Dua Lipa has released a remix of her single “Illusion” featuring Creepy Nuts, Japan's unmistakable hip-hop duo who made waves with their viral hit “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born,” the No. 1 song in the of the year Billboard Japan for 2024.
“Illusion (Creepy Nuts Remix)” is the latest remix of the track from the artist's latest album “Houdini”. Radical Optimism, which was released in May. The original, a song about a character escaping her formerly weak self and now being assertive when dealing with another potentially toxic relationship, reached No. 1 Advertising signon the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and also reached the top 10 of the UK Official Singles Chart. The song has been streamed more than 250 million times worldwide and the music video has been viewed more than 35 million times.
Why were Creepy Nuts chosen to collaborate with Lipa, a Grammy-winning star who recently headlined this year's Glastonbury? It all started when Creepy Nuts' “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” hit the top 10 on the Billboard Global 200 chart in March. The catchy hip-hop banger peaked at No. 8, becoming the fourth song by a Japanese artist/performance to enter the top 10 on this chart. The other three are Japanese-Australian artist Joji's 'Glimpses of Us' (No. 2 in 2022), LiSA's 'Homura' (No. 8 in 2020) and YOASOBI's 'Idol' (No. 7 in 2023). “BBBB” also reached No. 3 on the Global 200 Excl. US chart focusing on all territories outside the United States and the global discovery of the track caught Dua's attention.
Lipa asked Creepy Nuts to do the remix through her group in Japan, and the duo consisting of rapper R-shitei (“R-rated”) and DJ Matsunaga readily agreed to the offer, resulting in the exciting collaboration between two world leading actors. . The remix — oddly enough, was the 'Nidone' pair's first collaboration with an artist outside of their home country — combines Matsunaga's catchy track with R's signature bars and lyrics that pay homage to the 'Levitating' singer's previous work including their titles. .
“The track came out well, and it was a new challenge that brought out a new side of us,” says Matsunaga, while R notes, “I looked at the opening lyrics of Dua Lipa's 'Illusion' and joined the world she was portraying, leaving the fake in me to appear in the verses I wrote.”
Dua Lipa is set to return to Japan for the first time in six years this November for two sold-out arena shows on the day tickets went on sale. The “Dance the Night” singer has been recognized by Spotify as “the first artist in history to have five songs with over 2 billion streams” and “the 25th most streamed artist of all time.” Her album “Radical Optimism” has been streamed over 2 billion times worldwide and topped the Official UK Albums chart, making her one of the top artists in the world in both name and reality.
Creepy Nuts' “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” recently dominated Billboard Japan's mid-year Japan Songs chart — a tally that tracks songs from Japan that are heard in countries around the world — topping the charts for six Countries. On July 20, the duo “Nobishiro” performed at the AFEELA Pregame Performance at Dodger Stadium Center Field in Los Angeles, performing live for the first time in the US Creepy Nuts will take the stage at the Tokyo Dome for the first time for LIVE at the TOKYO DOME Concert on the 11 February 2025.
“[The remix] it's just us, and it's also a new side of us that came out because the song was Dua Lipa's 'Illusion,'” the duo say. “It's in both English and Japanese, but it came out smooth. We hope you enjoy it.”
Dua adds, “Be sure to listen to the remix from these two amazing talents.”
stream “Illusion (Creepy Nuts Remix)” here:
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/dua-lipa-illusion-remix-creepy-nuts-1235740241/
