If it’s hard to avoid a certain déjà vu while watching Dua Lipa‘s high-octane Mad Cool slot, it’s because yes, we’ve seen it all before. Last month, the singer headlined Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage for the first time, cementing her position as arguably the biggest mainstream artist to break out of Britain in the last decade. A fortnight on, she brings the very same set-up to Madrid – sans karaoke moment with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker – replete with sequin-clad dancers and ‘80s arcade game-style lighting.
But even the second time around, Lipa remains an electric, determined pop star: strong and laser-focused. She is intent on mixing newer tracks with beloved hit singles from her back catalogue, though the airy, rejuvenated feel of material from this year’s ‘Radical Optimism’ already feels well-suited to the sweltering Spanish weather. Opening with ‘Training Season’, the 28-year-old offers nimble chatter as she slides and slinks around the stage, moving in sync with her troupe. The likes of ‘Pretty Please’ and ‘Break My Heart’ are recontextualised, layered with house grooves that cast her vocals in a more sultry light.
After the lights went down at Worthy Farm, a portion of Glastonbury coverage viewers at home accused Lipa of miming. There are no such concerns tonight: as if to further prove the point, she sprinkles extra riffs and vocal runs into ‘Illusion’, making herself heard loud and clear over blaring bass. ‘One Kiss’, which became something of an era-defining anthem for this city’s football fans (and their opponents) at the Champions League Final in 2018, is given extra zeal from a backing band that briefly teases a heavier, more industrial arrangement.
The energy never relents. One of the reasons music fans go to music festivals like Mad Cool is to feel: that goosebump-lifting, heart-expanding sensation that comes from being in a field together sharing huge singalong moments. Lipa understands that wholeheartedly. The entire show hinges on the tension between too-slick pop performance and the appeal of how she plays empowerment and musical euphoria off against simple refrains (‘Be The One,’ ‘New Rules’). She makes hard graft seem effortlessly glam.
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