Dua Lipa had big dreams for her new concert special An evening with Dua Lipaand, as she tells Deadline, it’s now one of her “favorite gigs she’s ever done.” The CBS special airs Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. PT.

Lipa put her heart and soul into the project, which is evident in the many layers that make up the final product. From incorporating the legendary Elton John into her performance to reuniting with her teacher Ray at the Sylvia Young Theater School, Lipa carefully chose the emotional notes she wanted to hit. She also described the rehearsal process as a “Royal Albert Hall boot camp.” Keep those tissues nearby.

When she reconnected with her teacher, the “Houdini” singer told him that one piece of advice he gave her stuck with her to this day: that she thrives when she pushes herself outside her comfort zone located.

“It’s also about having the confidence to try new things,” Lipa said of the concert and this reunion. “When I was younger, he was always such a big advocate and proponent of that kind of, ‘Don’t be afraid of your dreams and don’t let your dreams scare you.’ That’s the best advice because if they don’t make you a little nervous, maybe they’re not big enough.”

The special, which Lipa performed at the Royal Albert Concert Hall in London on October 17, reimagined hits from her latest album Radical optimism as well as some hits from Future nostalgia like “Don’t Start Now,” “Love Again,” and “Levitating,” as well as her Grammy-nominated song from Barbie (2023), “Dance the Night.”

John accompanied her to a performance of their collaboration “Cold Heart.” She also performed “Be the One” from her first album of the same name, as well as a cover of “Sunshine.” The full album of the live show is available to stream on Spotify, with many more songs that didn’t make it into the special edition.

“When you deal with the architecture of a song, strip it down and change it in a way that makes the song much more vulnerable, you really hear the lyrics in a completely different way.” I still wanted it to be something funny , and I still wanted it to be a pop show that I could perform on, but I didn’t want it to be like that – I guess the first demos, the best way to describe it is a little more sparkly and a little more pop.” said Lipa. “I wanted to bring a little more timbre and a little more darkness and give all the songs a real richness. We played a lot with that emotion and that feeling. I wanted all the songs to have a real intensity. These were the changes that were constantly being made. The question was: How do we make this so great, so epic and so big? It was almost like making a film score.”

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In the following interview with Deadline, the musician discussed how much time she needed to prepare for the show, how she chose her clothes and other details of her performances.

DEADLINE: Is there anyone who you saw at the Royal Albert Hall or who you remember performing there, who you saw and then thought, “Oh, I really want to do that,” who came into this dream has been incorporated?

DUA LIPA: I grew up in London and I was always driving past the Royal Albert Hall to see shows – I’ve actually never been to a show at the Royal Albert Hall, but I’ve seen so many shows on TV and the Royal Albert Hall has For me it was always the highlight of my hometown, which I always dreamed of. I love the feel of the theater, how great it is and also very intimate. It’s a very special venue that if you’re lucky you can perform there.

DEADLINE: How many rehearsals did you have for this special? What was the process that led to this unique performance?

LIPA: We started planning and preparing for this performance, talked about it around July and August, and that was working with the Heritage Orchestra, we started talking about the arrangements, the ideas and the thought behind what it sounded like should. We probably started making the first arrangements in late August, early September, and they went through a whole bunch of different edits. We started with demos and then went in with the orchestra and played all the parts. The actual rehearsal time was about a week at a time, with my band and orchestra rehearsing separately. In October I was preparing many different shows at the same time. And I managed to get back to London four days before the Royal Albert Show and just work non-stop. It was like a Royal Albert Hall boot camp, an orchestra boot camp. It was amazing. It was like four continuous days before the show that I performed with the orchestra.

DEADLINE: There are two outfits in the special: the red dress that you start in and then the black dress. Was it a process to choose these? Did you have more options?

LIPA: Well, appearing in such clothes was a first for me. I don’t often get to perform in nice clothes because I’m so used to walking around on stage and being with dancers, and a lot of what I wear on stage lends itself to performing in that high intensity way. I felt like the night and the orchestra lent itself to being able to wear something more elegant. We always knew we were going to do two looks, maybe we had a few other options, but these two were the first two when I saw the sketches, the first was a Jean Paul Gaultier dress and the second was Chanel I thought : “These are the perfect dresses.” These are exactly what I want to wear, as long as I can walk in them, so I can walk all around, I’m good to go. They were perfect.

DEADLINE: Elton John performed with you. His outfit also felt a little toned down compared to what he could have worn.

LIPA: Do you believe? I don’t know. He had spectacular jewelry and wore a velvet suit. Everything Elton does is always breathtaking, so I don’t know anything about it.

DEADLINE: That’s correct. I loved the earring. Have you thought about having other guests perform with you?

LIPA: No, I don’t have that. Elton was the only person I wanted to have at my performances because he is someone who has performed at the Royal Albert Hall so many times. I felt like he was the perfect person to hold my hand through it all. Knowing he was going to show up gave me another boost of confidence during the performance. It was special to have him there with me.

DEADLINE: And you are reunited with Ray, your teacher. Something that struck me: “You’re at your best when you’re outside your comfort zone.” How do you still apply that on a daily basis and how did it impact this special?

LIPA: Every day, when I do things that seem intimidating or a little more nerve-wracking, or when I do something special in itself that is completely different than anything else I’ve done before, then it’s outside of my comfort zone. It’s something completely new. This is something people have never seen me do before. So it’s nerve-wracking to be able to tackle something like that. It’s outside my comfort zone. But I think that’s where it’s most rewarding.

DEADLINE: You have worked with Elton John, Miley, Cyrus and Megan Thee Stallion. Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with in music in the future?

LIPA: I don’t know. I didn’t think about it. I feel like I’ve really crossed so many people off my dream list of people I want to work with. I don’t know at the moment.

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