In what is hopefully a trend for the coming months, Dua Lipa finally got to perform the songs from her multiple-Grammy-nominated album “Future Nostalgia” on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend — some eight months after her originally scheduled appearance on the show was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Accompanied by four dancers, she delivered tightly rehearsed takes on the album’s singles “Don’t Start Now” and “Levitating,” dressed in a leopard-print bustier on the former and an enormous white feathery hat for the latter, which undulated like a jellyfish. She wore that outfit for the (masked) all-cast farewell at the end of the show, which may have helped with social distancing.
She also made a brief appearance in one sketch, dancing in a mock World War II U.S.O.-style performance with host Kristen Wiig and featured player Bowen Yang. Watch the performances below.
During a year that would not seem ideally suited for a disco-pop party-starter like “Future Nostalgia,” the album is one of the most commercial and critical favorites of the year, appearing near the top of many critics’ lists — including Variety’s — and garnering six Grammy nominations. Lipa has already won two: the big Best New Artist prize and Best Dance Recording, for “Electricity,” her hit collaboration with Silk City, a.k.a. super-producers Diplo and Mark Ronson.
Lipa was overwhelmed by the six nominations. “This doesn’t feel real!!!!! 6 GRAMMY NOMS!!! WHAT IS THIS LIFE!!!!” she wrote on Twitter. “I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!! 6!!!!! MY HEART IS RACING AND IM IN TOTAL SHOCK! IM BEAMING AND FIZZING!!!!!!”
She followed with a video in which she sobs on the phone to whomever is telling her the news, “Are you f—ing joking me? Oh my God, you’re joking!”