Dua Lipa brings out Jamiroquai at emotional Wembley debut

Mark Savage

Music Correspondent

Getty Images Jay Kay of Jamiroquai sings with Dua Lipa at Wembley Stadium — Dua Lipa and Jay Kay duetted on a shock model of Jamiroquai’s 1996 hit Digital Madness

Dua Lipa handled followers to a shock look by Jamiroquai, as she performed her first ever present at Wembley Stadium.

Bringing out the band’s frontman Jay Kay for a one-off efficiency of his 1996 hit Digital Madness, the star mentioned he was “an enormous trailblazer for British music”.

Their efficiency got here half-way by way of a shocking two-hour present, that noticed Lipa tear by way of hits like Bodily, One Kiss, New Guidelines and Levitating.

”That is such an enormous, large milestone for me,” she advised her 70,000 followers. “I’ve had a lump in my throat from the second this present began.”

Some devoted followers had camped out since Thursday to see the singer’s UK stadium debut, braving temperatures that exceeded 31C.

“It means absolutely the world to me that you simply’re right here tonight,” she advised them throughout the present. “It looks like I’ve waited my complete life for this second.”

The Radical Optimism tour marks the primary time Dua Lipa has headlined stadium dates

Getty Images Dua Lipa leans back while singing, as dancers frame her on stage — The Radical Optimism tour marks the primary time Dua Lipa has headlined stadium dates

Reflecting on her ascent to the highest tier of pop music, the 29-year-old added: ”It has been 10 years since our first ever London present, which occurred to be about 350 individuals, and I dreamt of an evening like this.“

“To be in entrance of 70,000 individuals. I am so, so blown away.”

She then launched certainly one of her earliest singles, Hotter Than Hell, telling followers it was the monitor that had earned her a recording contract.

Since then, she has stockpiled an enviable choice of armour-plated hits, most of which obtained an airing on Friday evening.

The present started with a new-agey wash of ocean sounds, that segued seamlessly into her 2024 single, Coaching Season.

Lipa sang the primary verse slowly, over a sultry orchestral backing. However earlier than lengthy, the band kicked into gear, and the disco pulse barely let up for the following two hours.

The star had a number of costume adjustments all through the present

Getty Images Dua Lipa dressed in a white lace bodysuit performs a song while sitting on a chair — The star had a number of costume adjustments all through the present

In lots of respects, the set performed like an prolonged remix of her triumphant Glastonbury efficiency final 12 months – stuffed with pin-sharp choreography and fiercely futuristic pop.

Her voice stays a robust level – resonant and versatile, with a touch of the rasp she inherited from her father, Albanian rock singer Dukajin Lipa.

It was significantly efficient on the cascading vocal runs of Falling Ceaselessly, and the Flamenco-flavoured Maria.

In some way, Lipa managed to not lose her breath, regardless of demanding, body-rolling dance routines that solely sometimes recalled Jane Fonda’s Eighties hold match movies. She leaned into the schtick with an interlude instructing her followers to “transfer these hips” over the intro to Bodily.

Jay Kay arrived to a scream of recognition from older members of the viewers, suited up in a tasseled white cowboy jacket and pink denims.

“What a privilege and an honour to be on stage with you,” mentioned the singer, earlier than launching into Digital Madness – a music that turned a success when Dua was only one 12 months outdated.

Between songs, the star frolicked getting private with followers within the entrance row – borrowing their telephones to pose for selfies, signing data (aspect be aware: who on earth brings a vinyl document to the entrance row of a stadium live performance?) and even appropriating one particular person’s scarf to intensify her personal stage outfit.

It was a easy, however private, contact that helped for instance why the star has turn out to be solely the second British girl after Adele to headline Wembley Stadium.

The singer was flanked by 12 dancers all through the present

Getty Images Dua Lipa and her dancers stand in formation during her show at Wembley Stadium — The singer was flanked by 12 dancers all through the present

Watched from the stands by her household, together with fiancé Callum Turner, she wrapped up the present with a flawless four-song encore that included a few of her greatest hits: New Guidelines, Do not Begin Now and Dance The Evening.

Lipa completed with the psychedelic pop smash Houdini, ratcheting up the stress with a flurry of fireworks as she head-banged to a shredding guitar solo. Then the music out of the blue stopped and he or she vanished in a cloud of smoke.

A powerhouse efficiency from a star on the prime of their recreation, it was proof that you do not want large mechanical props or leading edge video expertise to drag off a compelling stadium present.

Generally, the appropriate songs, the appropriate choreography and a beneficiant serving to of feel-good power are sufficient.

As an added bonus, that retains the tickets reasonably priced: The costliest seats price £155, in comparison with some stadium reveals this summer season, the place costs have topped £900.

Lipa continues her Radical Optimism tour with a second evening at Wembley on Saturday, adopted by dates in Liverpool and London earlier than the North American leg kicks off in September.