Concert Review: Dua Lipa, November 26, Aragon Ballroom

Any woman who chooses the tongue-stick-out as her cover look is going to be memorable, right? Far from hiding her personality, her ambition, her talent, her strengths or her tongue, Dua Lipa lets it all hang out in the best of ways. The uber-talented English-Albanian wonderwoman proved herself strong as ever in her awesome performance at Aragon Ballroom on Sunday. Dua graced the Chicago venue as part of her “Self-Titled Tour” (again – love how she owns her own fame and talent) and gave the audience the show they were hoping for. And WHAT an audience. You know you’re in good company when you have men in bathrobes, women in “If you’re under him/You’re not getting over him” T-shirts, and more men in bathrobes (most also wearing high heels) out for an epic Sunday Funday with their favorite diva.

First (and very importantly for the 30+ crowd like yours truly), Dua was extremely punctual. Love it. The woman sent her three bandmates out on stage to rev up the crowd with headbanging … intro music … a life-size screen of her … and BAM: the woman herself. Dua took the stage at 8:30 sharp and didn’t waste a moment from that second on. She dominated the scene in fabulous yellow wide-leg pants and a super sexy top, complemented (of course) with her signature amazing Pantene-ProV-commercial-quality hair. Her hips hypnotized, her twirls titillated, and her voice thrilled. Dua’s pipes are amazing live – to the point that I heard scandalized members of her fan base wonder aloud if she was lip syncing … only to be hastily and angrily hushed by bystanders.

Second, her banter to song ratio was great. A woman of few words, she gave Chicago the shout out it was craving, urged the audience to sing along, but otherwise kept the focus on the music. I have loved this artist for a long time just for her big hit, “New Rules”, but she really blew me out of the water with her range and diversity. She hit the crowd with a great selection of tracks, my new favorites being “Hotter Than Hell,” “Dreams,” and “Garden.” Although she’s been compared to other sultry-voiced female artists (think Sia, P!nk, Charli XCX) Dua really brings something unique to the table that you can only see live. Bottom line: Go see her. Like now. This woman is going places fast – you’d better catch her before she’s too big for intimate, memorable shows like this one.

Posted on by halley in Concerts