In 2020, the year the world stood still, Dua Lipa made history. 'Levitating,' born from a recording session where they ate so many doughnuts they felt genuinely airborne, was no ordinary pop song. The longest-charting single by a female artist on the Billboard Hot 100, the first Diamond-certified single by a female artist of the decade — this track became the brightest pop anthem of the pandemic era.
A Miracle Made of Doughnuts and Sugar
The origin story of 'Levitating' is uniquely sweet. When Dua Lipa began working on her second studio album Future Nostalgia, this was the very first track to be completed. She recalled the session to the BBC: "We got so excited in the studio and it just became a spontaneous party. We ate so many doughnuts that we were literally levitating because we were so high on sugar." That's how the title was born.
The song was co-written with Sarah Hudson and Clarence Coffee Jr., produced by Koz and Stuart Price. At 103 BPM — the exact same tempo as the Bee Gees' 'Stayin' Alive' — it blends retro disco, synth-pop, and modern pop into an irresistible mix.
"We ate so many doughnuts that we were literally levitating because we were so high on sugar."— Dua Lipa, on the creation of 'Levitating'
The DNA of the Bee Gees, Blondie, and Daft Punk
'Levitating' runs at 103 BPM — the exact same tempo as the Bee Gees' 'Stayin' Alive.' Dua Lipa described it to Apple Music as "quite Daft Punk-y" with a middle-eight that's almost like her British version of Blondie's 1981 'Rapture.' Retro disco, italo disco, synth-pop, and modern pop all fused into the perfect sonic embodiment of the album's title.
In October 2020, a second remix featuring DaBaby was released, accumulating 2.44 billion Spotify streams. An August 2020 remix by The Blessed Madonna featuring Madonna and Missy Elliott had already made pop history on its own.
Writing Chart History
'Levitating' peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 70+ weeks there — the longest charting run by a female artist in the Hot 100's 65-year history. It topped Billboard's 2021 year-end chart and reached number one in Canada.
Diamond Light — The First Female Artist of the Decade
In November 2023, the RIAA awarded 'Levitating' Diamond certification — 10 million US units. It was the first female-led single of the 2020s to receive this honor, only the 122nd song in history to do so. It also earned 9x Platinum in New Zealand, 3x Platinum in the UK, and Diamond in Canada.
Literally Levitating at the Grammys
At the November 2020 AMAs from London's Royal Albert Hall, Dua Lipa closed by literally rising into the air on wires. At the 63rd Grammy Awards in March 2021, she performed the DaBaby remix live for the first time. That same evening, Future Nostalgia won Best Pop Vocal Album. A session born from a doughnut party had written a chapter in pop history.
