The perfect pop star: Dua Lipa at the O2 Arena reviewed

Dua Lipa’s second album, Future Nostalgia, was released at the least promising moment possible: 27 March 2020, the day after the first lockdown came into force in the UK. Just as a pandemic swept the world, she was releasing a maximalist pop album that, surely, was designed for the communal experiences no one was having. But something about it connected: Future Nostalgia was a worldwide hit, the first British album released in 2020 to go platinum, the tenth bestselling record in the world that year. It turned out to be the right album for a wretched year.

No wonder her show at the O2 was centred on it – every track was heard, which would normally be overegging the promotional pudding, but, given its consistent excellence, was entirely justifiable. The songs were the centre, too; it was a restrained production for a big arena show. There were baubles and effects, but nothing to draw the attention from either the music or the effortless charisma of the star.

Perhaps Future Nostalgia resonated because if you looked behind the shards of light dancing off the mirrorball, there was something darker beneath. For all that it borrowed from the late 1970s, recreating disco’s dream of songs so lush you’re not sure whether to dance to them or take a bath in them, it wasn’t all 2 a.m. on the dancefloor – there were an awful lot of moments when it felt as though dawn was breaking, and the cracks in the make-up were evident in the light, and the morning after was bursting into view.

She did not shy away from that mood. At arena shows, the sheer volume can make picking out individual lyrics difficult, but the opening of ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ was delivered with perfect, jolting clarity: ‘It’s second nature to walk home before the sun goes down/ And put your keys between your knuckles when there’s boys around.’