Dua Lipa spent most of the pandemic year getting us up off the couch to dance our way through the boredom with the various incarnations of her Future Nostalgia trip. But on Monday (April 19), she brought things all the way down for a mellow cover of Arlo Park’s “Eugene” for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge.
The confessional song about the blurred lines between platonic and romantic love from 20-year-old West London singer/poet Parks’ lauded debut, Collapsed in Sunbeams got a stripped-down treatment from Lipa. Accompanied by a haunting electric guitar melody and three souful back-up singers, the “Levitating” singer subtly leaned into the evocative lyrics for the emotional performance.
“Hey, I know I’ve been a little bit off and that’s my mistake/ I kind of fell half in love and you’re to blame/ I guess I just forgot that we’ve been mates since day/ Yeah, I don’t know what to say,” Dua sang wistfully.
Back in February 2020, Parks excitedly tweeted that “Eugene” was finally out, thanking her fans for their support and including the poem she wrote on a 3 a.m. bus trip that inspired it. “Eugene keeps stars and split fruit between his ribs — an almost angel boy smoking loose blems, blending worming his way into your heart,” she wrote.
Watch Dua Lipa sing “Eugene” below.
