Dua Lipa’s ‘Sanitised’ Documentary On Camden’s Music Scene Hasn’t Quite Hit The Right Note

In her new Disney+ documentary, Camden, Dua Lipa pays tribute to the London district that she describes as the “beating heart of music”.

The chart-topping singer served as executive producer of the four-part docuseries, which dives into the history of a world-famous music scene, looking at how it shaped the life and careers of countless iconic musicians.

Directed by Asif Kapadia (Amy), the series features archival footage and celebrity interviewees like Coldplay’s Chris Martin, The Libertines and Yungblud,

The musicians “relive their Camden experiences; from their very first gigs to sell-out concerts, the highs and lows of nights out and a youth spent discovering music,” according to a description.

But despite the big names attached to it, the series hasn’t gone down too well with critics, after many criticised its historical blindspots and “style over substance” approach.

Here’s what the reviews are saying so far…

“Less informative than a five-minute Google… Strap in for three hours of annoyingly vague celeb analyses of the London musical hotspot’s cultural significance – featuring no punks and almost no history. It’s downright cringeworthy.”

“Lipa, one of the series’ executive producers, spent several years living here as a child and recorded her first YouTube songs in a Camden flat aged 15, but – such is the major pop star mindset – she seems far more concerned with lauding the biggest names that lived and played here than getting under the gritty fingernails of the place.”

Nile Rodgers was among the contributors to Disney+'s Camden
Nile Rodgers was among the contributors to Disney+’s Camden

Ben Blackall

“Disney+’s documentary is smug and sanitised… A documentary about one of London’s most raucous musical boroughs should be more frank and unvarnished than this Dua Lipa-produced docuseries.”

“Dua Lipa’s documentary is a love letter to endangered independent venues…Trying to condense the history of the postcode into four (roughly) hour-long episodes means that Camden is entertaining, but occasionally scattershot and lacking focus.”

“The series has a tendency to veer into a hagiography of Camden and misses out on hitting truly classic documentary territory. That said, it is a very entertaining ride through the living memory of the area.”

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was also interviewed for the documentary
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was also interviewed for the documentary

“You can’t help but want to hit the town after hearing the loud music and seeing all these celebrities gleefully talk about their crazy nights and all the callbacks to their time at The Jazz Café… It did at times feel like the episodes went on a bit too long, but never to the point that it overstayed its welcome.”

“Don’t get us wrong; we’re fans of [Dua Lipa’s], and we do get that she’s an executive producer of the show. But she’s 28 years old, and her career didn’t really start until around 2010. As much as she knows about the history of the venues and the acts that played there, her personal interaction with the music scene there likely only reaches back to her early 2000s childhood, if we’re being generous. There is more than 20 years of history that came before that, and she has no personal perspective on it.

Camden is available to watch on Disney+ now.

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Dua Lipa Wears Just A Sparkly Thong Under Sheer Chain Mail Dress At Barbie Premiere

Pop star and first-time actor Dua Lipa is entering the world of Barbie with a bang.

The three-time Grammy winner turned up at the premiere of the Barbie film in Los Angeles on Sunday wearing a sheer Bottega Veneta gown that appeared to be constructed out of chain mail. (NSFW images below.)

Christopher Polk via Getty Images

Lipa wore only a thong under the floor-length dress, which was completely see-through.

She accessorized her look in a pair of silver rocket mules, also by Bottega Veneta, as well as Tiffany’s jewelry.

Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images

Lipa appeared to be channeling her character from the movie, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. She makes her big-screen acting debut with a small role as Mermaid Barbie.

From the sounds of it, “Barbie” will be the first of many Hollywood projects for Lipa. In fact, she’s already booked a follow-up role in Argylle, a spy thriller starring Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images

That isn’t to say she’s abandoning her musical pursuits, as her latest single, Dance the Night, is featured on the Barbie soundtrack.

Speaking to Dazed last month, Lipa said she was eager to work with Barbie director Greta Gerwig, whose films “never really feel like the male gaze. They have very interesting female protagonists”.

Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images

“The film ― and there’s a lot of diversity in the cast ― is touching exactly on the buttons that maybe it presses, and shows a different story,” she said. As for the soundtrack, she added: “Greta said that the whole film was inspired by disco. There’s a lot of very glittery and pop moments in it.”

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Dua Lipa Accidentally Throws Her Mic Into The Crowd During Live Show And It Hasn’t Been Seen Since

Dua Lipa suffered the mother of all ‘butterfingers’ moments during a recent show on her Future Nostalgia World Tour when she accidentally tossed her microphone into the crowd.

The singer was belting out her hit New Rules when she lost grip of the mic, which then swiftly disappeared into the audience.

I we mean literally disappeared, because it was never seen again.

In videos shared by fans on social media, the singer can be seen looking out into the audience in a bid to retrieve it, but to no avail.

She was then forced to style it out by busting some moves until a replacement mic was handed to her by one of her dancers.

The Future Nostalgia tour has been postponed several times due to the pandemic, but finally kicked off in Florida last month.

The tour is set to conclude in Perth, Australia in November.

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Brit Awards 2021: Dua Lipa, Celeste And AJ Tracey Lead This Year’s Nominations

This year’s Brit Awards nominees have been confirmed, with Dua Lipa, Celeste and AJ Tracey among the top nominees.

All three of these artists have received a total of three nods, as have British rapper Headie One, singer-songwriter Arlo Parks and music duo Young T & Bugsey.

The nominees for the upcoming awards show were announced on Wednesday afternoon in a special live-stream fronted by Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw.

Also in the running are Album Of The Year contenders J Hus and Jessie Ware, each on two nominations, while Harry Styles has also received a nod in the British Single category.

Getty/Shutterstock

Brits 2021

Little Mix have received one nomination in for Best British Group, where they’re up against The 1975 for the third time.

Meanwhile, chart-topping star Joel Corry is also on two nominations after having a huge hit with the MNEK collaboration Head & Heart.

Check out the full list of nominees below…

British Album Of The Year

Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams

Celeste – Not Your Muse

Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia

J Hus – Big Conspiracy

Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure?

Song Of The Year

220 Kid and Gracey – Don’t Need Love

Aitch and AJ Tracey – Rain

Dua Lipa – Physical

Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar

Headie One, AJ Tracey and Stormzy – Ain’t It Different

Joel Corry and MNEK – Head and Heart

Nathan Dawe and KSI – Lighter

Regard and Raye – Secrets

S1mba and DTG – Rover

Young T & Bugsey feat. Headie One – Don’t Rush

British Male Solo Artist

AJ Tracey

Headie One

J Hus

Joel Corry

Yungblud

British Female Solo Artist

Arlo Parks

Celeste

Dua Lipa

Jessie Ware

Lianne La Havas 

Ollie Millington via Getty Images

Headie One pictured in 2019

British Group

Bicep

Biffy Clyro

Little Mix

The 1975

Young T & Bugsey

Breakthrough Artist

Arlo Parks

Bicep

Celeste

Joel Corry

Young T & Bugsey

International Female Solo Artist

Ariana Grande

Billie Eilish

Cardi B

Miley Cyrus

Taylor Swift

International Male Solo Artist

Bruce Springsteen

Burna Boy

Childish Gambino

Tame Impala

The Weeknd

International Group

BTS

Fontaines D.C.

Foo Fighters

Haim

Run The Jewels

Rising Star

Griff (winner)

Pa Salieu

Rina Sawayama

The 2021 Brit Awards will take place live at The O2 Arena on 11 May, with comedian Jack Whitehall on presenting duties for the fourth year in a row.

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