The Incomplete Guide to Dua Lipa
Where Vanessa goes to the Radical Optimism tour, and shares her favourite tracks by the artist formerly known as Dula Peep.
Dua Lipa: Radical Optimism
Last Saturday night, I made my way to the hallowed grounds of Wembley Stadium to attend Dua Lipa’s second night in London of the Radical Optimism tour with my husband.
While we didn’t catch British opening act Alessi Rose, her credentials in opening for Noah Kahan, too, may speak for her. On the other hand, we did catch almost all of Dove Cameron’s set. It’s a great change of pace for those of us who only know her from Disney Channel’s Liv and Maddie or The Descendants, though any fans of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may find her current look more familiar. Her music is also very familiar - it’s forgettable dance pop looking for an edge more by the way it’s dressed up than by what it says.
After a stage reset, the waves started breaking on screen - the oceanic visual concept doesn’t translate from merch, lyrics or anything else the casual Dua Lipa fan may be exposed to (unless you still check out album art), but it was a welcome suggestion on one of these sweltering June days in the UK. Her band and background dancers emerged, starting “Training Season” before Dua emerged on the stage from a backstage elevator. She followed this up with further efforts from the titular album, as well as crowd-pleasers, like “Break My Heart”.
In Act 2 (of 5, not counting the encore), Dua welcomed Charli XCX to the secondary stage for the briefest performance of Charli’s “360”. The setting of this was novel - on her way, Dua took the time to engage fans with chat and selfies, endearing herself more. Charli’s performance, however, was the opposite, and right after she strutted back off-stage. While Dua impressed with her rap, it was a puzzling insertion into the night’s material.
Back on the primary stage, Dua’s staging of her outfit changes was just as creative - the launch into Act 3 was through the background melody of her hit “Physical”, fashioned into an instructional voiceover for a choreography-cum-aerobics session for the audience. The timing was perfect, re-energising standing and sitting crowds alike.
Eventually, Dua took to the tertiary stage. This tiered approach, ever deeper into the audience, allowed viewers from all around the stadium to benefit from what felt like a touching distance experience. As night fell, phone flashlights began swaying to the rhythm of the music. The set list transitioned to more club-like music, which isn’t the worst call for a Saturday night, but puzzling with a significant underage crowd there with parents (we were sandwiched between two families).
Oddly, this made for a less exciting finale. On paper the crescendo was obvious, but with less than half of “Dance the Night” sung and played, and a drawn out dance-break for “Don’t Start Now” (ordinarily one of my favourites), it deflated my excitement, leading me to encourage my husband to leave at the end of Radical Optimism’s lead single “Houdini” as the fireworks exploded, to beat the pyroclastic flow of people to the Tube. However, this apparently denied us the final song of the night: a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”.
While it was a shame I never caught Dua’s alternative to Whitney’s whistle-tones, on the whole, I was happy with what I got for under £100. Concerts have been making waves with the cost of tickets, but in the same way Dua flashed the Union Flag lining on her fur coat to signify her gratitude for the home the UK has been to her, her pricing strategy for these gigs seems to signify her gratitude for fans, who didn’t have to shell out too much to be radical optimists alongside her.
An Incomplete List of Dua Lipa bops
My husband has in the past mocked me for creating a playlist called the Dua Lipa Half-Hour of Power. However, she is just that good of a hype-up artist, reminding me of what my girls and I would listen to as we got ready to go out. You’ve got the link, now let me explain why some of those tracks merit the list (and it’s not just because the timing lines up pretty perfectly). NB: Best played in shuffle mode, for maximum surprise.
1. Potion
Collaborating on other artist’s songs never overpowers what Dua brings to the table. Particularly when partnering with DJ’s, like Calvin Harris here (also of the “One Kiss” partnership from her setlist on Saturday), her talent is the most recognisable. The throwback stylings of this song (prevalent on the entire Calvin Harris album) are nostalgic, and this works well for the first getting-ready song.
2. Don’t Start Now
You could call it the perfect revenge song - “Don’t Start Now” exudes the kind of girl power last evoked by Taylor Swift in “Bad Blood”, but much less clunky. Instead, Dua plays with timings here to keep the listener - and possibly her ex - on their toes. It gets bonus points for employing the rattle sound used on reality TV shows to underline how shady the commentary by cast members has been.
3. Cold Heart
This was the mystery duet I really wanted for our concert experience. Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa seem equally besotted with each other. Remixing the best parts of “Rocketman”, “Kiss the Bride”, “Sacrifice” and “Where’s the Shoorah?”, in particular the PNAU remix of this song rightfully caught the world’s attention. It’s a moody number, yet perfect when sandwiched by more energetic solo Dua songs. Her alto singing voice is just hypnotic here.
4. Prisoner
This song is firmly on Miley Cyrus’ melodic turf, and yet this song so effectively echoes Dua Lipa’s “Physical”. Dua takes a lot of inspiration from music of the past, sampling to create modern takes on beloved melodies, which mirrors Miley’s appreciation for her musical forebears. Both of their alto voices harmonise effectively - Miley rough around the edges, Dua sanding them down, without robbing her of the haunting nature of the song.
5. Sweetest Pie
Adding some more swagger to the list, Dua here collaborates with Megan Thee Stallion. Capably performing on the intro, chorus, and bridge, Dua’s versatility is part of why I never grow tired of listening to her. I added the censored version, not for any particular reason (maybe that was all that was released at the time), but that doesn’t mean it’s any less evocative. This is the perfect song to visualise a successful night out!
What’s your favourite Dula Peep track?