Live at Spark Arena
4 April 2025
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Dua Lipa Brings Electric Pop Royalty to a Rain-Soaked Auckland.
It’s a miserable Friday night in Auckland the kind where the rain doesn't so much fall as slap you sideways. But Spark Arena couldn’t care less. Inside, it's all glitter, sequins, pink cowboy hats and a thousand LED-lit dreams waiting to be realised. Dua Lipa is in town, and no one's letting a little weather dull their shine.
From the moment you walk in, there’s a vibe electric and oddly wholesome. Think teens and tweens flanked by mums and the occasional dad who looks like he’s just come from rugby practice and wandered into a sparkle convention. But don’t be fooled this crowd knows what’s up. They're here for one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, and the anticipation hums in the air like static.
While the sound guy warms us up with Paul Johnson’s house classic “Get Get Down,” the stage screen starts rolling waves an almost meditative calm before the glam-pop storm. Then: lights out. Screams up. We’re on.
Lipa bursts onto the stage like a thunderclap wrapped in Versace, greeted by a roar from the crowd. She’s flanked by a razor-sharp six-piece band—drums, bass, electric and acoustic guitars, keys, and two backing vocalists who double as percussionists. The band is spread wide across the massive stage, leaving Lipa full command of the catwalk-style runway. And command it she does.
Third song in: “Break My Heart.” Midway through, the band freezes, the music drops, and Lipa struts full Vogue-level slay catwalking down to the end of the catwalk, just soaking in the adoration. Silence… then: “I would’ve stayed at home…” BOOM. Red paper love hearts explode into the air like it’s Valentine’s Day in Ibiza. It’s a moment. No, it’s the moment. The crowd loses its collective mind.
Front row? There’s a young guy clutching a pristine Dua Lipa vinyl, holding it like a sacred text. If he gets it signed, it’s going straight to a museum or at least a very well-lit shelf.
There’s a pause mid-show. The lights dip, and Dua makes her way to the crowd while the stage is prepped behind her. What happens next feels like pure Disney: She stops to chat with fans at the front barrier, greeting several of them and introducing them over the mic so the whole stadium can hear. One standout moment: she meets a young girl named Rose, who excitedly shouts her name. Lipa asks if she’s having a good time. “Yes amazing!” Rose beams. Noticing the white, fluffy boa scarf Rose is holding, Lipa says with a smile, “That looks like it would go perfectly with my outfit can I borrow it?” Rose nods with wide-eyed excitement. Lipa turns to one of her crew and says, “Let’s take a photo of us,” before giving Rose a huge hug, turning her night into a lifetime memory. It’s not just cute it’s real. Lipa knows her audience, and more importantly, she connects with them.
The show is broken up with cinematic blackouts and seamless costume changes. Between sets, stagehands with leaf blowers scramble to clear the confetti-strewn stage (rock ‘n’ roll, 2025 edition). Then: wild horses charge across the LED backdrop, and the vibe shifts again.
Then came the heartstring moment: another brief interlude of darkness as the stage was reset. This time, however, the band had been moved from their elevated perch on the main stage to a more intimate setup at the end of the catwalk—a brilliant way to connect more closely with the fans.
An announcement followed: a special Kiwi guest was about to join them. Who could it be? Although, let’s be honest—if you’ve seen any major star perform in New Zealand recently, you already had a hunch it would be Neil Finn. I’d seen him just a few months ago playing with Pearl Jam, after all.
Sure enough, Dua Lipa confirmed it: Neil Finn was joining them on stage to perform his iconic global hit Don’t Dream It’s Over, written back in 1986. Together with the band and Lipa, they delivered a stunning version of the track, elevated by the rich harmonies of the backing singers. It was a real treat for the crowd and once again, it earned a massive round of applause.
At 9:30, I descend from the lofty heights of the seated section and make my way onto the floor. It’s a euphoric sea of bodies Gen Zs, boomers, tradies, fashionistas, and everything in between. All dancing. All smiling. All locked into Lipa’s orbit.
By song ten “Physical” it’s physically impossible to stay seated. Even the dads are losing their minds. One guy next to me on the floor is waving his arms, screaming, and jumping for joy. A little odd for a man his age, maybe but who am I to judge? When the music grabs you, it grabs you. And judging by the crowd, plenty of people were completely lost in the magic of the music and the spectacle of the show. Lipa’s rhythm section is a machine, layering pulsing polyrhythms while she moves like she’s plugged directly into the beat. It’s pop music as high art: sleek, clean, muscular.
One of the standout moments comes later in the set with Love Again, which cleverly reimagines Jyoti Prakash Mishra a.k.a. White Town’s 1997 underground hit Your Woman, transforming it into a modern pop missile. A bold move. It works.
Side note: the way this sample made it into the track is a story in itself. During a late-night studio session, Clarence Coffee Jr. spontaneously started singing the riff from Your Woman over a beat they were working on. Lipa mistook it for a Star Wars (1977) motif, while Grimes thought it sounded eerie and spooky. Lipa suggested weaving it into the track and the rest, as they say, is history.
Though if we’re telling the full story, that history stretches back even further. Your Woman was itself built on a sample from My Woman, a 1932 track by Al Bowlly. So in essence, Love Again samples a sample — a pop time machine layered with nearly a century of sonic history.
At one point, Lipa holds the mic at waist height and belts out notes that fill the stadium. Singing a capella it’s a subtle flex, but a potent reminder: this woman can sing.
By the encore, there’s not a single person seated. Everyone’s up, caught in the full-throttle celebration of pop music that actually means something. It’s more than a concert it’s a carefully crafted world of glitter and intimacy, of beats and feels.
Verdict? Dua Lipa doesn’t just bring the hits she brings herself. And that makes all the difference.
Set List
- Training Season
- End of an Era
- Break My Heart
- One Kiss (Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa cover)
- Whatcha Doing
- Levitating
- These Walls
- Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House cover) (with Neil Finn)
- Maria
- Physical
- Electricity (Silk City & Dua Lipa cover)
- Hallucinate
- Illusion
- Falling Forever
- Happy for You
- Love Again
- Anything for Love
- Be the One
Encore:
- New Rules
- Dance the Night (Excerpt)
- Don't Start Now
- Houdini
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
WATCH THE LIVE VIDEO at Paul Was There -