British pop superstar Dua Lipa will cap off a stratospheric 2020 with appearances on two of America’s biggest TV shows this weekend. The Don’t Stop Now singer will drop into The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this evening, before featuring as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live tomorrow, which will be hosted by SNL and Bridesmaids icon Kristen Wiig. Ahead of her appearance on The Tonight Show, Lipa and Fallon released a Love Actually-inspired promo video which sees the duo deliver their own take on Christmas Is All Around, the Wet Wet Wet parody sung by fictional ageing rocker Billy Mack (aka Bill Nighy) in the seminal 2003 romcom.
Dua Lipa’s first Saturday Night Live appearance came back in 2018, when she performed New Rules and Homesick on an edition of the cult sketch show hosted by Oscar winner Natalie Portman. Lipa had originally been booked for a second stint on the show on March 28th this year prior to NBC cancelling the episode as a result of the rapid spread of COVID-19 in New York City.
It is expected that the Londoner’s SNL performance tomorrow evening will incorporate an airing of some of the instant classics from her hugely acclaimed 2020 album Future Nostalgia; an exciting record which spawned a succession of international mega-hits including the dance-pop slammer Don’t Start Now; the Flashdance-inspired Physical; the funk-driven Break My Hear and the electro-disco singalong Levitating. With Future Nostalgia, Lipa was widely praised for creating an upbeat album that transcended the mundanity of lockdown – despite its overt pitch for a heaving club audience being repressed by the dire global circumstances.
In her review of the album as part of The Guardian‘s countdown of the top 50 records of the year, Katie Solomon argues that its unique success made 2020 the year Lipa “became a pop behemoth“. Solomon says of the LP: “The album fizzes with coiled energy, each of the 11 songs delivering a euphoric high over an irresistible beat…She transcended the “great look, serviceable songs” box she’d been marketed into and became one of pop’s most exciting major players: she out Gaga’d Gaga and out Kylie’d Kylie.”
Over recent months Lipa has also enjoyed successful collaborations with Belgian songstress Angèle on Fever – which featured on the French edition of Future Nostalgia – and with Miley Cyrus on the Tennessee native’s November single Prisoner. In the same month Dua’s livestreamed Studio 2054 was watched by 5 million fans across the world.
I am BEYOND excited to let you know that Studio 2054 had over 5 MILLION viewers globally on Friday night !!! – thank you so much to everyone for tuning in!! I’m also so happy to announce that we’ve kept the show available to watch until Sunday ‼️‼️‼️https://t.co/GeQCKcWavN pic.twitter.com/3nF6klFMmU
— DUA LIPA (@DUALIPA) November 30, 2020
The Westminster-born vocalist isn’t finished this year either – she has another virtual gig in the diary for next Tuesday 22nd December with US streaming service Pandora Music. Before the show fans will have an opportunity to participate in a virtual meet and greet with the star and take a digital ‘selfie’ with Lipa online.
Can’t wait for the @pandoramusic Live show on Dec 22! RSVP for free now #PandoraLivehttps://t.co/vFMYGuBxbG pic.twitter.com/5VQYBm3q3Z
— DUA LIPA (@DUALIPA) December 15, 2020
2021 also looks set to be a bumper year for the singer as she takes Future Nostalgia on the road for the first time. Lipa will play 21 dates across Europe next September and October, including 10 gigs in the UK. The full list of UK dates for the rescheduled Future Nostalgia tour, which tickets are available for online now, is as follows:
10/09/2021 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
11/09 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
13/09 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle
15/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
16/09 – AO Arena – Manchester
21/09 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
24/09 – The O2 – London
25/09 – The O2 – London
27/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
28/09 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
