Cover photo by Timothy Norris / Kia Forum
Halloween may be just around the corner, but summer never truly ends here in sunny Southern California, and certainly not when Dua Lipa comes to visit. The chart-topping British pop star took over the Kia Forum this month for four sold-out nights of the Radical Optimism Tour following a year of traveling the globe. If there were ever a case to be made for an endless summertime, Dua Lipa is determined to make it.
As I walked around the Forum, the striking age range of the crowd was immediately evident, even more so in comparison to the crowds of some of the other pop superstars I’ve seen live this year. Only a decade into her career and Dua Lipa is already a bonafide A-lister with cross-generational appeal that managed to attract everyone from couples to friend groups to entire families, all choosing to spend their Saturday night together jamming out with her. Though her third studio album, the Kevin Parker-produced Radical Optimism, didn’t manage to capture the cultural zeitgeist like the pop phenomenon and quarantine soundtrack of Future Nostalgia, its accompanying tour has more than solidified Dua Lipa as a pop and touring force to be reckoned with. As a day-one Radical Optimism defender, experiencing the album live was all the proof I needed that Dua Lipa will be at the height of pop culture for a very long time to come.
The night began with an opening set from the 23-year-old rising singer-songwriter Cil, and all those early and lucky enough to catch her were in for a treat. The charismatic performer felt right at home in the arena space, fitting the fun and timeless vibe of the night seamlessly with a powerful voice that was fully unleashed in the live setting. Even those in the crowd unfamiliar with Cil’s work were quickly won over by her angsty songwriting, unforgettably catchy hooks, and effortless cover of ABBA’s “Lay All Your Love On Me.” “Everything I’ve been through has been here,” said the LA-based artist before belting out the star-making standout “pretty years.” It was the perfect set to warm up the crowd before Dua Lipa took the stage for two hours of pure partying.
The sound and sight of ocean waves was the audience’s sign that the show was about to begin as Lipa soon emerged through the fog and declared, “Training season’s over.” The criminally underrated second single was the perfect thematic choice to kick off the evening, though it would take a few tracks before the crowd, seemingly content in their seats, would even stand up. Thankfully, Dua Lipa is a touring veteran and her infectious energy is impossible to ignore for long. She pulled out hit after hit as a “One Kiss” remix, a “Whatcha Doing” chair dance, and two of the night’s many beloved Future Nostalgia singles quickly injected some life into the crowd.
Lipa then made her way around the barricade to interact with her most devoted fans, a telling choice for an artist who could easily sell out Sofi Stadium just down the street but opted for the more intimate experience provided by an arena show instead. Some of the one-on-one conversations, like with a trio of eleven-year-old girls, were undeniably wholesome as the rest of the crowd watched Lipa make the girls’ nights (and lives). Others, like with a handsy man who forced security to get involved, put on full display the frighteningly muddy lines between fandom and inappropriate parasociality. While that’s a much more malicious example, Lipa’s loving energy was not always totally matched by the crowd, an unfortunate constant throughout the night for a performer who deserved far better.
Dua Lipa then made her way to the end of the catwalk to meet her band for the show’s surprise song section where each night, she covers a song by an artist born in that state. For night one in LA, she picked Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” in honor of not only Lindsey Buckingham, but all the artists who come to the City of Angels following in the legendary band’s footsteps. It’s a remarkable feat for any artist to try and follow up “The Chain,” but with a killer discography up her sleeve, Lipa managed to pull it off. Her talented dancers, a sure highlight of the tour, joined her back on stage to perform even more of the timeless earworms from across her 2020s output. Lipa’s ability to transform the arena into a workout class-club hybrid for the breathtaking “Physical” and then sun-kissed shores for the cathartic chapter-closer of “Happy For You” is a testament to her exceptional range as a songwriter, singer, dancer, and performer all at once.
She headed back into the crowd once more to perform “Be The One,” her first-ever hit single which was released ten years ago this month. It’s truly no wonder that a talent like that at just twenty years old would be selling out arenas and stadiums this many times over only a decade later. That was made all the more undeniable when Lipa returned for one of the greatest pop star encores in recent memory. After nearly two hours of hits, a lesser artist would have nothing left to give, but Dua Lipa had plenty and then some with an all-timer encore composed of “New Rules,” “Dance The Night,” “Don’t Start Now,” “Houdini,” and dance breaks galore that not even one of LA’s notoriously dull crowds could resist going wild for.
The Dua Lipa I saw at the Kia Forum Saturday night feels like a completely different performer from the Dua Lipa who once went viral for her lack of onstage energy. She jumped back from that with one of the biggest dance-pop records of all time. Deny her staying power at your own risk. If Radical Optimism was seen as a step backwards upon release, this tour is an endlessly entertaining showcase for the album’s ability to hold its own against some of her greatest smash hits. Not even the glitz and glamour of confetti, pyro, lasers, and floating sets could outshine the bright pop star that is Dua Lipa as she brought her gold mine of an album into the sun and showed the world all they’ve been missing out on by paying it dust.
Training season’s over indeed. Catch her live now, or you’ll be missing out on one of the best pop spectacles of the year.
Listen to Radical Optimism below!
