Dua Lipa has announced the release of Dance the Night, the lead single from the highly-anticipated Barbie film.
According to a video posted to her socials, the upcoming track will be released on Friday 26 May at 12am UK time. It will mark Dua’s first solo release since the 2021 re-issue of her lauded sophomore album, Future Nostalgia.
The video shared a snippet of the single, and it looks like Dua will be returning to the shimmery, disco-pop stylings of the aforementioned album. A win for the gays!
Barbie is one of the most-anticipated films of the year, and it’s set to be a very queer affair thanks to the inclusion of the following openly LGBTQ+ stars: Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, Hari Nef as Doctor Barbie, Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie and Scott Evans.
Margot Robbie leads the cast as the titular character, alongside Ryan Gosling as Ken. Different variations of the doll include Issa Rae as President Barbie, Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie, Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie, Nicola Coughlan as Diplomat Barbie, Ana Cruz Kayne as Judge Barbie, Rita Arya as Journalist Barbie and Dua as Mermaid Barbie.
The multiverse of Ken’s will be played by Evans, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu and Ncuti Gatwa. Additional cast members include Connor Swindells, Michael Cera, Helen Mirren, Jamie Demetriou, Emerald Fennell, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Rhea Perlman, John Cena, Ariana Greenblatt and Marisa Abela.
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The official synopsis for Barbie reads: “After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less than perfect-looking doll, Barbie sets off for the human world to find true happiness.”
Robbie previously told British Vogue of the plot: “People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t…’”
Although Robbie acknowledged that the character evokes “a lot of nostalgic connections” and “comes with a lot of baggage”, she said: “But with that come a lot of exciting ways to attack it.”
Barbie will be released in the US and the UK on 21 July 2023.