Dua Lipa brought fans of all ages to Inglewood for her sold-out show at the Kia Forum Sunday.
The 30-year-old pop star’s Radical Optimism tour was a flashy, sparkling and downright extraordinary affair. Lipa proved that she’s on top of her game, delivered an impressive set of pop radio hits alongside mellow B-sides. Taking advantage of the grand stage set up at the arena, she made the arena feel like an intimate show.
Sunday’s show was the second of four sold-out performances at the quintessential L.A. venue. Lipa is off on Monday night before finishing out the final two shows Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here are the best moments from night two of Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism tour at the Kia Forum.
The people’s pop princess
Dua Lipa performing at the Kia Forum.
Madison Phipps
While Lipa’s tour is without a doubt one of the best pop shows to land in town this year, the experience was amplified tenfold thanks to the crowd of loyal supporters. It was refreshing to see a true variety of attendees that ranged from young girls with their parents to 20-and-30-something friend groups to middle-aged couples.
Despite the crowd’s demographic differences, nearly all attendees had one thing in common – they were hanging on Lipa’s every note. Her bigger radio hits – “Physical” and “Levitating” among them – had the crowd on their feet dancing along.
The singer, in a clever way to distract the crowd from her crew’s full band setup on the B-stage, even took to the barricade of the general admission floor crowd. She stopped to say hello to fans – some bursting into tears at the sight of her in front of them – to snap pictures and give her fans a once-in-a-lifetime memory.
An awe-inspiring production
The stage set-up at the Kia Forum.
Madison Phipps
Lipa and her team certainly didn’t reinvent the wheel with her two-level main stage and circular B-stage, but she did use every last inch of it. Kicking the night off on theme with her latest release, Radical Optimism, the lights went down, and the stage transformed into an ocean of crashing waves. Later in the night, Lipa sang around a literal ring of fire and was lifted in the air to belt a ballad from above the crowd.
One of the best ways the musician kept the audience engaged was through her nonstop show, having her backup dancers or the screens transition to the next stage, even when she was shuffling to make one of her outfit changes. The one that landed the best was perhaps the prelude to “Physical,” which had her dancers leading the crowd in Jazzercise-like warm-ups while she changed, in perfect theme with the song and its 2020 work out official performance video.
The perfect set of outfits
Dua Lipa performing onstage at the Kia Forum.
Madison Phipps
Lipa can no doubt make a plain t-shirt look chic, but her wide array of costumes throughout the show only made each section that much more glamorous. The glitz and glam weren’t just superficial but also, at times, practical. While Lipa was lifted into the air, she donned a long fur coat. The touch made the ballad all that more dramatic but it also served a real purpose – hiding away the safety belt that the singer had to wear. The small touch made it so the logistics of flying above the crowd didn’t take away from the big moment of the night.
Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism tour continues at the Kia Forum on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8. Both nights are sold-out.
