Dua Lipa didn’t bring out any special guest at her first New Zealand tour show, but she did continue her local cover series in style.
It’s safe to say that Lipa enjoyed her just-completed Australian tour. Not since Taylor Swift and Fred again.. has a touring artist captured the local imagination to the extent that the Grammy-winning pop star has.
Lipa spent the first shows of her Australian tour unveiling covers of Aussie classics, including AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” and Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn”, the latter of which prompted a gushing social media response from Imbruglia herself.
“Every night we do something different,” Lipa told the crowd during one of her Melbourne shows before launching into a rendition of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”. Talk about getting a local crowd onside.
And then the guests arrived, and in their droves.
Lipa brought out Troye Sivan for a special duet, calling the Aussie pop star “one of my favourite, favourite artists who’s also a friend of mine.” Lipa then launched into “Rush”, with Sivan making a surprise entrance during the performance without introduction.
Lipa surprised Sydney with an appearance by Kevin Parker for a cover of his band Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know the Better”. Angus Stone (who just announced an Australia and New Zealand tour for his Dope Lemon project) and Vance Joy also assisted Lipa at shows.
Love Pop?
Get the latest Pop news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
That led Rolling Stone AU/NZ to speculate about which Kiwi acts might appear at Lipa’s Auckland shows this week, with Bic Runga, BENEE, and even Shihad touted as possibilities.
In the end, Lipa’s first Auckland show featured no guest but a stunning cover of Lorde’s classic hit “Royals”.
It was an unsurprising cover choice, with Lipa previously hailing Lorde’s Melodrama single “Liability” as a song she wished she’d written. “I think she’s brilliant and such a great songwriter and that song, it hits home,” Lipa said back in 2018.
@consequence Dua Lipa covered Lorde’s “Royals” during her concert in Auckland, New Zealand. Credit: Dua Lipa Media #dualipa #lorde #royals #auckland
Lipa has one final Auckland show remaining this Friday, April 4th. Her world tour will then pick back up in Spain next month.
The pop superstar is touring in support of her acclaimed third album, Radical Optimism, which contained hits like “Houdini” and “Illusion”. The album debuted at #1 in 11 countries and became Dua’s third top 10 album on the ARIA charts.
Dua Lipa Remaining New Zealand Tour Dates
Visit dualipa.com for ticket information
Friday, April 4th
Auckland, New Zealand – Spark Arena
