"Houdini" hits one billion streams

Just in case you're wondering how our friend Dua Lipa is doing these days, know that her single "Houdini" has just crossed one billion streams on Spotify, which I guess is a good thing! This is Dua's 13th song to hit that milestone.

Click below for more Dua Houdini mania.

Related:

• Dua Lipa drops by the Houdini Estate
• Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person
• Songs Called 'Houdini': Who Did it Best?

Houdini vs. Houdini

Speaking of music videos, check out the nominations for the Best Music Video at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Yes, we have TWO videos called "Houdini" in competition. Houdini by Eminem and Houdini by Dua Lipa.

And the winner is...

Houdini by Ehrich Weiss.

Related:

• Songs Called 'Houdini': Who Did it Best?
• "Houdini" works magic for Eminem
• Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person

LINK: 2024: The Year Houdini Finally Returned

Let's bid goodbye to 2024 with this piece from Genius about Houdini's footprint in music this year. Notably, the two hit songs from Eminem and Dua Lipa, both called "Houdini." But my favorite part is excerpted below.

Em an Dua weren’t the only artists to give Houdini his flowers this year. According to Genius pageview data, ol’ Harry turns up in 43 songs released in 2024. His admirers range from country-rock hero HARDY to R&B great Kehlani to rapper French Montana. But—plot twist—it turns out 2024 isn’t the top year for Houdini mentions. Not by a long shot.

That distinction belongs to 2020, when Houdini magically appeared in 103 songs. Rounding out the Top 5 are 2018 and 2019 (86 mentions in each year), 2021 (76), and 2017 (64). Houdini might not have been able to holler at his wife from the great beyond, but insofar as he’s a pop-cultural legend whose name still resonates with the public a century after his death, he’s immortal.

Have a safe and Happy New Year.

Related:

• Dua Lipa drops by the Houdini Estate
• Eminem drops his own "Houdini"
• The Inner Me rocks Houdini

"Houdini" works magic for Eminem

Like Dua Lipa before him, conjuring the name Houdini has worked magic for Eminem, with his new single, "Houdini," topping the U.S. and UK charts. The following comes from Billboard.

The song’s impact has been similarly instantaneous, both in terms of its own consumption and in its lifting of associated cuts. “Houdini” has already racked up over 30 million official on-demand U.S. streams through Wednesday (June 3), according to early reports from Luminate, while also selling over 36,000 copies – both tremendous four-day numbers for any artist in 2024, let alone one twice the age of many contemporary superstars. The song has also elevated the rest of Eminem’s discography, with his non-”Houdini” catalog notching nearly 46 million streams combined over those four days, a 38% rise from the equivalent period the prior week. (A big part of that gain comes from 2002’s “Without Me,” whose iconic “Guess who’s back, back again” intro “Houdini” resurrects, and which is up 56% to over 3.1 million streams for those four days.)

Of course, Steve Miller is eating off the “Houdini” success as well: The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s eponymous band’s biggest Hot 100 hit more than doubled its streams over the same period, up 101% to 613,000. And yes, even that other recent hit of the same title is getting some spillover from the deluge: Dua Lipa’s “Houdini” was up 8% in streams over that period, to just over 2 million.

Alt Eminem-Houdini poster by Reddit user BenNice.

Related:

• Eminem drops his own "Houdini"
• Dua Lipa's 'Houdini' reaches #1
• Songs Called 'Houdini': Who Did it Best?

Eminem drops his own "Houdini"

Less than six months after Dua Lipa released her chart-topping single "Houdini," another major artist has released a single called "Houdini." This time, it's Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers aka Slim Shady). The rapper got an assist teasing the release from magician David Blaine on Instagram. The song's release on May 31st marked the biggest streaming debut of Eminem’s career.

The song only mentions Houdini's name in passing (it is the second time Houdini has been named-checked in an Eminem song), but I really like it. It's funny and a breath of fresh air. I also love the single's artwork above. 

You can watch the official music video below or in fullscreen on YouTube.

Related:

• Songs Called 'Houdini': Who Did it Best?
• Dua Lipa's 'Houdini' reaches #1
• "The lean make me feel like Houdini"

Serenading Houdini with "Houdini"

Here's one I knew I couldn't escape for long. A young woman sang Dua Lipa's hit single "Houdini" at Houdini's grave and posted it to TikTok. The video has gone viral with 2.7 million views. Wild 94.1 reports:

Some celebrities and even brands shared their thoughts in the comments of the video. “Congrats, you won Best Cover Of Houdini At His Grave In 2024,” said MTV. “Do we know if he’s actually in there or did he escape that too,” said the PureWow brand. The Girls Next Door costar Holly Madison even chimed in saying, “Best thing I’ve ever seen.”

Welcome to the TikTok generation, Harry!

Related:

• Dua Lipa drops by the Houdini Estate
• Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person
• Holly Houdini

Dua Lipa brings 'Houdini' to the Grammys

Our new friend Dua Lipa performed part of her hit song "Houdini" at 66th Grammy Awards last night. It was included in a three-song melody that opened the show. You can watch "Houdini" below.

UPDATE: Whoops. Looks like the video went Houdini!

Related:

• Dua Lipa's 'Houdini' reaches #1
• Dua Lipa drops by the Houdini Estate
• Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person

Seth Meyers and Dua Lipa talk Houdini (and drink)

I know this is sooooo 2023, but our new friend Dua Lipa is still out there promoting her mega-hit single "Houdini." Here's a fun clip from her appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. My gosh, they drink a lot.

It's fun to hear their Houdini chatter. And at least they got the basic facts right about his death, Mr. Blaine. 🍻

Related:

• Dua Lipa drops by the Houdini Estate
• Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person
• Time to rethink the rethinking on the Houdini punch

Songs Called 'Houdini': Who Did it Best?

Here's a clever video by YouTuber Naomi Cannibal that breaks down three pop songs called "Houdini," including the most recent single by Dua Lipa.

Here's another "Houdini" for your consideration. In 1962, Walter Brennan released his own "Houdini" single. You can hear it on YouTube by clicking the image below. It's plenty folksy!

Related:

• Kate's Bess
• Dua Lipa unlocks 'Houdini'
• Foster The People release video for 'Houdini'

Dua Lipa's 'Houdini' reaches #1

Dua Lipa's single "Houdini" is #1 on the UK charts this week. The song is also #1 on the Global YouTube Music Videos Chart. While many pop stars have released songs that evoke Houdini's name and legend, I don't believe one has ever reached #1. Dua's doing Houdini proud!

You can purchase "Houdini" on Amazon Music U.S. or Amazon Music UK or watch the video on YouTube. Check out more Dua/Houdini whatnot via the links below.

UPDATE: Billboard has a breakdown of where some of the past "Houdini" songs charted:

Walter Brennan spent a week at No. 100 on the Hot 100 in 1962 with “Houdini”; Kon Kan hit No. 33 on Dance Singles Sales in 1989 with “Harry Houdini”; and Foster the People’s “Houdini” hit No. 37 on Alternative Airplay in 2012.

Related:

• Dua Lipa unlocks 'Houdini'
• Dua Lipa drops by the Houdini Estate
• Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person

Dua Lipa drops by the Houdini Estate

Our new friend Dua Lipa held the Los Angeles launch event for her new single "Houdini" at, where else, the Houdini Estate! Billboard reports:

When Dua Lipa announced a trio of release-week fan events for her new single “Houdini,” taking place in London, Los Angeles and Tokyo, she kept the exact locations a secret. But was there ever any doubt where the LA party had to be held? 

Lipa invited hundreds of her biggest fans to the mysterious Houdini Estate in the winding hills of Laurel Canyon Boulevard on Tuesday night to navigate an escape room (fitting for the famous illusionist and the slippery new song) and to dance the night away at an open-air disco party.

When the second go-round wrapped up, Lipa teased that she wouldn’t be leaving the estate just yet. “You guys are the f—ing best, thank you so much! I want you guys to stay, enjoy your time, those that haven’t, try the escape room. I’m going to do a little walk around. I’ve got to go and see this spooky-a– place.”

It's not really apparent in the pic, but she's making that expression because she's just discovered the bookcase opens and is a secret passage to the master bedroom. People love that.

Okay, that's the last Dua Lipa post, I promise. At least until she drops her next single, "Hardeen."

Thanks to Neil McNally at The Doug Henning Project.

Related:

• Dua Lipa unlocks 'Houdini'
• Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person
• Drake scared away from "haunted Houdini house"

Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person

In an interview with Italian radio station RDS, pop star Dua Lipa explained how she uses Houdini in her new song:

"Houdini is an escape artist and I love the idea of using him as a metaphor for knowing your own worth, knowing when to stay in a situation, knowing what you deserve, and also when something doesn't go your way or something doesn't feel right, knowing when to leave or knowing when to go Houdini. And in this sense, I use Houdini as a verb as well."

Nice answer. But then the interview took a slightly embarrassing turn, which you can watch for yourself below:

Dua Lipa answers an RDS interviewer who mistakes the magician Houdini as a biblical character:

“Well, I mean, Houdini was a real, real person.”

pic.twitter.com/XFzv2p84xP

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 11, 2023

To be fair to the interviewer, English is not her first language, and I suspect she meant "epic." But thank you, Dua, for doing the Lord's work!

You can watch the full interview on UPROXX. Purchase "Houdini" on Amazon Music U.S. or Amazon Music UK. Watch the video on YouTube.

Related:

• Dua Lipa unlocks 'Houdini'
• Did Houdini just get the ultimate namecheck?
• Houdini on the Bible, Freud, spirits, and spells

Dua Lipa unlocks 'Houdini'

English-Albanian pop star Dua Lipa, who recently scored a hit with a song on the Barbie soundtrack, has released a new single called "Houdini." I'm pretty out of it when it comes to pop music, but she certainly seems to be a big deal, so I'm jumping on the Dua bandwagon!

The single artwork (right) may be a riff on the "passing the key in a kiss" idea. It reminds me of the artwork on Kate Bush's The Dreaming, which also featured a song called "Houdini."

Below is the official video. Catch it before she goes Houdini! 🎼

You can purchase Dua Lipa's "Houdini" on Amazon Music U.S. or Amazon Music UK.

Related:

• Jade Bird describes being caught by 'Houdini'
• Musicians remain wild about Harry
• Kon Kan's Harry Houdini