“Physical” by Dua Lipa

For some people reading the title of this song will automatically, if even for a moment, cause their minds to flashback to Olivia Newton-John’s classic piece “Physical” (1981). And Dua Lipa wouldn’t mind if you did so, as such is the desired effect of “Physical”.

In fact she even quotes the line “let’s get physical” throughout this song. And in once again keeping to the 80s motif, this track is intended to be something like an upbeat dance, synth-laden tune. Indeed we can see that in the chorus she is telling the addressee, i.e. her romantic interest, “to keep on dancing”.  But there may be a double meaning behind that statement. For instance, in regards to said “dancing”, she is also telling this individual “lights out, follow the noise”. And generally speaking people don’t tend to dance, especially in pairs, in the dark. So we can hypothesize that Dua is referring to “physical” intimacy on this song. But for the most part it is clearly meant to be a standard love song, one in which the singer is expressing how she is smitten by a particular dude.

Facts about “Physical”

Jason Evigan and Koz served as the producers of “Physical”.

Koz is also one of its co-writers, as are Sarah Hudson, Clarence Coffee Jr. and Dua Lipa.

The first date Dua Lipa teased this track is considered to be 22 January 2020.  Warner Records then officially released it a few days later, on 30 January. It was issued as the second single from Dua Lipa’s 2020 album titled “Future Nostalgia”. The first single (“Don’t Start Now“) from this album was released about 8 weeks prior.

Does this song sample Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical”?

No. But that being said, it uses a prominent phrase (“let’s get physical”) which also appears in Olivia’s 1981 hit. Furthermore, it shares the same title with Olivia’s classic. Owing to all of this, it is beyond clear that Olivia’s 1981 song greatly inspired this one.