
- by Adam
To say the last two years have been tumultuous is well… an overwhelming understatement. However, amongst the chaos and dread of what has seemingly become every day life in the 2020’s, there has been a light, or perhaps more suitably, a disco ball, that has shone a dazzlingly and unceasingly – Dua Lipa.
A beacon of hope and escapism, Dua Lipa’s sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, was released just as the world had gone into lockdown back in 2020. A heady, jubilant celebration of disco, pop and dance music – the soundtrack to a party that seemingly never ends – Future Nostalgia was the antidote the world needed when the future was shrouded by fear and uncertainty. From the audacious, full-throttle ‘Physical’, to the record breaking, pop-music-at-it’s-best, disco euphoria of ‘Levitating’, to the dreamy, bilingual ‘Fever’, a collaboration with Belgian artist, Angèle, Future Nostalgia filled the airwaves, charts and zoom parties of homes across the world. But there was always one key element missing – a tour. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Lipa was forced to reschedule the tour multiple times over the past two years.
Dua had put together a livestream concert in 2020, titled Studio 2054, where she was joined by special guests, including the one and only Kylie Minogue. The show was an exuberant triumph, but a livestream cannot fully compensate for the energy and thrill that comes with experiencing music live.
So, when the Future Nostalgia Tour was finally able to go ahead, not only does it feel like a full circle moment, it feels like the stars aligning for a superstar at the top of their game. Even before Lipa enters the stage, the passionate energy from the crowd is reverberating around the arena. For many, including myself, this was the first concert we’d been to in years. For someone like me, who frequently attended shows pre-pandemic, this was two years of bottled up excitement finally bubbling up to the surface.
The pre-show soundtrack is an inspired love letter to early 00’s dance, featuring Modjo’s ‘Lady’, Madison Avenue’s ‘Don’t Call Me Baby’ and Spiller & Sophie Ellis Bextor’s ‘Groovejet’ (amongst many, many more). The pre-show music perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Future Nostalgia – a care-free, unceasing celebration of life. If anything, I felt less like I was in an arena with 11,000 people and more like I’d rented out the best club in Ibiza for me and my friends to enjoy an eternity of dancing.
Yet, this carefully curated playlist was but an aperitif for the main course. As the lights dimmed and Dua entered the stage, the real party began. A bombastic, confidently in-your-face show, Dua provides an opening of back to back, relentless smash hits, including ‘Physical’, ‘New Rules’, ‘Break My Heart’ and ‘Be the One’. All while adorned in a hot pink Balenciaga catsuit that perfectly reflects the vibrant, energetic nature of the show.
Whether she’s joined on stage by dancers effortlessly gliding across the stage in roller skates, a giant inflatable lobster or just her self-assured, fabulous stage presence, Dua Lipa has put together a show that mirrors her calibre as a pop star – not only has she established herself as one of the best performers of her generation, but she has carved out a place for herself in the industry. Everyone knows her voice, everyone knows the Dua Lipa ‘sound’, and when you attend her show, you know you are in the presence of not only a superstar, but an icon.
Seemingly reaching a new zenith with each track in the setlist, the show springs into new life during the third act, an unrelenting flurry of dance music that transforms an extravagant arena production into an intimate nightclub scene. As echoes of ‘One Kiss’ bellow around the venue, the crowd and Dua Lipa are connected as one, this isn’t just Dua’s moment, this is our moment. ‘Cold Heart’ is a particularly profound moment in the show, where the entire venue engages in an arena-wide sing-along, evoking the feeling that you’ve somehow known these 11,000 fans your entire life. The lyric, “I think it’s gonna be a long, long time” hits a poignant spot. We’ve all waited a “long, long time” for this moment, but the pay off has been oh, so worth it.
As the show reaches it’s apex, Dua emerges from the stage in a dazzling custom Mugler catsuit, performing her modern-classic ‘Levitating’ as she quite literally levitates above the crowd. By this point in the show she has performed 16 songs and yet, it feels like she’s only been on stage for five minutes. The ability to create a show that is not only sprawling with hits, yet leaves you yearning for more is a true testament to her showmanship. As the show closed out with a one-two punch of ‘Future Nostalgia’ and the inescapably catchy ‘Don’t Start Now’, an arena that was once filled with excited anticipation was left with a renewed sense of self and joie de vivre.
The Future Nostalgia Tour is not just your standard arena show. No, this is so much more. As soon as Dua Lipa emerged onstage, all of the heartache, the trauma and the tears from the past few years were washed away in an instant. We were dancing through our catharsis from the first synth all the way up to the last drum beat.
Many people still disregard pop music as fluff. As “not real music” (whatever that means). That for whatever foolish, arbitrary reason, it is without merit or artistic credibility. However, Dua Lipa knows the healing, transformative nature of pop. She celebrates and lives it. She is not ashamed to experiment and play with pop, with fashion, with her identity as an artist. She knows exactly who she is and exactly what makes pop music so special.
Dua Lipa is an artist at their pinnacle.