Review: Dua Lipa - Spark Arena, November 2022.
Review: Dua Lipa - Spark Arena, November 2022.
It’s hard to believe that it was all the way back in 2018 when Dua Lipa last visited Aotearoa - on a whirlwind tour supporting Bruno Mars at Spark Arena. But last night, Lipa took to the very same stage, this time bringing her own headline performance in support of the award-winning 2020 album ‘Future Nostalgia’.
Over two years since the release of that album (which was memorably released at peak-pandemic lockdown, meaning many one-person disco’s was how the album was first experienced), it’s clear that this crowd has been anticipating being able to celebrate the album in the form it deserves - a nonstop disco party with 12,000 other people.
Fresh off the plane from Melbourne, where Lipa performed a rare intimate show at the Palais Theatre, her return to Auckland was nothing but a flawless pop extravaganza - undoubtably one of the year’s best. The opening-credits set the tone for the 80s inspired evening, introducing the dancers much like an ensemble cast, before Lipa herself strode on stage.
Opening the set with ‘Physical’, Lipa commanded the stage with her undeniably powerful voice (accompanied by an equally as impressive barre-dancing troupe), rolling right into an umbrella routine for ‘New Rules’ that ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ would be proud of.
The choreography was just one of the many standout elements of the nonstop party - the show was split into four distinctive acts, and dance intermissions marked the costume-changes between each, with notably Lipa debuting several brand-new colourways of her designer outfits for this show.
The entire show was a sheer reminder of the number of hits that Lipa has - every few songs saw screams and excitement from knowing fans, whether singing along to the iconic ‘New Rules’, the anthemic ‘One Kiss’, early breakout ‘Be The One’, or newer Elton John collaboration ‘Cold Heart’ (who appears on-screen during the song).
“We’ve been waiting for two years to come down and put this show on… I’m feeling very grateful for this special moment,” Lipa spoke with sheer enthusiasm to be back in our country, a sentiment no doubt reflected by her fans.
Other standout moments included the ‘IDGAF’ interlude, where two dancers threw white flowers into the crowd, and a heartfelt dedication from Lipa during ‘Good In Bed’ to two fans she spotted amongst the dancing crowd.
Topping it out with several explosions of rainbow confetti in ‘Don’t Start Now’, it marked a triumphant end to the night - for those attending tonight’s Spark Arena show (or the remainder of the tour dates in Australia that follow this leg), you’re in for a treat.
Set-List:
Physical
New Rules
Love Again
Cool
Pretty Please
Break My Heart
Be the One
We’re Good
Good in Bed
Fever
Boys Will Be Boys
One Kiss
Electricity
Hallucinate
Cold Heart
Encore:
Future Nostalgia
Levitating
Don’t Start Now
Remaining Australasian tour dates:
November 3 - Spark Arena, Auckland
November 5 - Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
November 8 - Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
November 9 - Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
November 11 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
November 12 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
November 14 - AEC Arena, Adelaide
November 16 - RAC Arena, Perth
