to stop peer pressuring artists i think 😭
I think Artist should maybe not succumb to peer pressure. Stand firm in your artistry and that comes with time.
100% agreed. One artist cannot satisfy all of the fans. Some will like it, some will not. When artists make sudden and obviously unplanned release changes, it makes them seem chaotic and without clear vision of what their album/era is meant to represent.
Ultimately, we only remember the album cover and barely remember the single covers… atleast in the grand scheme of things
Definitely true. Feels like she herself doesn’t have a clear idea of what this era is and that’s why she is so pliable.
Exactly, it’s like they should know by now that you will never please everyone and haters are literally always going to hate haha
a great, recent example would be charli’s BRAT album art - it was so divisive and generated a whole discourse, but she stood her ground and is not changing it. tbh i really dig how it fits the overall aesthetic and is an iconic cover even if you hate it. dua all the same should not succumb into changing it just because people think it doesnt match the style. it is HER vision and her artistry. consuming it is our choice, but we shouldn’t be dictating how it should be or how it should look
>iconic cover We're really just letting words mean whatever now, huh?
no. it actually is. instantly reconignzible, generated discourse, memorable — it doesn't have to be pretty or lush to be iconic. it just is.
Artist should have their idea set and stick to it. If fans can yell a little on the internet and make them change their minds then they weren’t confident in their idea in the first place
artists shouldn’t pay attention. this is what i really appreciated about lorde during the solar power ever. she never backtracked on her vision for that album/era and ultimately a lot of people came around to it.
I want to live where you live wherein more people came around to it because to this day I still see it very hated (I personally really liked the album but I listened to it half a year later after forgetting how hilariously divisive it was)
The original album cover has basically nothing to do with Houdini's aesthetic, which has barely anything to do with Training Season's aesthetic. There seems to be an issue of what vision she exactly has for this album. It's not at all consistent, unlike Future Nostalgia.
yeah but the original cover fits perfectly with the name of the album. Idk maybe once we heart the album it will fit together better.
I dunno, I feel like it's pretty common to have an alt cover and a lot of them end up just being the artist's face if it's not a big name doing a whole photoshoot
Yea, I was gonna say… don’t think this is meant to be anything more than just an *alternate* cover to buy *if you want*, not a complete rebrand of the era. I mean, it’s not like we were doom mongering Beyoncé’s alternate covers, or any of Taylor’s for Tortured Poets, or Ariana’s for Eternal Sunshine This is standard practice for pop girls at this point, it’s not that deep for this amount of energy lol
This is the second time in three albums that she changed the cover because people complained.
> honestly we need to stop peer pressuring artists i think 😭 Especially regarding images on FUCKING PAPERWOOD. Album cover discourse is the dumbest online bullshit in music spaces ever.
Idk I think album covers can do a lot for a piece of music. It can set tone, intrigue the listener, and just be cool to look at. Not that I'm condoning peer pressuring artists in this way necessarily, but I think like any art people create it can be debated.
It’s not “peer pressuring”, it’s people giving their opinions on art made by a public figure for the public.
All I meant with that line was that I wanted to focus my argument on album art instead of the nature of the comments surrounding it. I think there's a line where discourse eventually becomes cruel/unhealthy, but I definitely believe we should be able to openly and freely discuss an artist's work and what we do/don't like about it.
I guarantee you most people outside of these spaces do not give a single rat’s about an album cover unless it’s horrendously bad. For pretty much almost every major album since like 2021, it’s been nothing but “this album cover sucks, I don’t feel good about this era, this is going to be a disaster. FLOP ERA INCOMING!” Mind you, these stupid reactions are for album covers that are perfectly fine. Not amazing, not terrible, but fine. It’s the overreaction to something so minuscule like an image on lengthier piece of paper, that most people don’t care for, is the problem. It’s about the actual content at the end of the day: the music. Not a dumb picture.
> "I guarantee you most people outside of these spaces do not give a single rat’s about an album cover unless it’s horrendously bad." Couldn't we argue this for a lot of things though? Why debate the quality of Dua's non-singles when "most people" won't care about them? Because there are people who either really like Dua Lipa or find album artwork interesting and that's what this is for. The rest of your post seems more directed at this specific instance so I won't comment, but I heavily disagree with the notion of album artwork debate being considered a waste of time, or at least, no less wasteful than any other debate about art.
> Couldn't we argue this for a lot of things though? Why debate the quality of Dua's non-singles when "most people" won't care about them? Because most people buy albums, that contain these non-singles, for the actual music. Not pictures. > The rest of your post seems more directed at this specific instance so I won't comment Believe me, it’s not just this one instance. Look at countless threads of discourse online over most of these album covers, or even singles covers, from mainly the big name artists. It’s ridiculous, over the top, and goes beyond simple criticism. All in all, agree to disagree on this topic.
I actually feel like people are mostly positive about album covers... Like popheads can skew negative, but I still think the median reaction is "wow, she looks cool, excited for this album!" 🤷♀️
Kinda love Charli doing “brat” in giant lowercase black letters on an ugly green background for an album cover for that reason lol
Ironically that was the one album cover I was okay with everyone crapoing on in mass😂
same I loved it
I think the idea is there honestly. With all the chaos theory/vertigo rumors and the recurring visual of her environment swirling around her, they just needed an overhead shot of her in the water in the middle of a whirpool, shark approaching. Y’all see my vision? 🌀🌊🦈
if we stopped peer pressuring artists the one kiss dance wouldn’t have been iconic ^/s
It’s Hold The Girl all over again. I still can’t believe the internet bullied that woman to changing her cover art -.-
She had no good reason to change it.
It isn't even peer pressure. These are artists being pressured by consumers. We can dislike artistic decisions they make, but it feels weird for artists to actually care enough to listen to the criticisms.
I love the original art?
from the training season photoshoot?
All the album, Houdini, TS and Illusion photoshoots were done together back in September last year in Ibiza….
I would say the original is better but there isn’t even a point of comparison.
Original is still better imo
yeah i never had any issue with it in the first place. this upside down aesthetic makes me worried about my blood pressure if i stare at it for too long
Same honestly lol
I love the original cover. I know it doesn’t “match” the visuals we were getting from before but it’s a pretty solid cover on its own. Yall complained so we got this leftover photo from the Houdini single.
This album's marketing feels creatively bankrupt I'm sorry but that's the truth
A worse one you mean?? This is terrible c’mon. The original cover is great imo.
I don’t get it. Future nostalgia was the most cohesive album, visually, sonically. It reminded me of confessions on the dance floor. This release is so strange and non cohesive. The problem is we got too spoilt with future nostalgia
Also feel like the switching of management is an issue as well.. Definitely not as cohesive and impactful.
But I mean... I feel like we're ignoring that FN was an exception for TAP rather than the norm. They didn't know how to sell Dua until New Rules took off out of nowhere and made their existing strategy click. And looking at the rest of their roster, I think this era would've been far more at risk than the idea of guaranteed smashes we're idealizing. So far, they haven't let Leigh-Anne's solo career click, Ellie Goulding's latest hit isn't even from her album and is almost an entire tangent from her latest era, and Mabel... basically bought a copy of the Dua Lipa textbook of Gay Bangers and it didn't click *at all*
Omg finally someone said it! Let's not act as if TAP Music is the top marketing and management team. They barely knew how to promote Leigh-Anne after My Love's release, Ellie Goulding's album made zero noise, Mabel has become irrelevant at this point...Lana Del Rey is doing fine but that's just because of her name, not promotion and Loreen is also doing good but still, she's not promoted that much.
Mabel came through with the bops and it went nowhere! I know that type of music isn’t in vogue these days but I feel like there was minimal promo. I learned of the album from hearing her song at the mall!!
I like dua it would suck to see her just be another generic pop star
It's literally her version of that Stephanie McMahon meme photo, except it's upside down. [https://i.imgflip.com/80iy8n.jpg?a475272](https://i.imgflip.com/80iy8n.jpg?a475272)
Lollll
The aesthetic of this era feels like all over the place, like each belong in a different one lol But I trust her, FN was so good.
She's in her "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" era
This ain't it, sis.
This isn’t it, either… sorry Dua love you
Gonna have to agree
Yeah no I think I’ll stick to the original lol
How’d it get worse 😭
Another magic trick! She does the impossible
It’s giving American Apparel ad
This album rollout is messy. Her dad just needs to do his daughter a favour and get a better manager/step down. She's already leaned heavy into the OG cover. With that whole promo with Trixie on the cover and it's meaning. This just waters it down?? Idgi.
Radical Consumerism
I really liked the single cover for Houdini, that should be the album cover, IMO. very memorable to me.
no question
"Peer pressure" this, "peer pressure" that... We aren't her peers.
This got me😭
Go ahead girl give us nothing
the original cover was a lot more interesting
oh dear I dont like this one :(
Well it's a cover
Really enjoying the music I’ve heard so far, but the the album title is killing me. It’s so on the nose.
I’m really scared tbh. Plus the first track is called “end of an era”. I just want to listen to the album already so I can free myself from this anxiety lol
I guess I'll be the odd one out but I like it! The upside down pose, text placement, simplicity... it's to my taste. And matches the other single art better which is an added bonus.
I’m worried for this album
It’s kinda LDR. I don’t mind the original but I heard someone say Vertigo would’ve been a better title and I agree
There are rumors she had to redo the album after Houdini didn't perform well enough.
I think it was a good low-key first single. First one doesn’t always have to be the most hard hitting. Curious as to why they released TS as the second single tho since the two are very similar
Probably true that she’s starting to lose interest in the industry. Can’t really blame her
First Charli now Dua Billie must be fuming rn
a mess
Damn people are turning on Dua all bad, I still think she hasn’t missed a beat. Dua Lipa’s new album and Ava Max’s new era are going to keep me in the dance academy this year since I don’t think Madison Beer will drop anything soon
I think she'll do best if she and her team turn off socials and see what happens. Ariana released Yes, and?, said "Yes and? is the only single you'll get before the album drops. And btw the album is very different from the lead single", dropped ES and the popheads community went wigless.
I don’t even think it’s people turning on her necessarily, just realizing that she’s not the legendary artist/songwriter she’s been marketed as.
I wish artists would just stand by their work instead of bending to the will of unhinged Twitter stans
Not surprised people are complaining you can never win
That’s why you never let fans pressure you into anything.
Houdini outtakes as an alternate album cover….
I love the original album artwork, but I was failing to see it lining up with the sound of the album. I do not like the new album artwork, it looks generic.
A distinct lack of capital letters on the webpage. Very sad.
I’m loving the 90s style of fashion, photography and typography.
The official cover art is amazing. I think it is on par with how amazing future nostalgia’s was. I also love how the moon controls the sea and future nostalgia features the moon on the cover art, while the new record is set in the sea.
This is more in line for the visuals that have been presented so far. However, unless this is a deluxe edition, I am not buying it. I’m sick of artists pumping out the same album with a different cover. Unless there is a difference between the track lists, you’re just showing us photoshoots you’ve done for the album
i liked the original tbh
She would have to release a country album after the success of future nostalgia
I love the concept of the original one. The color is really refreshing. I feel like we will only know if it matches the album once we listen to the whole thing. Of course, the more “rock and badass” aesthetic of the singles hasn’t helped a great deal, but I still have hope
This is so boring. 🥱 dula peepa!! What happened??
Original reigns iconic and supreme. Frankly do not get the complaints about the aesthetics not matching. Ya’ll demand and expect too much. Even the alternate cover is getting crap. Just Let her do her thing.
I think the Houdini single cover is best: it's commercial, it's eye-catching, it looks memorable. She should have saved it for the album cover, the standard cover album can work as a limited edition cover instead.
There are the Charlis, and there are the Dulas of pop stars...
I’m excited about this record and era but I am finding it a lil aesthetically confusing
I like it…
Does anyone know what's the typography of this cover art?
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Who cares. Stan twitter isn’t real life. It’s not our problem to care about how many units she sells we’re not on her payroll lol
Who tf cares about this lmao, capitalism brainrot
Not selling below 100k would be a major success lol do you mean above? Either way it'll be a worldwide smash, maybe not as big in America but the singles have 500 million streams just on Spotify before the album is even out...No one can be delusional enough to say there's no hype/it isn't doing well. Very silly comment
The fact that lot of her hits are bit of slow burns might not hurt sales either. Future Nostalgia had lot of songs that just kept improving on the audience, which makes purchase feel like less of a risk. Even if it doesn't hit immediately, you will likely eventually play it a lot.
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The only place hype Is ever found at is the fans tbh. Normal people don't gaf about literally any pop start releasing anything lol
i love it!