DUA LIPA Announces NY and LA Shows + Appearance At Lollapalooza

I can’t believe it’s taken me THIS LONG to write about DUA LIPA, but better late than never, I suppose, right—ESPECIALLY since she has announced her first round of U.S. shows following a very successful run at SXSW. This time around, DUA LIPA is playing two shows each in New York and Los Angeles, but her star is quickly rising so chances of a larger-scale tour are pretty high. Check out the official tour poster below for dates and locations, and head over to SongKick for ticket info.

The 20 year-old London-born Kosavan has been on my radar since hearing her song, “Be The One,” which droppped last October. You’re instantly hooked from the moment this BANGER kicks off, with its hypnotic, synthful intro, leading right into the song’s first verse and Lipa’s assertive, polished rasp and powerful pop vocals. Written by Lucy “Pawws” Taylor and Digital Farm Animals (also the track’s producer), this dreamy, up-tempo, club-friendly dance-pop delight offers up a MASSIVE chorus, beats for days and opportunity-a-plenty to lose yourself to dance through the strobe-spotted mist of the nightclub in your head. Now, if you’re one of those pop-music snobs that scoffs at the artist who doesn’t write her own music, NEVER FEAR—DUA LIPA DOES! “Be The One” is actually the ONLY song on her forthcoming Warner Bros-released album that she DIDN’T write, with the pop star telling  BBC Radio 1‘s Clara Amfo that it was SO good that she “couldn’t not take it.” Check out the fun “Be The One” video below (produced & directed by Nicole Nodland).

Once “Be The One” was firmly ingrained in my brain, I of course went off in search of more DUA LIPA, only to discover she was so fresh and new, there were only 2 songs online at the time—the other being the self-penned, “New Love;” a low key (in comparison), mid-tempo produced by Emile Haynie (Lana Del Rey, Kanye West) and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt (Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars)—serving as her official debut when it came out last August. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for new music, as last February our ears were blessed with the release of an equally infectious dark-pop cut called “Last Dance.” LIPA wrote this track alongside British-Nigerian singer/songwriter Talay Riley with Canadian songwriter/producer Stephen “KOZ” Kozmeniuk (Madonna, Jennifer Hudson) taking on production duties. Check out the VERY colorful video for “Last Dance” below, directed by Jon Brewer & Ian Blair.

There’s nothing I hate more than being late to a party, so I felt it was high-time I gave DUA LIPA a little love on the blog, since I’ve been listening to, Tweeting about and all around loving her for months. Ever since the release of “New Love,” this promising up & comer has been generating considerable buzz, with Complex calling her an “artist to watch,” TIME labeling LIPA as an “elegant pop superstar-in-waiting,” Marie Claire calling her “the music industry’s newest obsession” and ELLE hypothesizing her inevitable dance club domination, writing, “Dua Lipa’s unconventional beats are about to take over the dance floor.” I’m SO READY FOR THIS TAKEOVER.

After earning rave reviews for her SXSW live performances, I’m beyond BEYOND amped to see her take over New York and LA next month. In fact, I’ll also be seeing her at this year’s LOLLAPALOOZA, and I would be lying if I said she WASN’T one of the determining factors (Kiiara being another) in my splurging on a pricey VIP ticket for the festival’s 25th anniversary. DUA LIPA‘s bi-coastal mini-tour kicks off May 4th with a performance at Neon Gold’s PopShop in Brooklyn, followed by a performance May 5th at Manhattan’s McKittrick Hotel. She then heads out West for a School Night performance at Bardot in Los Angeles May 9th, followed by a secret show May 10th—details to be unveiled the day of the show. In addition to Lollapalooza, DUA LIPA will be heating up a number of European festivals, including Glastonbury and Wireless Festival. 2016 is going to be the year of DUA LIPA and I’m here for it.

Download and stream music from DUA LIPA on Spotify and iTunes now.

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