Ascendant English pop star Dua Lipa appeared at tonight’s Billboard Music Awards to perform her hit “New Rules,” taken from her 2017 debut album Dua Lipa. As in the song’s video, Lipa was joined by a crew of young women dancers to help drive home the kiss-off message to an unworthy ex-boyfriend. Similarly taking cues from the official video, Lipa’s set adopted a fanciful, pool-party vibe, with choreography featuring Lipa sitting astride an oversized sculpture of a pink flamingo.
Although Lipa isn’t nominated for any Billboard awards tonight, Dua Lipa has had a remarkably long lifespan on the charts since its release last June. The album produced the advance single “Blow Your Mind (Mwah),” more recent hit “IDGAF,” and most notably, “New Rules,” which peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100 earlier this year. Lipa similarly performed “New Rules” with the help of a giant flamingo prop at the Brit Awards this February. Her latest single, last month’s “One Kiss,” finds her paired with DJ-turned-pop-collaboration-architect Calvin Harris.
Fans of Lipa can see her again tomorrow night (May 21) as a featured guest on the season finale of singing competition The Voice, on which tonight’s Billboard Awards host Kelly Clarkson is a regular cast member. Watch a clip of Dua Lipa performing “New Rules” at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards below.
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