•
We Still Believe •
Clarence Coffee Jr. •
Sarah Hudson •
Stephen Kozmeniuk • Madonna • Melissa A. Elliott •
Stuart Price }} }}
Background and release Following the release of
Future Nostalgia, Lipa enlisted the help of
the Blessed Madonna to create a
remix album that would later become
Club Future Nostalgia. The Blessed Madonna remixed two tracks on the record, "Levitating" and the previously unreleased "Love Is Religion". For "Levitating", which had multiple versions, both Lipa and the Blessed Madonna had the vision of a "fun"
club remix. The Blessed Madonna originally created it as if Lipa was the only person singing on it. After finishing the remix, Lipa thought that
Madonna and
Missy Elliott would sound amazing on it, so she reached out to both of them via email, with both responding saying they would be up for it. Madonna recorded her vocals in a separate studio, with her
engineer Mike Dean sending them to the Blessed Madonna. Madonna did several variations, including breaking out into her 1983 single "
Lucky Star" for a second. Elliott then sent her verse, which included an
air horn. The Blessed Madonna then "
frankensteined" the three parts together, before Madonna requested that Dean mix down the song. Dean ended up handing both the
mastering and mix down. Both Madonna and Elliott are added as songwriters, while the Blessed Madonna is credited as the remixer and an additional producer. On 30 June 2020, Lipa's manager Ben Mawson revealed in an interview with
Music Week that Lipa's team was attempting to organise a collaboration between her and Madonna.
Future Nostalgia was heavily influenced by Madonna's
Confessions on a Dance Floor, both of which feature songs co-produced by
Stuart Price, including "Levitating". On 27 July 2020, Lipa announced the single release of a remix of "Levitating" by the Blessed Madonna featuring Madonna and Missy Elliott. The song was later confirmed to be the
lead single of
Club Future Nostalgia. The song premiered at 09:00
PT (16:00
UTC) on 13 August 2020, being released for digital download and streaming. electro-disco,
future bass and
techno track. It runs for 4 minutes and 10 seconds, and has a throwback disco and
trance vibe. Lipa and Madonna harmonise with one and other, while trading verses and Elliott half-sings and half-raps. consisting of Daft Punk
vocoder backing vocals, nostalgic and futuristic synths, and house beats.
Reception 's (
pictured) remix of "Levitating" was met with mixed reviews. The Blessed Madonna's remix of "Levitating" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. In
Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos viewed the Blessed Madonna "Levitating" remix as "tongue-twistingly," a "fast-paced romp," and "clubbier" than the original, while also labelling Elliott's verse "flirty" and "freaky." Nick Romano of
Entertainment Weekly said the remix is "what you need to turn any isolated apartment into the hottest club." For
Slant Magazine, Alexa Camp praised Elliott's "versatility," and stated the Blessed Madonna's "Levitating" remix is worthy of
Giorgio Moroder or
Cerrone, while Madonna's vocal delivery to
Jody Watley.
AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung agreed, writing it fails to hit "the highs that the crew targeted." For
The Line of Best Fit, Udit Mahalingam thought that it failed to live up to the original.
Pitchforks Owen Myers viewed the Elliott and Madonna features as deflating the remix. In
The Guardian, Michael Cragg rated the remix a 6 out of 10, and stated it is "another example of 2020's endless disappointments." In Canada, the Blessed Madonna's remix reached number 16 on the Canadian Digital Song Sales, The video includes appearances from Lipa, Elliott, and Lipa's then-boyfriend,
Anwar Hadid, with both the Blessed Madonna and Madonna being absent. It draws inspiration from
extraterrestrial life and
science fiction.
Rina Yang serves as the video's director of photography, and she creates a contemporary and inspired vision, somewhere in between fashion editorial and home video, with many blue and red hues. The visual premiered at 05:00 PT (12:00 UTC) on 14 August 2020. Rania Aniftos of
Billboard labelled the Blessed Madonna's "Levitating" remix video "colourful" and "dreamy." For
Consequence of Sound, Lake Schatz noted its "candy-coated, Miami glaze" lenses and praised its "mythical and celestial imagery." He concluded by stating the video is "snazzy" and like "a four-minute Ring Pop."
Radio.com's Maia Kedem viewed the video as a mix of
Sailor Moon,
Euphoria, and
Twilight.
Synopsis The music video has a theme of "love conquers all," and consists of many scenes synthesising to depict many romantic moments, with each scene being woven in and out of the storyline. Throughout the video, psychedelic shots of ghostly fields and gem-studded cars are shown. The video begins with a montage of some of the video's events before Lipa is seen looking at the planet out of a window from an apartment. Her hair is dyed hot pink and she wears
Martine Rose logo print PJ pants and an e-girl python bodysuit. The visual ends with Lipa and Hadid starring off at the planet. == Accolades ==