What a year it’s been for Dua Lipa, two Brit Awards, a number one single with Calvin Harris, one of the Live Lounges of the century with an all-star girl group, and now she is performing ahead of Saturday night’s Champion’s League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Kiev.
“It’s really exciting,” she says in a chat with Music News LIVE chat. “We’ve done a run-through rehearsal and even though the stadium’s empty it’s still terrifying. “I don’t know how it’s going to feel when there are thousands of people inside and millions watching at home.”
An estimated global TV audience of 200 million watched last year’s final in Cardiff, where the Black Eyed Peas played the opening performance. But having recently reached one billion views on YouTube for her song New Rules, Dua is not scared of large figures. “Performance-wise, it’s the biggest that I’ve ever done, there are a lot of girls, and we’re going to have some Ukrainian influence as well given where we are.”I wanted it to be different from my other performances that I’ve done so there won’t be a pink flamingo with me.
“There are like 360 cameras and exciting things from all angles, it will be really fun in the stadium and will look great on telly, I hope people enjoy it.” Dua is staying pretty tight-lipped about what the performance will entail, divulging only that she will perform a medley and will be on stage for around eight minutes. But if a performance like the one Lady Gaga brought to the Super Bowl in 2017 teaches us anything, it’s that an artist goes big or goes home.
“I would have loved to have skydived in,” Dua laughs. “I would have been pretty scared to do that but obviously the match is afterwards so we have to be respectful of the pitch. “There were only so many things that we were allowed to do, we have to keep the pitch intact.” Dua’s dad and younger brother – both committed Arsenal fans – have also travelled to Kiev to watch the game and she will be staying to watch the match because her he manager is “a massive Liverpool fan”.
“I’ve never been to a football game before so I’m starting at the top.”
Credit: BBC