There’s nothing quite like watching someone become a star in real time. It could be sports, acting, or music, but there’s a certain before and after moment that will never be repeated. You see it happening and know their lives are forever different from that moment forward. Dua Lipa: Live At Glastonbury captures that exact moment the young singer went from being an artist on the rise to being an A-lister whose every move would now be charted and monitored by her fans and those in the music industry. Filmed in June 2017, the same month her first album dropped, it was released in 2022 and is currently streaming on Peacock.
At the time of the performance, Lipa was just 21-years-old. Of the six singles she had released so far, four had charted but only in the UK and Europe. Though the Glastonbury Festival is one of the world’s most storied, she was not playing the main stage but the John Peel Stage, named after the influential BBC Radio 1 DJ. Until his death in 2004 it was known simply as the New Bands Tent. Still, it’s had its share of breakout performances through the years and though smaller than the headlining stage, holds thousands.
Dua Lipa’s band take the stage before her in grand rock star fashion as Glastonbury’s signature flags wave stories into the air. A gothy drone sets the tone before dance rhythms kick off, equally influenced by EDM and hip hop. The lighting rig makes the stage look like a piranha about to bite. When she finally comes out, Lipa is dressed humbly in a fuchsia sports bra and green sweatpants. She’s got a good head of hair but there’s nothing particularly fancy about her coif. She could be any other attractive, young Londoner besides her impeccably ripped abs and the fact that nearly 10,000 people have crammed into a tent to watch her sing.
Opening with her 2016 hit “Hotter than Hell,” Lipa exudes realness. There’s no stage set, no backup dancers, and not much choreography. Her crack backing band isn’t hidden behind a set, but shares the floor with her. Someone certainly showed her how to dance to the songs but her movements seem spontaneous. Though pre-recorded backup vocals kick in on during the choruses, she’s singing live. She doesn’t have the biggest voice you’ve ever heard, but it’s muscular and taut with its own power. When she sings you can hear her breath.
The UK has always had a particular appreciation for black American soul and R&B. On the one hand, Dua Lipa falls very much in line with other female singers, from Dusty Springfield to Adele, who draw from those influences but found a way to make it uniquely British. At the same time, there’s a rock undertow, particularly ‘80s new wave and ‘90s alternative, which informs her music then and now and gives it a character all its own.
All of Dua Lipa’s songs seem to be about either longing or regret. “I need your love…I need your touch,” she sings in “Genesis” off her debut, before pleading, “I’m sorry,” over and over. Love is something to be surrendered to and enveloped in. When it goes bad it’s because she’s been unappreciated or misunderstood. Sometimes, she says, forlornly, it just wasn’t meant to be. It’s all pretty teenage, the gravity of emotions, but as a singer, she makes it ring true. The crowd hangs on every note.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people in my life. Thank you so much,” Lipa says towards the end of the set, taking it all in. Before the final number, “Be the One,” she tells the crowd to “go absolutely crazy” and sing along. A mix of EDM and anthemic rock, its hypnotic two-chord groove and Lipa’s yearning vocals bring the crowd to a crescendo of excitement. Her band plays the song for all its worth as she jumps down to the barricade and tries to make contact with the crowd. She stands atop it, holding a fan’s hand for balance, and trades off with the crowd in a singalong. “I’m never going to forget this,” she says as the song comes to its end.
In 2019, Lipa was asked during a BBC radio interview at what point she knew her career as a pop star was “actually going to happen.” She pointed to her 2017 Glastonbury performance. Performing in the middle of the day, she assumed no one would come. Instead, she said, “I run out, on to stage, the whole tent is full… there are people outside of the tent… it’s pouring down with rain… and they’re still there… seeing and watching and I was like, ‘Oh my god. All these people are here to come and see me’.” Dua Lipa: Live At Glastonbury documents that moment for posterity.
Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.