Dua Lipa brought her Future Nostalgia tour to Newcastle on Saturday night and boy, did she make an impression.
After now seeing her live it has left no question that there hasn't been a pop star this charismatic and talented in years. It was a packed (presumably sold out) arena and the atmosphere was electric.
I haven't enjoyed a gig that much in a long time - mostly that is Covid's fault - but I think credit is very much due to 26-year-old Dua and the team behind the show.
Firstly, I must mention her support act Griff. I had heard of her (purely through Taylor Swift mentioning her in her BRITS speech last year) but I hadn't actually heard any of her songs so I was looking forward to hopefully discovering new some music.
She was excellent. Griff clearly already had some fans in the audience as many were passionately singing along to her songs and I think by the end of her set, she will have gone home with quite a few more fans - me included.
The highlight of her set was a mash-up of her song One Night and Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody which really got the crowd on their feet.
With the audience thoroughly warmed up, it was bouncing when Dua made her appearance at around 9pm. It was energetic from start to finish as she kicked off with Physical before moving onto one of her biggest hits New Rules. Other highlights included Pretty Please, Be The One, Good in Bed and One Kiss.
Vocally, she is stunning live. It was hard to tell a difference from the recorded tracks even while she danced the whole time.
One of the things I appreciate most is when an act engages and interacts with the crowd - after all their adoring fans have paid a lot to see them. So I bet the 'girl in the pink top' was over the moon when Dua gave her a shout out for singing along the whole time and dedicated a song to her.
I saw a lot of young girls that seemed to be enjoying their first ever concert and I bet this is one they won't forget. Mine was Steps at the very same arena and I remember it well! This also reminded me of my favourite kind of person at a gig: bewildered middle-aged dads with their daughters.
Dua commands the stage while strutting around in svelte, slinky costumes. She just oozes sex appeal - and she knows it!
Another highlight was during a dance break/ costume change, when Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl started playing. It was a real surprise treat for millennials like me in the crowd. The dancers, back-up singers and band all very much deserve a mention too. They were all fantastic and Dua made sure to make them feel appreciated too.
When she appeared for the last act of the show in her iconic black sparkly catsuit, she started with her massive hit Levitating while being lifted above the crowd.
And then came the encore which left everyone wanting even more. Dua finished with Future Nostalgia and Don't Start Now which she performed with as much energy as when she started almost two hours before.
It was a proper pop show finale with confetti cannons to boot. With our ears ringing we left on a high and with a promise to definitely make sure we see Dua Lipa live again. A well deserved five stars from me!
