I honestly couldn’t wait to go, excited to feel the pure joy that comes with being in an arena and singing alongside over 10,000 other people. At the same time, I was also quite nervous, as I knew that I would be attending on my own. My nerves, however, were dispelled as soon as the music started.
I arrived at the arena in time to see the supporting act, Griff, who is the Brit Award’s Rising Star of 2021 and is a really exciting emerging artist. From my own experience, supporting acts can be a bit hit or miss, but Griff had the crowd singing and dancing, especially to her most popular hits, “Head on Fire”, “Black Hole” and “One Night”. The latter featured a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”, which was in-keeping with the nostalgic 80s vibe of the Future Nostalgia tour and a perfect crowd pleaser. Griff was an energetic performer with impressive vocals and an engaging stage presence. It was lovely to watch her, especially since, as she admitted to the crowd, she had written most of her songs during lockdown. There was the sense that she was genuinely grateful to be performing.
Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia tour can simply be described as a spectacle, full of explosive dance routines, 80s-inspired VTs, disco balls, several iconic outfits and a giant lobster. The show was pure energy and campiness, which paired perfectly with the nostalgia-infused songs from the album, every one of which is a banger. Opening with an 80s-style exercise video that introduced the band and dancers, Lipa then emerged on-stage to “Physical”, wearing a pink Balenciaga catsuit and matching opera gloves. At this point, any self-consciousness that I felt was quickly erased by the infectious joy of Dua’s performance.
Similar to Griff, it was clear that Dua was grateful to be performing again after an unplanned hiatus, as she told the audience that it was “f-ing surreal being here on this stage” and that the last time she had been in Newcastle, at the O2 in 2017, she’d had the “f-ing best time”. Lipa also thanked fans who had held onto their tickets, some for three years. This tour felt as though it was making up for that lost time, putting on a giant party to celebrate the return of live music.
Indeed, the staging of the show aided this, as the addition of a catwalk-like promenade and a smaller diamond-shaped stage at the end gave more room for dance routines and meant that Lipa could walk out into the crowd. I was very lucky to have had a great seat, but this set really helped in making the arena tour feel like a more intimate performance. During “One Kiss”, Lipa and her dancers performed on the smaller diamond stage, lights moving over the top of them to create a club-like atmosphere. This energy radiated throughout the crowd.
It is really difficult to write everything about the show, as it was so visually phenomenal, but my favourite moments include “Levitating”, during which Lipa literally levitates over the crowd, disco balls and giant stars hanging next to her and a technicolour galaxy on the big screen behind her. Elton John joined (virtually) for “Cold Heart” and was welcomed with a big cheer from the audience. The staging for this song was more low-key, with Lipa sat on the stage surrounded by her dancers and the audience’s lights on. I also screamed when Dua did the iconic “go girl, give it nothing” dance move, which is a favourite of my friends and one that we pull out at the club whilst very drunk. Further, Dua’s vocals throughout were flawless, as I heard someone say as I was leaving the arena, she sounded just like she does on the album.
I absolutely loved the Future Nostalgia tour for its spectacle and energy and Dua Lipa’s incredible performance. She definitely proved herself to be a ‘female alpha’.