Phot0 Credit: Kalyn Oyer

On October 8th, 2025, as the last night of mega pop star, Dua Lipa’s four night residency at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, she made it quite an unforgettable night with a dazzling performance, incredible stage presence and even a surprise guest. Supporting her latest album, Radical Optimism, Dua Lipa brought her endless pop hits to the iconic Southern California venue leaving audiences stunned.

Even with touring an album that wasn’t as well received as Future Nostalgia, this tour felt like a celebration of Dua Lipa’s accomplishments in the pop-sphere, proving that she is a talented force to be reckoned with. More than anything, the Radical Optimism Tour highlights the different eras of her musical career and the progression of her artistry from songwriting, dancing and overall storytelling through her music. It is evident from this tour that Dua Lipa is much more confident both on the choreography front as well as vocally.

Upon entering the Kia Forum’s concourse area, there was Dua Lipa’s name in lights all around the exterior of the venue. There were lyrics from her many hits plastered all along the pillars of the building. And taking a quick glance at the crowd attending the show, there was no shortage of glittery and sequined outfits. Continuing inside, the house music included plenty of disco tunes to help get people in the mood to “dance the night away.”

Opening the concert was LA based musician, Cil. At only 23 years old, Cil is already turning heads with her charismatic vocals, unique sense of style and her spirited lyricism. From jazzy-pop instrumentation, doo-wop adjacent choruses, even a tinge of big band like on the song “Bloodsucker,” Cil is tapping into a pocket of pop music that hasn’t been touched since Ariana Grande’s Yours Truly era. With only a two person band, Cil’s guitarist and drummer packed a heavy punch with sleek guitar riffs and booming drums. A memorable moment during their set was the cover of ABBA’s “Lay All Your Love On Me” which the crowd absolutely loved.

After Cil’s set, the crowd began to fill up more and around 8:45 p.m, the houselights dimmed and the stage layout illuminated with images of crashing waves. The ocean visuals and sounds lasted for about five minutes and felt like a sort of mediation to cleanse the soul before Dua Lipa took to the stage. Seeing the water elements on such a grand scale felt like the audience was being engulfed into the ocean, allowing for a new and restored version of every single person in the audience to come up to the surface.

At last, the band appeared on stage above the giant wave-like structure as a cloud of fog emitted from the center. As the rumbling first notes of “Training Season” began to play, Dua Lipa appeared through the fog in a lavish gold outfit, and the show was underway. This was a perfect opening number which displayed the band’s heavy presence instrumentally, the backup dancers’ ability to capture the audience through their choreography and Dua Lipa’s incredibly powerful vocals.

The set continued highlighting the new album with the track “End of an Era.” Hearing Radical Optimism in a live context with a backing band added plenty of punch and texture to the songs. From the incredible backup singers, the intense drums, the ringing bass lines, Radical Optimism is an album that fully breathes when it is heard in the flesh. Songs like “These Walls” and “Happy For You” put Dua Lipa’s vocal abilities on full display, emphasizing that the stage is where she was always meant to be.

Although hearing tracks from the latest record provided new appreciation for this current era of music, the songs that really stood out the most were from her sophomore release, Future Nostalgia. Every time the rumblings of a FN song echoed through the speakers, the crowd erupted in cheers and danced their hearts out. “Break My Heart” was spellbinding “Levitating” was an absolute blast and “Physical” had everyone getting in their cardio workout for the night. No matter what direction Dua Lipa turns to on her musical journey, it’s safe to say that Future Nostalgia will have a lasting presence in her discography that fans both old and new will always hold dear.

From outfit changes, confetti cannons, pulsating lights, pyrotechnics, strutting up and down the stage, even a ring of fire at one point, there were plenty of fun stage production techniques to keep the crowd hooked the entire show. But the biggest surprise of the night was the special guest Dua Lipa brought out for her last night in LA. Before jumping straight into the song, she prefaced that every night of the tour, Dua and her band have been performing a song by an artist from the city in which they are performing. The first night in Los Angeles they covered “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, night two they did a rendition of “California Dreamin'” and night three was a special treat as Lionel Richie joined Dua Lipa to perform “All Night Long (All Night).”

For the final night at the Kia Forum, it was almost a guarantee that Dua Lipa would do something special. She introduced night four’s special guest as a personal hero and one of her biggest influences, bringing out Gwen Stefani. The crowd roared with excitement as the No Doubt front-woman made her way to center stage to sing “Don’t Speak.” Both Dua and Gwen’s vocals meshed harmoniously well together, the band crushed it and treated this timeless song with the utmost respect and the crowd sang along to every single word as if they were going through their own Tragic Kingdom.

One of the most commendable things that Dua Lipa did during the show was walk along the barricade and made time to greet fans, take selfies and occasionally try on fan’s outfits. It is apparent that Dua Lipa is a very personable celebrity figure and makes every person who attends her concerts feel special. The most impressive thing about these fan interactions is that Dua Lipa is always camera ready and knows her angles very well. She has definitely put in the hours mastering the craft of taking selfies with her endless photo dumps on Instagram, and it is fun to think that Dua Lipa will be in fans’ photo dumps after her concerts.

As the night slowly came to an end, the hits kept coming. “Be the One” from her debut album was a grand sing-a-long moment where Dua Lipa got the entire Kia Forum to belt the chorus, “New Rules” was mini rave with plenty of fist-pumping and flashing lights, “Don’t Start Now” kept disco alive through the iconic slap-bass line and “Houdini” concluded the show as Kevin Parker’s production blasted through the speakers.

Through the power of pop music, Dua Lipa has carved a space at her concerts for audiences to freely express themselves and capture the positive spark which might be difficult to find in the world now-a-days, helping everyone embrace a mindset of Radical Optimism in a time when we need it the most.

Setlist: 

1. Training Season
2. End of an Era
3. Break My Heart
4. One Kiss (Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa song)
5. Whatcha Doing
6. Levitating
7. These Walls
8. Don’t Speak (No Doubt cover with Gwen Stefani)
9. Maria
10. Physical
11. Electricity (Silk City & Dua Lipa song)
12. Hallucinate
13. Illusion
14. Falling Forever
15. Happy for You
16. Love Again
17. Anything for Love
18. Be the One
19. New Rules / Dance the Night
20. Don’t Start Now
21. Houdini

To see future tour dates and other news regarding Dua Lipa, check out her website. And make sure to listen to the newest album, Radical Optimism available now.