ShareDua Lipa performing her Future Nostalgia Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Tuesday 26th April 2022
Review by Kevin Cooper
It has been a bit of a wait for the fans of the pop disco queen, Dua Lipa, whose Future Nostalgia tour has been rescheduled on no less than three occasions, but as the saying goes, good things come to those that wait and what a party it was at the Motorpoint Arena on Tuesday night.
Following a stylized video introduction of Lipa and her dancers, the Grammy winning singer began the show with Physical, one of her biggest hits in recent years. Wearing a neon pink bodysuit and dance moves inspired by 80s exercise videos, it was abundantly clear that this show would be a high energy romp.
As she started to belt out follow up song, New Rules, one of her first big hits from her debut self titled album, the fans went wild as the singer and her dancers wielded umbrellas, moving out into the runway in the middle of the crowd. And with a massive disco ball on the screen behind her, and with dancers on roller skates, the party was ramped up a notch for Love Again, a new song from her 2020 album, Future Nostalgia, which incidentally holds the record for being the most streamed album in a day by a British female artist globally in the history of Spotify, with its five billion streams to date.
Pretty Please saw her being held aloft by her fabulous dancers before hundreds of glowing orbs descended from above to mark the start of Break My Heart, a Donna Summeresque song that had the packed Arena singing along. The 2015 number Be The One which went global after being re-released the following year brought the high energy first act to a close.
The second set opened with a bizarre mix of an American Diner themed IDGAF dance interlude with skating dancers, an under the sea video on the big screen, a costume change and a huge inflatable lobster which bounced around the stage as Lipa sang the mellow We’re Good, which showed off her strong vocals that boomed around the Arena.
She showcased the breath of her musical expertise and her trademark playfulness when singing the coquettish 90s style R & B Good In Bed. Slowing things right down for Boys Will Be Boys which started off with just her on stage in the spotlight, belting out the feminist anthem at the top of her lungs more than making up for the lack of dancers, but they returned as the energy was ramped up to close what had been a very quick second act.
Another costume change and some balloon dropping from the rafters during third set opener, One Kiss, and although the balloons were quite sparse in numbers the epic laser show more than made up for it.
Electricity and new song Hallucinate had the crowd on their feet, before a pre-recorded guest appearance from Elton John who accompanied her on their recent collaboration, Cold Heart, which showcased some of her more tender moments. The main set closure saw a space theme, giant disco balls and stars descending from the heavens before a platform was spotted, its lights looking like a spaceship ready to land. Lipa finally emerged for the aptly named Levitating, on the platform as it hovered around the centre of the crowd.
For the encore, wearing another amazing outfit, she treated this packed crowd to an edgier version of Future Nostalgia, swinging around her mic stand whilst powerfully singing about a ‘female alpha’. Finishing with a show stopping performance of an extended version of Don’t Start Now which saw Lipa strutting along the stage as multi-coloured confetti erupted in every direction.
Dua Lipa is undoubtedly an incredible artist. Her energy throughout the nearly two hour show was palpable, with the fans exploding with screams and applause. Every song was expertly choreographed between her and her troupe of talented dancers and singers and was so impressive that this was not only a concert worth waiting for but one that will be very hard to better.