There aren’t many bigger names in pop right now than Dua Lipa. And last night, as the UK and Ireland-leg of her hugely anticipated Future Nostalgia tour kicked off at Manchester’s AO Arena, she proved why.
Screams and cheers echoed around the jam-packed venue as the 26-year-old singer made her entrance wearing an form-fitting, eye-catching pink catsuit. "This is the best welcome home ever", she told the crowd, all up on their feet from the get-go.
She opened with Physical, a catchy track from her 2020 album and the name of the tour. Next was New Rules, one of the singer’s first big hits from her debut self-titled album.
She asked the crowd to sing I Could Be The One back to her. Every fan in there, of every age and every gender, knew the words.
The mid-section of the show was full of tracks from Future Nostalgia, many of them lockdown anthems. Boys Will Be Boys and Good in Bed were crowd-favourites.
A quick costume change and Dua burst onto the stage in a pair of trainers, ready for the dance section. Act three was packed with some of her biggest bangers as laser beams transformed the arena into a club atmosphere.
One Kiss, Dua’s collaboration with Calvin Harris, took the crowd back to 2018 - the soundtrack of that summer. Electricity and Hallucinate had the whole crowd up dancing.
At every opportunity Dua used the stage as a catwalk. As she strutted out towards the standing crowd you couldn't keep your eyes off her. She was flanked by energetic dancers, some even on rollerblades, but she dominated the stage with her fierce energy.
As she performed Cold Heart, her collaboration with Elton John, the whole arena sung along with her. A sea of lights from phones lit up the venue as she sat on the stage and belted out the tune, her voice sounding even better live than it does on the radio.
Everyone screamed as huge disco balls and stars were lowered from the arena's ceiling. The atmosphere felt magical as a huge moon was projected onto the big screen.
During Levitating, Dua was lifted into the air on a flashing platform over her adoring fans. She thanked the crowd and left the stage for the encore but the party was not over yet.
Wearing another amazing catsuit, she performed Future Nostalgia then ended the hit-packed show with Don't Start Now.
This show was due to be taking place in September last year, but Covid and social distancing rules postponed it until last night. Looking around at the thousands of fans packed into the arena, crowd restrictions seemed a world away.
"We've been waiting so long to put this show on", Dua told the crowd. It was definitely worth the wait. Dua Lipa is an absolute superstar.
The singer will perform 11 more shows across the UK in her Future Nostalgia tour. Tickets can be found here.
