Dua Lipa‘s performance at Madrid’s Mad Cool festival last night packed such an emotional punch that fans who had been moved to tears were captured on video screens as she launched into 2015 hit ‘Be The One’.
The London-born singer returned their emotion, earnestly thanking the crowd for “dancing and singing along already” early in her set. Later, she added: “Madrid, you look great tonight,”
Mad Cool se despide cantando a pleno pulmón con Dua Lipa, Depeche Mode, Wolf Alice, Kaleo, Rag’N’Bone Man, LP y Portugal. The Man – MyiPop
She triumphed over what could have been a tricky piece of scheduling – playing immediately after the festival’s two adjacent main stages had featured significantly heavier performances from Queens of the Stone Age, Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails.
Needless to say, the change of pace and tone was evident from the stage set-up alone. Dua Lipa performed bathed in bright red and green light, in sharp contrast to the Nine Inch Nails’ purposefully monochrome stage set, which was broadcast on the festival’s big screens in black and white.
Despite the unconventional lead-in, her bright, shimmering pop sounded perfectly suited to the warm Spanish night, and she may well have converted a few Nine Inch Nails fans with tracks like opener ‘Blow Your Mind (Mwah)’ and Calvin Harris-collaboration ‘One Kiss’.
When her set finished, it was only left for Underworld to wrap up the festivities at Mad Cool 2018. On tonight’s evidence, Dua Lipa is set to keep climbing festival bills across the world.
