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28 March 2025

Dua Lipa drops ‘Physical’ remix with Troye Sivan to mark 5 years of Future Nostalgia

Lipa and Sivan dropped the track on streaming today after previously gifting it to a fan at a concert in Melbourne and asking them to leak it

By Gary Grimes

Troye Sivan and Dua Lipa
Troye Sivan and Dua Lipa (Image: Elizabeth Miranda)

It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since the UK, and the world, was plunged into the darkness of the first Covid-induced national lockdown.

That means, however, it has also been five years since the release of Dua Lipa‘s blockbuster sophomore album Future Nostalgia, a bona fide pop bible that many remember for being a bright spot during a deeply troubling time. The album saw the ‘New Rules’ singer level up to Main Pop Girl status, spawning a number of hit singles including ‘Don’t Start Now’, ‘Levitating’ and ‘Physical’.

And now, to mark its fifth anniversary, the singer has released a new remix of ‘Physical’ with pop music’s premiere gay best friend Troye Sivan. The pair employed a curious release strategy for the remix when, earlier this week, they gifted a fan in the front row of one of Dua’s Radical Optimism Tour dates with a USB drive containing an .mp3 of the song. The fan was given one clear instruction upon receiving the track – leak it.

“Can we trust you to leak it?” the singer can be heard asking the dedicated fan, who informed the star she had camped out for 24 hours at the venue to ensure she made it to the front row. Sure enough, this stan made good on her promise and the song appeared online shortly afterwards for all to enjoy, before its official release on streaming today.

Sivan was present for a surprise performance, having joined the ‘Houdini’ hitmaker on stage in Melbourne for a rendition of his horny anthem ‘Rush’, which saw the pair delight fans when they performed Sivan’s iconic choreography from the sleazy music video.

@hol.men LEAK THE PHYSICAL REMIX IMMEDIATELY @Dua Lipa @Troye Sivan #dualipa #troyesivan #melbourne ♬ original sound – holmen

It is unclear when the remix came to fruition. The track had previously been remixed by Mark Ronson with a feature from Gwen Stefani for Lipa’s Club Future Nostalgia remix album. The Sivan remix uses largely the same arrangement as the original, suggesting it may not have been intended for that project and perhaps came about in more recent times.

“We’re verging on the edge of spiritual / You’re deeper than you thought, it’s a miracle,” Sivan croons on the track’s second verse. “Don’t you agree?” he asks before the song swaps Lipa’s distinctly British accent for his Australian drawl on the spoken word: “Who needs to go to sleep when I’ve got you next to me?”

To mark the anniversary, Lipa has also re-released Future Nostaglia in a special triple vinyl edition which includes the album’s original 11 tracks, along with the deluxe Moonlight Edition, and the remix album Club Future Nostalgia.

You can listen to the ‘Physical’ remix in full here:

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