By Daniel Heaphy
As we gear up for another explosive summer of live shows, I can’t help but reflect on my favourite concert going experience of 2025. Walking into Dublin’s Aviva Stadium for one of pop’s most anticipated concerts of the summer, it may come as no surprise that one is greeted by the typical bouts of hysteria, adrenaline and pulsing excitement associated with gigs of this nature. What is surprising is the demographics that are radiating these palpable sensations. Young girls, yes, typically described as the target audience for many of pop’s polished acts. But if you take a moment to survey the crowd you’ll find a refreshing mix of attendees, from families and adult men to older couples. Such is the appeal of Dua Lipa; while in the past she’s been criticised for her lyrical capabilities, often targeted for being seen as lacking profundity or specificity in her writing, it seems that it’s that very simplicity and accessibility that is, in fact, her biggest strength. There’s a universality to the music which translates beautifully to a diverse audience.
Born in London to Kosovo-Albanian parents, Lipa boasts a refreshingly unmanufactured rise to stardom. Beginning her career posting YouTube video covers and modelling, all the while working as a cocktail waitress, Lipa’s ascent to the mainstream was slow, but when she landed it was with a seismic impact. New Rules, her 2017 breakup banger from her self-titled debut put her on the map, but it was 2020’s Future Nostalgia that cemented her as more than just a flash in the pan within the pop industry. As the title of that aforementioned album suggests, Lipa, during this era, pulled inspiration from classic disco tracks of the past (think Olivia Newton-John’s Physical which she so effectively sampled) whilst also firmly placing her sound in the now. The result creates a compelling sonic juxtaposition; current enough to get her younger audience dancing, whilst familiar enough to prick the ears of those less compelled by the landscape of pop.
While there will always be critics of such a commercialised genre, you’d have to be deeply cynical to not give in to the ambience and let yourself go when Lipa confidently enters the stage of the Aviva Stadium.
“Are you someone I can give my heart to or just the poison that I’m drawn to? It can be hard to tell the difference late at night”, Lipa ponders in a capella fashion, her signature husky voice simmering over the arena. It’s the calm before the colourful, dazzling storm that is the next two hours. As soon as the first chorus of Training Season lands, she doesn’t let up. There is a fear she might have peaked too soon; sparklers, confetti canons, dynamic staging and cinematic visuals fill the stadium all within the first track. However, the hits keep coming, and with that, production that brings you firmly into Lipa’s world of Radical Optimism – and what a world it is. Despite just three albums to her name, the entire show plays more like a greatest hits line-up, than a gig dedicated to any one specific album.
On Break My Heart, the third track on her setlist, Lipa exclaims post-chorus, “Dublin I can’t hear you!” I highly doubted this. The stadium screamed – not sang every word – and Lipa knew this. Sometimes less is more, but at a pop concert, effectively, more is more. That’s not to say it’s polished to the point of being sanitized. Part of Lipa’s appeal is that she’s always been one of the “cooler” forces in pop; endearing enough to be a role model, but never afraid of a good party. During One Kiss, her 2018 Calvin Harris collaboration, Lipa turns her set into a pulsing night club, complete with newly introduced techno melodies. Whatcha Doin’ sees Lipa evoke a playful sense of sensuality, as she chimes “…there’s a part of me that wants to steal your heart, And a part that tells me “don’t”. It’s one of the several deep-cuts from Radical Optimism that documents the trials and tribulations of dating as seen through the eyes of youth culture.
Levitating evokes a cosmic-like sense of out-of-this-world fun, and placed within the context of a live show, it’s yet another reminder of why it’s largely and justifiably regarded as one of the best pop tracks of the decade. Midway through the show, Lipa devotes herself exclusively to dance-floor bangers, as moves her way through four of the catchiest tunes within her discography with little to no interim to catch a breath. From Physical and Electricity to Hallucinate and her latest solo single Illusion, the BRIT-winning superstar magically transforms the Aviva into what feels like the world’s largest dancercise class.
Equally as compelling is the admittedly few and far between moments where Lipa slows things down. Visibly moved during a tribute to Sinead O’Connor, Lipa’s deeper-than-most singing voice captures the despair and longing of Nothing Compares to You hauntingly. The song, as Lipa informs the audience, is sung as part of a segment she’s been doing while on tour, wherein each city she’s performing she covers a song from an artist who derives from the area. It’s a powerful move that shows Lipa’s encyclopedic musical knowledge and wide-ranging taste.
After performing the similarly restrained Anything for Love, Lipa tells the audience “…you guys are the best.” The most affecting part is that you believe her, her words coming from a far more sincere place than your typically scripted pop-star to crowd interactions. She’s even brave enough to approach the standing barrier during an interlude, charismatically chatting to fans and taking selfies, right before the candid These Walls. These interactions are all very simple but all very effective in reminding you, despite the intensely choreographed and polished nature of the production, there is a young woman here who still seems slightly bemused and overwhelmed that this is her life.
When the concert concludes with the pop-meets-psychedelia track Houdini, the lights come back and the tour’s title,The Radical Optimism Tour, appears on screen, I couldn’t help but be reminded of an assuring ideal. There is, it turns out, plenty of room still left in our divided world for sheer pop fun, and a lack of introspection musically does not equate to a lack of value. There are very few things that bring people together quite like music, especially when it’s as good as what Lipa offered the people of Ireland one warm evening last summer. Both entering and exiting the concert, video is played showcasing Lipa’s other career endeavours. You’re reminded of her modelling work, her various campaigns with Yves Saint Laurent and, perhaps most surprising to the uninitiated, her book club. This is a woman, and a show that contains multitudes. As for what’s next, one thing that’s likely is that her signature radical optimism, essentially joy despite the odds, will be front and centre. If you can open your heart to it, it’ll be impossible to resist.