Watch Dua Lipa Sing a Surprise Cover of Lorde’s ‘Royals’

You can call her Queen Li? At her Auckland, New Zealand, concert Wednesday (April 2), Dua Lipa paid tribute to the country’s biggest pop star by performing a cover of Lorde‘s “Royals.”

In clips from the show, the “Levitating” artist looks glamorous in a lacy black bodysuit and fuzzy cream shawl as she commands the stage at Spark Arena. “We’re bigger than we ever dreamed, and I’m in love with being queen,” she sings over the lush harmonies of her backup singers, holding up her hands in the shape of a crown above her head. “And we’ll never be royals/ It don’t run in our blood/ That kind of luxe just ain’t for us/ We crave a different kind of buzz.”

“Let me be your ruler/ You can call me queen bee,” Dua continues, dancing along to the music as fans in the crowd loudly sing the lyrics with her. “And baby, I’ll rule/ Let me live that fantasy.”

The “Royals” cover was a special treat for the fans at her show in Auckland, where she’s set to perform a second sold-out night at Spark Arena on Friday (April 4). Dua will next bring her Radical Optimism Tour — supporting 2024’s album of the same name — to Europe for a slew of dates in the spring and summer, followed by North America and Latin America in the fall.

Released in 2013, “Royals” marked the “Green Light” singer’s debut single and breakout smash, spending nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track later found a home on Lorde’s first album, Pure Heroine, which bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

Lorde hasn’t released an album since 2021’s Solar Power. She’s been steadily teasing in recent months that she’s back in the studio, however, and appeared on Charli xcx “girl, so confusing” remix last year.

Watch Dua sing Lorde’s “Royals” in Auckland below.