The most unbelievable part of Dua Lipa's bright, poppy "Future Nostalgia" dance party at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night somehow wasn't the battle with a giant lobster at an under-the-sea cafe, complete with an inflatable crustacean joining her on stage. No, the most ridiculous part of the evening came when Dua Lipa announced, just before "Be the One" near the middle of the 90-minute set, that this was her first time performing in Milwaukee. 

Seemingly preposterous – yet somehow true.

Despite launching into global pop stardom almost five years ago with "New Rules," the Brit singer's out-of-this-world lineup of break-up bops and dance-ready retro-inspired hits had never touched down in Brew City until this week. She was supposed to make her debut opening for Logic at KISSMas Bash at The Rave in 2017, but the concert was postponed until, well, never due to the rapper falling ill. Then, just as her "Future Nostalgia" tour was readying for takeoff, her star ascending higher and higher, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, scuttling any touring plans for two years. 

Wednesday night, however, Dua Lipa finally levitated her way to a Milwaukee stage with a hit-filled setlist and interstellar technicolor spectacle that was worth the wait – even if the pop star's performance itself could sometimes feel off in its own distant galaxy. 

X

Take, for instance, the opening numbers. Greeted by an almost entirely filled lower bowl and well-populated pit, Dua Lipa took the stage with the mighty one-two pop punch of the Olivia Newton-John riff "Physical" and the kiss-off anthem "New Rules." The songs are undeniable – yet even with the extra help of an electric neon yellow catsuit and screen background personalized for Milwaukee, the openers felt oddly low-energy and impersonal. "Physical" should fittingly play like a workout, but Lipa's unaffected performance could feel too cool to break a sweat, letting her crew of blue-jumpsuited dancers steal the audience's eyes – bright yellow catsuit, be damned. The singer exploded into pop supremacy over the past two years behind our screens; Wednesday night, it could still feel like there was a thin barrier between her and the audience. 

Contrary to the regular slinky gyrations on Wednesday night, Dua Lipa isn't what you'd call a loose live performer. But, much like fellow pop powerhouse Ariana Grande's Fiserv Forum stop, there were optimistic signs on stage that she's evolving and growing more comfortable in the role. For a performer whose stiff attempts at dance moves earned plenty of early ridicule, she committed to a lot of the night's choreography – still more postured than preferred, focused on hitting the marks rather than bringing life to the moves, but still an improvement – and appeared to loosen up as the setlist soared along. As the night's show continued, the singer's cool remove melted away a little bit as well, finally opening up to the crowd after "Break My Heart" and some smiles began to crack through the distant diva glaze, recognizing the mostly young crowd in giddy attendance and briefly sharing in the excitement. 

X

Dua Lipa's best and smoothest move of the night, though? Surrounding herself with a ton of dynamic dancers and staging, throwing a big, colorful and eye-catching show that helped make her occasional shortcomings look significantly smaller. 

From the start of the night, the show went big and bright, the large half-circle video screen background introducing each of her dancers in kitschy '80s exercise video style – individualized attention they more than deserved after their performance Wednesday night, dancing behind ballet barres on "Physical," strutting down the stage's runway with umbrellas on "New Rules" and in general filling in the gaps when Lipa's stage presence fell short. When the ballad "Cool," for instance, needed a jolt while Lipa simply sang behind the mic center stage, the show sent out two roller skaters to wheel out some impressively controlled rolling choreography, giving the performance a welcome dynamic jolt. 

X

From the Martian space western backdrop of "Love Again" to a technicolor barrage of cherries for the brattily taunting "Good in Bed" and that aforementioned giant inflatable lobster for the beach groove of "We're Good" – complete with playful fake menu items on a side screen like "Dua thermadore" – the concert constantly found new, sometimes cool, sometimes cheeky, ways to catch your eye and engage the audience.

The production reached its peak, though, near the final act, evolving "Boys Will Be Boys" into a bombastic carnaval-like parade, dancing down the main set's runway to its smaller island stage. There, the carnaval turned into a night club, the dancers slow-motion moving in strobe effect to "One Kiss." It was very fashion. The finale then launched from a night club to the night sky, bringing down a glittering moon and stars from the rafters while raising Lipa up over the audience on a pulsating blue platform. Even if her performance sometimes lacked, Dua Lipa made sure the show and spectacle itself never did, its high polish only ever wearing off during the ocacasional prolonged costume change. (Only the gap between "Be the One" and "We're Good" featured any interlude: a literally drowned rendition of "IDGAF," muted to almost elevator music, that strangely was the hit's only presence on the night.)

It helps to also have a 90-mintue soundtrack of almost entirely perfect pop bangers. While she may be evolving as a pop song performer, Dua Lipa is currently at her peak optimal form as a pop song producer – your eyes maybe unmoved by her stage presence but your ears absolutely enrapt by her gloriously throwback setlist, blending shimmering disco dance rhythms with new beats to create something refreshing yet familiar, all utterly addictive to your eardrums. Like the best concerts, Dua Lipa's setlist on Wednesday night was all killer with little-to-no filler, delivering a toe-tapping reminder every five minutes of how many hits she's turned out in a remarkably short time. (Again, "New Rules" was just 2017.) By the time she reached the end of her encore with "Don't Stop Now," even though they'd gotten their money's worth, the crowd was telling her the exact same thing right back: Don't stop now!

X

With an impressive catalogue and a technically impressive stage show, I walked out of Fiserv Forum fully knowing why Dua Lipa's star is so bright. And if she can improve as a stage performance and presence, it could go supernova. 

Set list

"Physical"
"New Rules"
"Love Again"
"Cool"
"Pretty Please"
"Break My Heart"
"Be the One"
"We're Good"
"Good in Bed"
"Fever"
"Boys Will Be Boys"
"One Kiss"
"Electricity"
"Hallucinate"
"Cold Heart"
"Levitating"

Encore
"Future Nostalgia"
"Don't Stop Now"