It’s safe to say that Dua Lipa enjoyed her Australian tour. Not since Taylor Swift and Fred again.. has a touring artist captured the local imagination to the extent that the Grammy-winning pop star has.
Lipa spent the first shows of her Australian tour unveiling covers of Aussie classics, including AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” and Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn”, the latter of which prompted a gushing social media response from Imbruglia herself.
“Every night we do something different,” Lipa told the crowd during one of her Melbourne shows before launching into a rendition of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”. Talk about getting a local crowd onside.
And then the guests arrived, and in their droves.
Lipa brought out Troye Sivan for a special duet, calling the Aussie pop star “one of my favourite, favourite artists who’s also a friend of mine.” Lipa then launched into “Rush”, with Sivan making a surprise entrance during the performance without introduction.
@enews The Dua duo we didn’t know we needed. 🥹🫶 Troye Sivan joined Dua Lipa on stage in Melbourne Saturday, where the two danced (and sang) the night away. 👯
Lipa surprised Sydney with an appearance by Kevin Parker for a cover of his band Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know the Better”. Angus Stone (who just announced an Australia and New Zealand tour for his Dope Lemon project) and Vance Joy also assisted Lipa at shows.
@khanhong @Dua Lipa surprise guest in Sydney #dualipa #kevinparker
Now, with Lipa’s world tour heading to New Zealand this week, a question: will she do the same as she did in Australia and bring out local artists for duets and covers?
That got us thinking about which Kiwi favourites could potentially appear when Lipa plays two shows in Auckland this week (see full dates below).
After a busy run of summer shows, the iconic Bic Runga doesn’t have any major dates in her touring calendar. And like Imbruglia, Runga’s biggest hit arrived in 1997, when “Sway” swept all ears before it. A rendition of what’s widely considered one of the greatest Aotearoa songs of all-time by Lipa and Runga would be a moment to treasure for local fans.
Lipa has always made a point of supporting up-and-coming talent, including her current tour support Kita Alexander, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see BENEE rock up at Spark Arena. BENEE’s a very local artist, too, hailing from Grey Lynn, so it would be a particularly special moment for the alt-pop singer-songwriter.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see other rising stars like rapper JessB and pop artist RIIKI REID, who both just so happen to share a record label with Lipa.
But if Lipa really, really wants to get Kiwis onside, if she really wants to tap into the zeitgeist, then a surprise Shihad appearance would go down a storm, coming off the back of their blockbuster farewell tour and Taite Music Prize nomination. A Dua Lipa and Shihad duet – strangers things have happened in music.
Lipa is touring in support of her acclaimed third album, Radical Optimism, which contained hits like “Houdini” and “Illusion”. The album debuted at #1 in 11 countries and became Dua’s third top 10 album on the ARIA charts.
Dua Lipa 2025 New Zealand Tour Dates
Visit dualipa.com for ticket information
Wednesday, April 2nd
Auckland, New Zealand – Spark Arena
Friday, April 4th
Auckland, New Zealand – Spark Arena
