Pop girls, assemble. The divas are diva-ing.
Saturday night at Wembley Stadium was not just a concert. It was a cultural event. Dua Lipa, the reigning queen of pop discipline and disco gym-ready bangers, brought the house down during her sold-out Radical Optimism Tour stop in London. But just when the crowd thought they’d already received all their blessings? Miss Dua said surprise, and summoned Charli XCX to the stage for a gag-worthy rendition of “360.”
That’s right. Dua and Charli, two of the most experimental, influential, and unapologetically extra voices in 21st-century pop, shared the stage like it was a Girls Aloud reunion. And let’s just say every gay, girl, and glamazon within a ten-mile radius levitated.
A Stage Fit for Synth Queens
The moment was pure serotonin. Wembley roared as the synths of “360” blared and Charli XCX strutted out like she owned every LED pixel in the venue. Dua, in custom Mugler, twirled to the beat like a goddess who just crashed her own Greek myth. Charli, 32, looked like the future of cyber pop reincarnated in human form.
Together, they didn’t just perform. They served. They fed the children. They shut the internet down for the night. Stan Twitter is still wiping its tears with rhinestone-encrusted tissues.
And yes, you can (and must) watch a clip of their performance.
Two Icons, One Vision, Zero Skips
If you’re new to the Church of Charli and Dua, here’s the lore. The two have been mutual supporters for years. Their remix of “Talk Talk” last year wasn’t just a collaboration. It was a declaration of pop unity. Dua brings structure, sensuality, and a voice that sounds like velvet dipped in confidence. Charli brings chaos, Auto-Tune transcendence, and lyrics that hit like rollercoaster drops. Together? They’re not just besties. They’re a movement.
And behind the scenes, the love is as real as the lashes.
“I love her so much and she’s always been a really good friend of mine and been so supportive from day one,” Dua said in a new Billboard interview, giving us the kind of heartfelt girl-support-girl energy that makes Swifties cry in pastels. “She deserves all the flowers. She’s worked her arse off, and it’s so beautiful to see her get the recognition she deserves.”
And that’s on pop justice.
Dua continued, “She’s really stuck to her guns and allowed herself to be creative in her own way, and it’s paid off. That’s the best thing that can ever happen to an artist. She’s so deserving of every moment.”
Excuse us while we gently sob into our rhinestone flasks.
The Pop Renaissance Is Female
Let’s be honest. Male pop stars haven’t dropped a culture-shifting collab since Rihanna stopped replying to their emails. It’s the women, particularly the ones who know how to walk in platforms and whisper-sing about heartbreak in a club bathroom, that are keeping the genre alive. And what we saw at Wembley wasn’t just a surprise guest moment. It was a baton pass, a kiss of solidarity, a reminder that when women in music support each other, the world gets a little bit more iconic.
And if this is what Radical Optimism looks like, then we’re all-in. Manifest a studio version. Manifest a remix. Manifest a tour. Because Dua and Charli just reminded us that pop isn’t dead. It’s just finally getting fun again.
Let the girlies play.
