Good things come to those who wait, or so the saying goes, and Dua Lipa fans in Liverpool have been waiting nearly two years for the singer to come to the city.
It was May 20, 2020 when Dua was originally set to perform at the M&S Bank Arena, but there are no prizes for guessing what caused the date to be postponed. Twice. Pre-pandemic, Dua was already a huge star, having duetted with Calvin Harris, won three BRIT awards and had two number one singles in the UK.
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In the last two years, her star has only risen higher, scoring a third number one with Elton John on his reboot of Cold Heart and picking up further awards and accolades. Her hit single Physical, from her 2020 number one album Future Nostalgia had some us shimmying through much of that first lockdown, so it was only fitting that she chose it to open last night’s show at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena.
And boy did the crowd sing along to every word. It set the tone for the rest of the night, with the audience up on its feet, belting out Dua’s lyrics from start to finish.
The singer entered the stage dressed in a hot pink lace catsuit, with a team of dancers in top to toe red lycra. The opening act included New Rules, Love Again and Be The One, with Dua, at times, writhing around the stage and crawling seductively along the floor. It was reminiscent of Madonna in the 1990s, back when these kinds of moves still had the power to shock.
Much like the female power houses that have gone before - Madonna, Kylie, Beyonce - Dua proved last night she can captivate, seduce and leave her audience spellbound, with people in the crowd unable to take their eyes off her as she cruised through her impressive back catalogue, with enough stamina and skill to keep up with her flawless dance troupe, never once seeming out of breath.
Her second act included Good In Bed, a sexually charged Fever and Boys Will Be Boys, the crowd continuing to sing anthemically along to every word. Dua made sure her dancers and musicians were very much part of the show, the spotlight at times falling solely on the drummer, and the roller skating male dancers who entertained the crowd during costume changes.
But the stage was very much hers, as she frequently broke away from the pack to strut catwalk-style down to a smaller stage in the middle of the arena, where she oozed confidence and made us feel like she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
As we entered the third act of the show, we got to the song many had been waiting all night for, with Dua telling the crowd she’d heard it had become an ‘unofficial anthem’ for a certain part of the city. The singer performed at Liverpool FC’s Champions League final in 2018 and Reds fans seem to have adopted her ever since.
After the Reds’ Carabao Cup final in February, Jurgen Klopp and the first team danced along to One Kiss on the pitch, and similar scenes were witnessed after Liverpool beat Manchester City this month. Last night, thousands of fans in the M&S Bank Arena belted out every word to the 2018 single and went wild as red and white balloons descended into the crowd, with Dua and her performers dancing euphorically under the lights.
As the show neared the end, we were left feeling like we wanted to be part of Dua’s squad, as they danced in a sort of backwards merry-go-round at one point, then stood in line, arm in arm, swaying under a huge rainbow flag as Dua - and a 70s Elton John on the big screen - sang Cold Heart.
After another costume change - this time into a stunning top to toe black and silver catsuit - Dua was back on stage for Levitating, where she literally took off and floated above the mesmerised crowd on a stage that elevated just for her. Back down to earth, there was a quick change of pace as Dua belted out to Future Nostalgia, thrashing her hair like an 80s rockstar, before bringing things to a close with Don’t Stop Now - the audience, still singing and dancing along as they had from the start.
We didn’t want the night to end, and as the lights went up there was pure joy amongst the crowd, a great night had by all and hopes that we don’t have to wait quite so long to see Dua back in Liverpool again. She’s unofficially one of ours now, after all.
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