Dua Lipa is effortlessly among the greatest with her show in the Ziggo Dome ★★★★☆

The then 24-year-old Dua Lipa could not have chosen a more unfortunate moment for the release of her second album. Future Nostalgia appeared at the end of March 2020, when corona threw everything, including the pop world, into lock for the first time. The English singer of Kosovar Albanian descent saw her planned world tour postponed several times. The ticket that provided access to the first of two sold-out concerts in Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome on Tuesday stated 5 October 2021 as the date.

Yet it was just an album like Future Nostalgia that will have supported many pop aficionados in recent years. All songs turned out to be instant pop classics and every listen was good for a moment of comfort. So when Dua Lipa demonstrates her knowledge of the Dutch language with a heartfelt ‘Amsterdam, God damn it, I’m so happy’ on Tuesday evening, it also feels like a liberation for the 17,000 visitors. ‘We are all going to shit’, she blurts out in full agreement before she Be the One stake.

The show is already well underway, the pink catsuit will soon be exchanged for a silver, glittering leotard. Dua Lipa sings wonderfully: not overly searching for long notes, but precisely with that warmth and control that make her pop songs so irresistible.

Her vocal safety net is formed by a four-piece choir, the band is half hidden in the back. All attention can be focused on the singer in the center of an exquisitely synchronized dance group (eight women, two men). It all looks and sounds exemplary. From the first notes of Physical it’s clear it’s going to be a rare uplifting evening. The momentum is especially good at the beginning, the volume and number of beats per minute is slowly increased to just Hallucinate to a resounding disco climax. Then there is with cold heart the only moment of rest, when Elton John sings to the audience via video connection.

And also the least part of the show, which then works towards a final in space. Stars and planets are coming out of the ceiling, Dua Lipa has done her umpteenth walk on the catwalk to the platform in the middle of the room and can Levitating singing in a cloud of stardust for a moment in the sky. This is the only really lavish thing about the show where song and dance provide the most spectacle. Then get rid of that remarkable large inflatable lobster that during We’re Good menacingly behind her. The meaning of this “lobster attack” was not clear. But a show that so emphatically wants to amuse, and so packed full of euphoric pop moments, is best left to guess. Ziggo Dome has welcomed many great pop women from Madonna and Beyoncé to Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. Dua Lipa now effortlessly ranks among the greatest with a show that left you happier than you went there.