Dua Lipa treated fans to a surprise during the opening U.S. date of her Radical Optimism World Tour.
On Friday (Sept. 5), the 30-year-old British pop star launched a two-night stint at Chicago’s United Center, dazzling the sold-out crowd with striking costumes and a 22-song setlist that featured tracks from her latest album, Radical Optimism.
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Midway through her performance, Lipa — dressed in a sparkly black coat with feathered sleeves — stunned fans by welcoming music legend Chaka Khan to the stage. Together, the duo performed a powerful rendition of Khan’s 1983 classic “Ain’t Nobody.” Watch fan-captured footage of the moment here.
This isn’t the first time Lipa has shared the stage with iconic artists during her global tour. Earlier this year, she was joined by Crowded House’s Neil Finn during a stop in New Zealand, and later brought out Jamiroquai in London.
After a brief break in August following a two-month run across Europe, Lipa returned to North America with back-to-back shows in Toronto on Sept. 1–2. Check out Billboard’s recap of the six best moments from her opening night at Scotiabank Arena here.
The U.S. leg of the Radical Optimism tour continues Saturday (Sept. 6) with a second show in Chicago, before heading to cities including Boston, Atlanta, New York, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Released last year, Radical Optimism is Lipa’s third studio album and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The project delivered several chart hits, including lead single “Houdini,” which spent 17 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. In support of the album, Lipa launched the Radical Optimism tour in November 2024, performing in arenas across Asia, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
