Dua Lipa crushes 2-hour show in Dallas, which begs one big question
Ease your concerns that America’s youth is the beneficiary of a lax grading scale where just by showing up you are awarded a trophy, an A-plus-plus, and three weeks of vacation.
After taking my 16-year-old daughter to watch the Dua Lipa concert on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center, I asked her to grade it on a scale of one to 10.
“Seven,” she said.
That’s a C. My daughter handed Dua Lipa a C for her “Radical Optimism Tour” show. Brutal.
After enlisting my daughter’s insights and observations for the Doobie Brothers, Steve Miller, Def Leppard, Journey and most recently AC/DC, I thought Dua Lipa was a fair reward.
What followed was a spirited review of the show, and why this new generation may not all hand out free A’s.
“My ears aren’t dead like they were for AC/DC,” Vivian said. “My eyes are dead. That was quite the light show. I felt like I was getting epilepsy.”
The Dua Lipa show is a 2-hour energy drink that does rely on a variety of lights, beams and other visual tricks. It’s also not going to cause epilepsy. Just so much drama.
“What really impressed me was all of her outfit changes,” Vivian said of Dua Lipa, who during the show wore five different outfits. “How do performers do that that fast, because those are tight corsets and gloves and tights. Did you notice that about her outfits?
ME: “I was more concentrating on her music and her ability to sing. If you hadn’t told me she changed an outfit I wouldn’t have known. I had no idea.
“I’m not going to look at a performer and base what I think on how she looks. That’s just ridiculous. It’s really shallow. I don’t know what they’re teaching you at that school.”
VIVIAN: “When you were filming it I could see the drool on the edge of your mouth.”
Tuesday night was Dua Lipa’s first appearance in North Texas in three years. In that time she has established herself as a global name who appeals well beyond just teenage girls. At the show on Tuesday there were all ages, a wide cross-section of nationalities and almost as many men as women.
Dua Lipa is not going to draw a Taylor Swift crowd, but Dua Lipa sold out the AAC on consecutive nights. The woman has a devoted following, who should be a tad bigger than she is.
She had a four-member band with three backup singers as well as a dozen dancers. The show was a professional night of entertainment. No slow stuff. Just all upbeat, danceable fun. She interacts with the crowd, and took some selfies with fans.
Throw in her British accent and it’s all quite endearing.
She played all of her hits, including crowd-pleasers “Illusion,” “Levitating,” “Physical,” “New Rules,” and she closed the night with “Houdini.” She even threw in a Kelly Clarkson cover.
“This was like some aerobics video,” I told my daughter. “You know what an aerobics video is?”
VIVIAN: “Yes. I know what an aerobics video is. I’ve seen ‘Stranger Things.’”
All in all, a quality concert from a pop star who is in her prime, and has more range as a singer than she shows.
Which is why my daughter’s grade of a 7 out of 10 is so mystifying.
“It wasn’t a ‘C,’” Vivian said.
ME: “You gave it a 7 out of 10. That’s a C.”
VIVIAN: “Let’s do the SAT. The SAT is out of 1,600. I’d give it a 1,400. On verbal, a 730, and 670 math.”
ME: “And because she’s out of state, a 1,400 is not getting her into the University of Texas.”
VIVIAN: “Well, she better have a good essay.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 1:06 AM.
