As I watched Dua Lipa’s spectacular show at Leeds First Direct Arena I realised she was in the final throes of entrenching herself as Britain’s flagship female popstar.
At the moment, the UK has many huge musical exports, like Adele, Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles among others. However, I can think of no other performers from our little island as polished and as spectacular as 26-year-old Dua Lipa.
Throughout the first lockdown in 2020, I distinctly remember listening to her sophomore album, Future Nostalgia and wondering if I'd ever be able to hear it play in a club, bar, or concert.
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Her album was released in March 2020 - we all know what was happening in the world at this time. Unsurprisingly, her tour was put on hold indefinitely and, like many, has faced a litany of postponements, delays, and false hopes.
Dua certainly made up for last time at her show in Leeds First Direct Arena. The pop juggernaut played back-to-back hits for the hour-and-a-half-hour set.
Every moment of every song was expertly choreographed between her and her troupe of talented dancers and singers.
She opened the show with Physical, a high-energy, classic pop number to the delight of her fans. The energy burst onstage during Physical and didn't leave until the final number of the night.
Dua attacked her show with Beyonce-level fitness and genuinely impressive vocals, which were not hampered by the exhaustive choreography.
Her songs featured subtle remixes too, as she combined her songs with 90s rave classics such as Gusto’s Disco’s Revenge. The use of remixes brought a new level of production and sophistication to the set, which I very much appreciated.
Personal highlights involved the moment a huge inflatable lobster bounced around the stage as she sang her hit We’re Good. Another was during the final number of her chart-topper Don't Start Now which featured inordinate amounts of rainbow confetti flying through the air.
Another memorable highlight was when the disembodied head of Sir Elton John materialised on the huge onstage screen as Dua and (a pre-recorded Elton) sang their chart-topping Cold Heart together. There were other notable elements of humour and light-heartedness throughout the show too.
In 2019, Dua was ridiculed on social media for her meme-worthy dancing, in which accusations of having two-left feet swirled around the internet. She recently joked about how this instance made her 'want to dance my a**e off, and just really get better'.
She repurposed the ridiculed dance during the set, which elicited a huge cheer from the crowd. It was refreshing to see an artist laugh at themselves and their past performance mishaps.
Dua and her dancers returned to the stage for the final few numbers in custom Thierry Mugler sparkling catsuits, as she belted Levitating (while literally levitating over the crowd on a UFO-inspired platform), Future Nostalgia and Don't Start Now.
You would never have known Dua Lipa and her team have already embarked on, and finished, the US leg of the tour. Such was the professionalism, energy, and performance that anybody would have thought her Leeds gig was the first of the tour.
I came away from the concert with no doubt in my mind that Dua Lipa is now one of Britain's brightest talents.
Dua Lipa's Setlist
- Physical
- New Rules
- Love Again
- Cool
- Pretty Please
- Break My Heart
- Be the One
- IDGAF
- The Lobster Attack
- We're Good
- Good in Bed
- Fever
- Boys Will Be Boys
- One Kiss
- Electricity
- Hallucinate
- Cold Heart
- In Space
- Levitating
- Encore
- Future Nostalgia
- Don't Start Now
You can find the latest announcement of big gigs in our city by visiting the Best in Leeds homepage. There you will also find our guides to the best events happening in the city.
